ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CENTRE for PACIFIC CROPS and TREES
• officially opened in Sept 1999 as the Regional Germplasm Centre (RGC) under EU/AUSAID funding
• Name changed from RGC to CePaCT in April 2007 :
– CePaCT has extended its activities to include tree species because of their importance to food security and income generation
CePaCT MAIN OBJECTIVE
Working to assist agricultural development in the region through the sustainable conservation and effective use of plant genetic resources
WHAT CePaCT can offer for Pacific Countries
• Climate change ready crops of banana, cassava, swamp taro, sweet potato, taro and yam – tolerant to drought, salt, waterlogged, acid soils
OTHER CROP DIVERSITY /IMPROVED VARIETIES:
• Taro Leaf Blight (TLB) resistant taro
• Taro from S.E Asia – new genepool to improve diversity
• Bananas resistant to Black Leaf Streak (BLS)
• Yams resistant to anthracnose
• New lines of s/potato (orange fleshed) high in carotenoids – good for the health
• New lines of cassava (high in carotenoids)
• Breadfruit varieties that produce all year round fruiting
USING AGROBIODIVERSITY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES: CLIMATE CHANGE
• Several components:
– Climate-ready collection
– Salt tolerance research
– Drought tolerance research
– Breeding for drought tolerance
– Climate/crop model for cassava
– Agrobiodiversity studies
– Adaptive capacity studies
CePaCT CLIMATE READY COLLECTION (established under AUSAid climate change project since June 2009)
• Established from crops obtained locally and recommended by countries as
having grown in certain conditions with demonstrated tolerance to drought, waterlogged, etc
• CePaCT also sourced crops (mainly banana and sweet potato) from International Research Agricultural Centres with demonstrated tolerance to some of extreme climatic conditions eg drought, salt
•Distributed for evaluation in the Pacific - varieties performed well to certain conditions and recommended by countries are fed into the climate ready collection
6
CLIMATE-READY COLLECTION – Mar 2012
CROPS Scientific Name
No. Accessions
Available on
Distribution Tolerance to:
1 Banana Musa spp 44 salt,drought,waterlogged
2 Cryrtosperma Cyrtosperma
merkusii 9 swampy conditions
waterlogged
3 Cassava Manihot esculenta 6 salt, drought, acid soils
4 Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas 71
salt, drought, waterlogged
5 Taro Colocasia esculenta 5 waterlogged, drought
6 Yam Dioscorea alata 1 drought
136
DISTRIBUTION OF CLIMATE-READY CROPS: Jun 09 – 6 Mar 2012
• Distributed to 15 Pacific Island countries
• Cook Islands, Fiji, FSM, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, Norfolk Islands, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu (FAO proj), Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna
• Total of 7,104 plants
CROP No Acc No
Bottles No Plants
Banana 222 2,141 2,593
Cassava 82 462 489
Swamp
taro 19 169 240
Sweet
potato 374 1,794 3,610
Taro 11 82 84
Yam 15 88 88
TOTAL 723 4,736 7,104
INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(ITPGRFA)
• The SPC Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), the region’s genebank housing over 1,000 accessions of staple food crops (mainly taro) uses the SMTA for all germplasm exchanges
INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
(ITPGRFA)
• In 2009 the Annex 1 collections maintained by CePaCT for the region were placed in the MLS of the Treaty.
• 2011: Signing of the agreement for SPC to act as an agent in the implementation of the Treaty for Contracting Parties in the region
• To date 5 countries have acceded to the Treaty and New Caledonia and French Polynesia (through France but the countries also held internal consultations)
THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE:
HOW THE TREATY OPERATES
• Need access to GR from other countries – increasingly so
• No country self-sufficient in genetic resources
• This interdependence is the rationale behind the IT
• Negotiated over 7 years by 164 countries
We are all interdependent on
each other for genetic resources
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TREATY?
• The conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
• The fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), for sustainable agriculture and food security
A KEY COMPONENT OF THE TREATY:
THE STANDARD MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT
(SMTA)
• The Standard Material Transfer Agreement sets out the obligations of the provider and recipient of the material, regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and benefit sharing
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE SMTA (2)
• Article 6 – refers to the rights and obligations of the recipient
– Defines the purposes for which the material can be used
– The Recipient shall not claim any intellectual property or other rights that limit the facilitated access to the Material or its genetic parts or components
– Commercialization – a number of alternatives exist providing ideas for different approaches
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE SMTA (3)
6.7 In the case that the Recipient commercializes a Product
that is a Plant Genetic Resource for Food and Agriculture
and that incorporates Material as referred to in Article 3 of
this Agreement, and where such Product is not available
without restriction to others for further research and
breeding, the Recipient shall pay a fixed percentage of the
Sales of the commercialized Product into the mechanism
established by the Governing Body for this purpose, in
accordance with Annex 2 to this Agreement.
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE SMTA (4)
Annex 2
RATE AND MODALITIES OF PAYMENT UNDER ARTICLE 6.7 OF THIS AGREEMENT
• 1. If a Recipient, its affiliates, contractors, licensees, and lessees, commercializes a Product or Products, then the Recipient shall pay one point-one percent (1.1 %) of the Sales of the Product or Products less thirty percent
(30%);
Supply and Exchange of Tree Germplasm in the Pacific
. 17
Strategy & Action Plans for Forest Genetic Resources
•The first strategy & action plan developed in 1999
• A revised strategy & action plan developed in 2007
• it was adopted by the 3rd Regional Meeting of
HOAFs & 2nd Regional Meeting of MOAF held
in Samoa in September, 2008, as the framework
under which PICs develop and implement
activities and policies for the development of
their forest genetic resources; and
•Establishment of a Regional Tree Seed Centre
and programmes under the centre are the
priority actions agreed in the strategic action
plan.
. 18
Key Thematic Areas for FGR Research & Development
Germplasm
supply and
exchange
Reforestation
& forest
rehabilitation
Food
security,
nutrition
Invasive
species,
Pests &
Forest &
tree products
market
development
Environmental
Services from
forests
Climate
change
Sustainable
Forest
Endangered
species,
populations
& habitats
Community
& agroforestry
Germplasm
supply and
exchange
Reforestation
& forest
rehabilitation
Food
security,
nutrition
& health
Invasive
species,
pests &
diseases
Forest &
tree products
market
development
Environmental
services from
forests
Traditional
knowledge
Climate
change
Sustainable
forest
Endangered
species,
populations
& habitats
Community
& agroforestry
management
management
Establishment of the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
- to assist PICTs to collect and share germplasm of timber, fruit/nut tree and shrub species of high regional importance, species of particular importance for their resistance to cyclones, coastal protection and atolls.
- to act as a centre-of-excellence providing technical support, training, information and advice to member PICTs (seed technology, propagation techniques and establishment of seed production areas for priority species that are hard to collect from the wild).
Equipment Donated from JICA
Tree Seed Storage
Walk-in seed cold storage
Laboratory Equipment for Tree Seed Research
Drying oven, balances (2), microscope, water distillation apparatus, etc.
Forest Genetic Resource Database
Computers (3), GIS software (2), GPSs (2) and digital camera
Total : FJ$118,821.23
Seed Storage and Seed Testing Equipment
Improving Governance and Building Capacities for Safe Movement of Tree Germplasm between Pacific Island
Countries (May 2009-May 2010)
• AusAID Pacific Governance Support Program (PGSP)
• Co-funded by SPC and CSIRO
• Collaborative 1 year project between SPC, CSIRO and 8 Pacific Island Countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu) which aims to:
– work closely with key groups in the Pacific Island Countries e.g. forestry departments, quarantine & biosecurity personnel, to review and assess the relevant issues, risks and constraints which impede the efficient and safe movement of wild and improved tree germplasm between countries
– build capacities for improved governance and intra-governmental linkages to aid safe movement;
– make practical recommendations to minimise the problems
. 23
Strengthening Capacities in Tree Seed Technologies in Pacific Island Countries (July 2011-June 2014)
• AusAID Pacific Public Sector Linkages Program (PSLP)
• Collaborative 3 year project with CSIRO, SPC and 6 Pacific Island Countries (Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu)
• Objectives:
– To improve capabilities of the Regional Forest Tree Seed Centre, the PIC national tree seed agencies and some private sector firms to address their clear and urgent need to collect and share tree germplasm of timber, fruit, nut and shrub species of high regional priority, through provision of advice, information, a comprehensive Tree Seed Training Program and other activities.
Program of activities of the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
1. Development of the Material Transfer Agreement,
2. Additional equipment for the Centre (germination cabinet, seed storage, seed collection equipment, etc.)
3. Additional structural facilities (Seed processing area, greenhouse, nursery facilities, etc,)
4. Identification and Seed Collection of Priority Tree Species
5. Conduct research and training on seed technology and propagation techniques
6. Establishment of seed orchards /seed production areas of priority tree species
7. Publications/Information bulletins, etc.
Priority Tree Species for Attention by the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
Species Occurrence Primary Uses Seed Type
1.Artocarpus altilis
(breadfruit)
Indo, PNG, W Melanesia,
Micronesia
Fruit, multi-purpose recalcitrant
2.Barringtonia species widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
species specific – nut,
multi-purpose,
coastal
stabilisation
recalcitrant
3.Canarium species
(Pacific vars)
widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
edible nut, veg. oil,
timber, firewood
recalcitrant
4.Cocus nucifera
(coconut)
widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
food, coastal
stabilisation,
wood etc.
recalcitrant
5.Cordia subcordata widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
wood for crafts,
coastal
stabilisation etc.
orthodox
6.Endospermum
species (Pacific
vars)
widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
timber, multi-
purpose
variable depending
on species
Priority Tree Species for Attention by the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
7.Flueggea flexuosa
(poumuli)
Philippines to Vanuatu,
exotic in Samoa and
elsewhere
timber, multi-
purpose
orthodox
8.Inocarpus fagifer
(Tahitian
chestnut)
widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
edible nut, wood,
coastal
stabilisation etc.
recalcitrant
9.Intsia bijuga (kwila) widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
timber, multi-
purpose
orthodox
10.Pandandus tectorius widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
food, multi-purpose recalcitrant
11.Pometia pinnata
(tuan)
widely dist. in Pacific, also
elsewhere
timber recalcitrant
12.Pterocarpus indicus
(rosewood)
SE Asia, PNG, SI, Van timber, multi-
purpose
orthodox
Priority Tree Species for Attention by the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
13.Santalum
(sandalwood)
species
Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, New
Caledonia, also
elsewhere
essential oil orthodox
14.Spondias dulcis (…) widely distributed tropics
and subtropics
15.Swietenia
macrophylla
Introduced in many
Pacific countries
timber Intermediate?
16.Tectona grandis
(teak)
Introduced in many
Pacific countries
timber
17.Terminalia species
(Pacific vars)
widely distributed tropics
and subtropics
timber, edible nuts,
multiple uses,
cyclone
resistance
variable, species of
interest most
likely orthodox
Key to the Success of the Operation of the Pacific Islands Tree Seed Centre
• Regional cooperation among member countries to share their genetic resources with other member countries.
• Financial and technical support from international and regional partners of its operational and related activities
