Keeping germplasm flowing
Abstract
Recognition is growing that successful adaptation of agricultural production systems to changes in climate will depend upon the improved access to, and use of, genetic diversity. In order to facilitate this adaptation, the centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR Centres) are deploying new forms of interdisciplinary research, new technologies, novel partnerships and policy instruments. The new CGIAR research directions have led to a series of policy and legal questions concerning access and use of germplasm and related technologies, in particular with regards to the role of the private sector. CGIAR Centres do not have had a clear and consistent approach to deal with IPR issues, but a new system-wide policy has recently been approved. Climate change per se is not leading to any particular new policy and legal issues including concerning intellectual property. However, researchers of the CGIAR Centres recognize that an increasingly restrictive institutional environment may, in the longer term, have a serious impact on the development of (new) strategies to adapt to climate change based on the use of plant genetic resources.
Citation
Vernooy, R.; Halewood, M.; Galluzzi, G.; López-Noriega, I. Keeping germplasm flowing. Journal of Public Interest in Intellectual Property (2012) 1 (2) 1-13.
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