[5] It was not until 1967 that the term genetic resources was coined by Otto Frankel and Erna Bennett at the historic International Conference on Crop Plant Exploration and Conservation, organized by the FAO and the International Biological Program (IBP)[6][7] “The effective utilization of genetic resources requires that they are adequately classified and evaluated” was a key message from the conference.
After the Second World War, efforts to conserve plant genetic resources came mainly from breeders’ organizations in the USA and Europe, which led to crop-specific collections primarily located in developed countries (e.g. IRRI, CIMMYT).
IBPGR mobilized scientists to create a global network of gene banks, thus marking the international recognition of the importance of plant genetic resources.
Article 15 of the CBD specified that countries have national sovereignty over their genetic resources, but that there should be facilitated access and benefit sharing (ABS) under mutually agreed terms and with prior informed consent.
[11] The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity that was adopted in 2010 and enforced in 2014.
It provides greater legal transparency to policies governing fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.
[12] Due to the high value and complexity of plant genetic resources and the number of parties involved globally, some issues have arisen over their conservation and use.