Fifteenth Regular Session Of The Commission On Genetic .

2CGRFA-15/15/Reportand local levels. Ms Collette recalled recent global events where the Commission’s work on geneticresources and biodiversity for food and agriculture plays a key role: the formulation of the post-2015Sustainable Development Goals for adoption in September 2015; the entry into force of the NagoyaProtocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising fromtheir Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2014; and the advances made innegotiations on climate change leading to the Twenty-first Session of the Conference of the Parties tothe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She stressed that the Commission hadan important role to play in these fora. She highlighted that the duty of the Commission is to ensurethat all actors – policy-makers, consumers and the population at large – are informed on the merits andthe need to invest in the conservation of genetic resources and agricultural biodiversity, as this is theway to progress. She noted that the discussions on cross-cutting issues such as access and benefitsharing, climate change, biotechnology, nutrition and biodiversity as well as the targets and indicatorsfor biodiversity for food and agriculture would be of particular importance, in addition torecommendations for the development of the first report on The State of the World's Biodiversity forFood and Agriculture and the finalization of The Second Report on the State of the World’s AnimalGenetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Ms Collette concluded by announcing that Tajikistanhad now joined the Commission, bringing the total number of Members of the Commission to 178,and thanked the Governments of Spain and Germany for funding the participation of delegates fromdeveloping countries in this session. She also thanked the Governments of Spain, Norway, Sweden,Germany and Switzerland for their financial support for the implementation of the Multi-YearProgramme of Work of the Commission.7.The Chair reported on the inter-sessional activities of the Bureau since the Commission’s lastsession. The Bureau had met twice during the inter-sessional period to consider, in particular, theprovisional agenda for this session and to discuss the preparation as well as the meeting schedule ofthe sessions of the Commission’s Working Groups and the Team of Technical and Legal Experts onAccess and Benefit-sharing. The Bureau had also reviewed and welcomed the Implementation Plan forthe Commission’s Multi-Year Programme of Work 2014-2023. At its second – informal – meetingheld on 18 January 2015, the Bureau had briefly considered ways to run the session in an effective andefficient manner.8.Mr Wigmore (Cook Islands), Vice-Chair of the Commission, provided a brief summary of theconclusions of the Special Event on Food Security and Genetic Diversity that the CommissionSecretariat had organized on 16 January 2015 and that was attended by more than 100 participantsfrom a broad range of backgrounds. The participants recognized the role of genetic resources inimproving nutrient content of food products. One of the key messages was the importance ofintegrating the nutritional aspects in crop and animal genetic improvements. He noted that thediscussion of the contribution of genetic resources to food security comes at the right time given theglobal sustainable development agenda. He stressed that the issues are complex and require to beaddressed using multistakeholder and inter-disciplinary approaches, which the Commission is wellpositioned to support. In addition, he mentioned that the development of a common narrative based onevidence, to support coherence and foster dialogue, was considered a necessary first step. Heencouraged countries to reflect on this matter during the meeting.9.The Commission adopted the Agenda as given in Appendix A.II.THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S BIODIVERSITY FOR FOOD ANDAGRICULTURE10.The Commission considered the document Status of preparation of The State of the World’sBiodiversity for Food and Agriculture.1 It took note of the seminar held by the Secretariat on this topicon 17 January 2015. The Commission acknowledged the progress made in the preparation of The Stateof the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. It reiterated that the information is expected tobe preliminary and incomplete in a number of areas and that assessing and highlighting these gaps will1CGRFA-15/15/3.

CGRFA-15/15/Report3be important. It recognized that data collection was challenging for countries and that, given the natureof data, caution should be exerted when compiling information from country reports and drawingconclusions.11.The Commission thanked the countries that have submitted their country reports and invitedthe other countries to submit their country reports by 30 June 2015 and no later than 30 September2015, with the understanding that the draft global report may not be completed fully when submittedto the Sixteenth Regular Session of the Commission. The Commission noted that a simplifiedreporting approach might be adopted by countries to allow them to complete their country reports ontime. The Commission requested its Secretary to continue working towards the finalization of TheState of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture and to submit a draft for consideration bythe Commission at its next regular session, including a report reflecting upon the entire preparationprocess, subject to the availability of the necessary funding.12.The Commission requested its Secretary to continue reporting on the status of preparation ofthe global report at relevant international meetings and ensure that it contributes to the globalbiodiversity agenda, in particular to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the AichiBiodiversity Targets. It invited countries to reflect findings from their country reports as well as anyfollow-up activities in their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. It invited stakeholdersto continue submitting inputs.13.The Commission called upon donors and relevant international organizations to makeavailable extrabudgetary financial resources as well as in-kind support for the preparation of the globalreport, including for regional consultations and the preparation of country reports. It also requestedFAO to provide technical support to countries, including through seminars and training.III.TARGETS AND INDICATORS FOR BIODIVERSITY FOR FOOD ANDAGRICULTURE14.The Commission considered the document Targets and indicators for biodiversity for foodand agriculture.2 It welcomed the progress made in this area and the role of FAO in leading thedevelopment and use of international targets and indicators for biodiversity for food and agriculture.15.The Commission encouraged FAO to continue its work to ensure consistency and coherenceamong the relevant fora and processes, also strengthening cooperation with other relevant institutionsand processes in this area. It requested its Secretary to provide technical inputs to the work of the AdHoc Technical Expert Group on Indicators for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and tocontinue engagement in the post-2015 UN development agenda.16.The Commission requested FAO to continue updating the FAO/INFOODS Food CompositionDatabase for Biodiversity and developing, testing and applying indicators for biodiversity for food andagriculture at the genetic level and, whenever relevant, at species and ecosystem levels. It furtherrequested FAO to continue assisting countries already undertaking food consumption surveys togenerate food consumption data for biodiversity on a regular basis. It noted the difficulties ofcollecting reliable data.Targets and indicators for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture17.The Commission considered the document Targets and indicators for plant genetic resourcesfor food and agriculture.3 It stressed the importance of higher-order composite indices as a syntheticmeasurement of progress in the implementation of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant GeneticResources for Food and Agriculture and for communicating achievements towards the three targets forplant genetic resources for food and agriculture, including to the general public. It endorsed the modelof higher-order composite indices for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and requestedFAO to continue working on and developing the higher-order composite indices.23CGRFA-15/15/4.CGRFA-15/15/4.1.

4CGRFA-15/15/Report18.It requested its Working Group on Plant Genetic Resources to continuously monitor andrevise, if necessary, the application of the higher-order composite indices model based on dataprovided by Members as part of the monitoring of the Second Global Plan of Action. The Commissioninvited all countries that have not yet done so to nominate a National Focal Point for reporting on theimplementation of the Second Global Plan of Action.Targets and indicators for forest genetic resources19.The Commission considered the document Targets and indicators for forest geneticresources.4 It welcomed the progress made and recognized that more work is still needed to finalizethe list of verifiable indicators for monitoring the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for theConservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Forest Genetic Resources.520.The Commission requested FAO to continue the work on indicators for forest geneticresources, in consultation with the FAO Statistics Division, and to coordinate an inter-sessionalconsultative process with the participation of the Working Group on Forest Genetic Resources prior toits next meeting to further refine the list of verifiable indicators and to identify a set of targets for theconservation, sustainable use and development of forest genetic resources as well as a draft schedulefor monitoring the implementation of the Global Plan of Action, for the consideration of the WorkingGroup on Forest Genetic Resources and the Commission at their next sessions. Comments andsuggestions were provided to be considered by the Secretariat in reviewing and revising the list ofindicators.IV.ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING FOR GENETIC RESOURCES FORFOOD AND AGRICULTURE21.The Commission considered the document Draft Elements to Facilitate DomesticImplementation of Access and Benefit-sharing for Different Subsectors of Genetic Resources for Foodand Agriculture6 and took note of related information documents.7 Mr Javad Mozafari Hashjin(Islamic Republic of Iran), Chair of the Team of Technical and Legal Experts on Access and Benefitsharing (ABS Expert Team), introduced the reports of the ABS Expert Team.8 The Commissionthanked the Chair and the Members of the ABS Expert Team for their excellent work.22.4The Commission:(i)welcomed the Elements to Facilitate Domestic Implementation of Access and Benefit-sharingfor Different Subsectors of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ABS Elements), asgiven in Appendix B to the Report;(ii)invited the Director-General to bring the ABS Elements to the attention of the Conference andto invite the Conference to welcome the ABS Elements;(iii)requested the Secretary to develop, upon request from governments, materials for awarenessraising activities for use at national level with regard to access and benefit-sharing fordifferent subsectors of genetic resources for food and agriculture, including on the importanceof ex situ, in situ and on-farm conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture, incollaboration with relevant partners and stakeholders, such as farmers and indigenous andlocal communities;(iv)requested the Secretary to develop, with

and Rapporteur for the Fifteenth Regular Session at its Fourteenth Regular Session in 2013. The Chair of the Fifteenth Regular Session was Mr Amar Tahiri (Morocco). Mr Kailash C. Bansal (India), Ms Paula Rassi Brasil (Brazil), Ms Christine Dawson (United States of America), Ms Elzbieta Martyniuk