CWANA Workshop on Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources
This workshop was made possible with the funding of various entities through the two CGIAR initiatives ICARDA is leading (Genebanks and F2R CWANA), the BOLD project funded by Crop Trust, and Benefit Sharing Funds of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
On 5 – 16 December 2022, ICARDA held a Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) Workshop on the Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources in Zahleh, Lebanon. This training workshop is one of many ICARDA climate-smart initiatives that contribute to the protection of the environment and support rural farmers in climate change adaptation. The sessions were attended by over 32 participants; 24 were National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) representatives and students from ten countries in the CWANA region.
The workshop introduced basic concepts on biodiversity and conservation of plant genetic resources, gap analysis, best practices for ex-situ conservation and management of genetic collections, and an introduction to the ITPGRFA, Nagoya Protocol, and plant genetic resources distribution. The participants visited the ICARDA Genebank in Terbol, Lebanon, as part of the workshop. They discussed their own experiences and the challenges of their national genebanks, and they were provided with training on best practices used in ICARDA and CGIAR genebanks.
"This is the first training course we have conducted here in Lebanon since the lockdown due to COVID-19. ICARDA continues to be strongly committed to playing a major role in the capacity development of our national partners. The participants from national institutions and genebanks are key partners and major stakeholders in the global system for the conservation and use of plant genetic resources. The stronger they are, the stronger is the whole global system,” said Dr. Mariana Yazbek, ICARDA Lebanon Genebank Manager and CGIAR Genebanks Initiative Lead, highlighting the importance of the workshop and its impact.
ICARDA and CGIAR have long followed an ethos where we believe that only through strongly aligning and collaborating with national partners can we deliver on our commitment towards biodiversity and environmental health, food and nutritional security, and climate adaptation and mitigation for rural farmers in dry regions.