CGIAR Regional Program for Central Asia and the Caucasus Annual Report 2006 - 2007

Abstract

In 2006, significant progress was made in the implementation of the UNEP/GEF-supported project on “In situ conservation of crop wild relatives through enhanced information management and field application”. This project addresses national and global needs for food security through effective conservation and use of crop wild relatives, and involves Armenia and Uzbekistan in the CAC Region, as well as Bolivia, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka outside the CAC region. One of the most significant achievements was that all five partner countries forged an agreement to use and share a common national information system, the Genetic Resources Information System (GRIS). Bioversity International is leading the development of GRIS, which will be used in other projects. In addition, field assessments of priority CWR taxa have been undertaken and development conservation actions are being conducted successfully.