Event

Pokljuka, Slovenia, 2-5 July 2019

The workshops took place in Triglav National park, Slovenia from 2 to 5 July 2019 andaimed to consolidate scientific messages for the preparation of the European Genetic Resources Strategy. 29 participants from 12 countries, representing three domains, attended the workshops.

You can read a blog post from the workshop here.

The objective of the workshops was to elaborate consolidated scientific messages for genetic resources (GenRes) practitioners, policy makers and the scientific community based on the shared scientific expertise trying to answer two questions:

How can life sciences and human sciences help GenRes managers to better account for multiple uncertainties in GenRes strategies within the context of global change?

Key messages:

1. Climate change poses a significant threat to genetic diversity.
2. Genetic diversity provides resilience in the face of unexpected change.
3. In order to deploy sources of resilience, diversity has to be identified and characterized.
4. Genetic resources-related policies should be based upon relevant scientific findings.
5. Awareness on the importance of genetic diversity for the survival of the humankind should be raised.
6. Cooperation between formal genetic resources conservation, breeding programmes and community-based conservation initiatives should be improved.
7. Early signs of potential future needs and threats for genetic diversity and genetic resources use have to be detected.
8. Periodic monitoring of the actual impacts of climate change on genetic diversity and on associated organisms is required.
9. Communication between all practitioners involved in genetic resources management and use (gene-bank managers, in situ network managers, breeders, farmers and foresters, protected area managers, etc.), policy makers and scientists, needs to be improved.
10. The traits related to adaptation of genetic resources to climate change need to be given more attention in research.

How can recent scientific evidence help developing and improving the dynamic in situ GenRes conservation strategies and implementing them?

Key messages:

1. Dynamic in situ conservation strategies integrate adaptation to global change into the conservation process.
2. In situ conservation continuously contributes to multiple ecosystem services and benefits to people.
3. Effective and efficient in situ conservation and sustainable use of genetic diversity relies on the participation of multiple actors and coordinated efforts.
4. Coordination of efforts by the various actors involved in dynamic in situ conservation is needed to ensure that the long-term objectives are reached.
5. Coordinated and standardized national inventories of in situ genetic resources have to be prepared and made accessible.
6. Active genetic management including selective breeding for performance traits and evolution-oriented forest management can contribute to in situ conservation “in use” of genetic resources.
7. New operational tools for the in situ conservation of genetic resources have to be developed and practically applied in all domains to increase our understanding and capacity to develop more efficient strategies for genetic resources conservation and use.
8. A commitment and a concept for long-term genetic monitoring are needed to guide in situ conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources.
9. The complementarity between in situ and ex situ techniques can contribute to increase the systematic coverage of genetic diversity under conservation and increase the efficiency of genetic resources conservation.
10. The opportunities for the protection with utilization and valorization of the diversity of genetic resources in various ecosystems should be promoted.
11. Long-term conservation policies, strategies and programmes are needed to ensure dynamic in situ conservation of genetic resources diversity.
12. Cooperation within and across domains at the European scale to develop dynamic in situ conservation strategies of genetic resources is needed.

The common scientific messages formulated as part of these workshops were shared and discussed at the 'Sharing Perspectives' workshop in Tuusula, Finland on 28-30 October 2019.