Developing an Agricultural Biodiversity Policy for China

Abstract

China does not have an agricultural biodiversity policy. Given the significant size and importance of the country's agricultural resource base, the elaboration of a specific institutional framework for agricultural biodiversity could be instrumental to harmonize the many different and sometimes overlapping or conflicting policies and laws that at present impinge on it. Based on three field experiences, recommendations are made to elaborate a more supportive institutional framework, covering, in particular, recognition, rights, roles, responsibilities, mechanisms, and incentives for community-based and collaborative efforts and innovations concerning in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity as well as crop improvement.

Keywords:

• agrobiodiversity
• China
• food security
• genetic erosion
• participatory plant breeding
• policy development

Acknowledgments

Christine Martins was Director, Sustainable Management of Agrobiodiversity in the Provinces of Hainan and Hunan Project, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Beijing, China. Currently, Freelance Rural Development Consultant, Berlin, Germany.

The authors would like to thank the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Bioversity International, Rome and Beijing, for the support to the policy workshop held on December 1, 2011, which allowed them to come together, share experiences, and write this article. Opinions expressed are those of the authors only. The authors thank Annette von Lossau for her comments on the draft article and two anonymous journal article reviewers for their suggestions to improve the text. Thanks is extended to Hannes Gainsberger for preparing the map.

Notes

1. China has strict regulations concerning the collection of plant genetic resources both for nationals and foreigners. For the import of germplasm, material transfer agreements (MTAs) are used. Access regulations are spelled out clearly, but compliance is not always very rigorous. In addition, provisions about benefit sharing are lacking, for example about how breeders collecting local varieties ought to share benefits with individual farmers or farmer communities holding these materials. The country has not yet signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). According to X. Zhang (2011), the Chinese government is waiting to see what other countries are doing, in particular the United States, Russia, and Japan. The government is also studying what benefits the ITPRGFA has produced to date for countries that signed the Treaty. China, as the second largest holder of accessions in the world, is concerned about how exactly benefit sharing will take place once it has signed on to the multilateral system of germplasm exchange (X. Zhang 2011). China is a member of International Union for Plant Variety Protection (UPOV) and ratified the 1978 act. China is under a lot of international pressure to “upgrade” to the 1991 act, but has resisted so far because it aims to balance plant variety protection (and breeders’ rights) and farmers’ rights. There is a growing concern among policy makers and scientists as well, about registration and recognition of farmers’ varieties as well as about domestic seed production, and the roles both play in sustainable agricultural development. The MoA, as part of the development of a national Strategy for Intellectual Property Rights in Agriculture, is drafting the Regulation on Agricultural Genetic Resources Ownership Registration, which is waiting to be reviewed. The envisaged regulation (for which no implementation date has been set yet) aims to clarify ownership concerning crop improvement processes including with regards to farmers’ varieties. This regulation recognizes the important roles played by farmers and local communities and offers them more protection than was previous the case.

2. Policies and laws include the 1982 Constitution, the agricultural development policy, the 2009 National Biodiversity Protection Strategy and Action Plan, the 2007 Outline of a National Program on Conservation and Use of Biological Species, the Environmental Protection Law of 1989, the Grassland law of 1985, amended in 2002, the Agriculture law of 1993, amended in 2002, the Seed law of 2000, amended in 2004, the 2003 Rules for Management of Genetic Resources of Agricultural Crops, the Patent law amended in 2009 now including an important article [26] on Disclosure of Origin of Plant Genetic Resources in line with the CBD), and the 2011 Law of Cultural Heritage. These laws are complemented by a series of regulations on the Protection of Wild Plants (approved in 1996), New Plant Varieties Protection (approved in 1997), Multiplication of Main Food Crops (approved 2001), Agricultural GMOs (approved in 2002), Approval of Import and Export of Livestock Genetic Resources and International Collaborative Research Using Livestock Genetic Resources (approved in 2008). For more details, see, Qin 2010; Xue 2011; Wang 2012; Zhang 2011; Song et al. 2012.