Discussion on the structural components of a work plan for
GRPI-EA started in mid 2003. For example, the GRPI team
participated in a meeting of the Steering Committee of the
Eastern African Plant Genetic Resources Network (EAPGREN)
in August 2003 in Entebbe, Uganda. The eight member countries
of EAPGREN represented in this meeting indicated that further
collaboration would be desirable. In Bellagio (Italy, September
2003) discussions of stakeholders were held to design the
execution of activities at country level linking them at
sub-regional level. In Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, December 2003)
additional discussions were held during a meeting that followed
a series of policy-related events organized by Bioversity's ABS
Project and an Inter-regional Network Workshop.
Based on these deliberations, GRPI
commenced support for work in Uganda
as a country case study in Eastern Africa in December 2003.
The Initiative is supporting a multi-stakeholder
committee to work through the development of a national
plant genetic resources policy, with a key element being
the implementation of the International Treaty (ITPGRFA,
in the context of FAO).
Over the course of 2005, the GGCO facilitated discussions
between stakeholders in Eastern Africa and the GRPI-Uganda
Task Force to develop activities that will build upon work
undertaken in Uganda by seeking to share experiences with
other countries in the sub-region and catalyse complementary
activities among national and sub-regional organisations.
Objectives
During 2006 GRPI-EA will seek to develop activities for the
implementation of the ITPGRFA that will both reflect the minimal
level of agreed rights and obligations as well as opportunities
to use the Treaty as a framework for the conservation and
use of PGRFA in Eastern Africa. Specifically, the project's
main objectives are:
To enhance the policy and political profile of PGRFA issues
in national and sub-regional policy and political processes
by convening multi-stakeholder policy dialogues.
To promote the development of capacity in policy research,
policy analysis and legislation in the area of plant genetic
resources through targeted training and policy research.
To explore areas of potential sub-regional cooperation on
crop conservation and research.
To strengthen capacity and political will for the implementation
of international frameworks relating to PGRFA in the member
countries of EAPGREN by supporting selected training activities
and multi-stakeholder policy dialogues.
To strengthen the effectiveness of country legal participation
in international negotiations through training and information
provision.
To build the institutional capacity of EAPGREN to coordinate
PGRFA issues at the sub-regional level and to engage with
other partners that are active in this area.
Activities
Preparatory work in four core countries, namely Ethiopia,
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Training course for lawyers and policy makers on the ITPGRFA.
Convene a conference on the implementation of the ITPGRFA.
The conference is intended to bring together PGRFA experts
and practitioners within and outside the Eastern Africa sub-region
to share experiences and lessons in PGRFA policy and legislation,
with the aim of making specific recommendations for coordinated
national implementation of the Treaty.
Convene a regional policy dialogue for members of Parliament.
This will bring together a select group of parliamentarians
from agriculture related legislative committees within the
EAPGREN sub-region to sensitize them on the nature and significance
of the recommendations of the conference (above). It is expected
that this will help build a strong constituency of legislators
at the national and sub-regional level who are ready to champion
the cause of the implementation of the ITPGRFA.
Implementation
GRPI-EA is being implemented by the EAPGREN Secretariat under
the framework of ASARECA. As a network, EAPGREN is also working
with strategic partners based on their competencies to implement
some of the elements of this project. In particular, collaboration
with the NGO Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment
(ACODE) and the GRPI-Uganda Task Force is playing a pivotal
role in this process. The project will also be implemented
in collaboration with the East and Central African Programme
for Agricultural Policy Analysis (ECAPAPA), in order
to make use of the existing platforms in the policy arena
in the region. |
