Highlights and images for 26 March 2025

“Once again, we find ourselves discussing issues on digital sequence information without including peasants,” lamented a civil society participant on a day that drew a larger-than-usual contingent of observers. Continuing discussions from Tuesday on micoorganism and invertebrate genetic resources, delegates to the 20th session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) debated modalities for the establishment of a global pollinator platform, and a potential review of policy, legal, and institutional frameworks related to the use of microbial biological control agents and invertebrate and microbial biostimulants.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Delegates then began consideration of work on plant genetic resources (PGR). Launched on Monday, the Third Report on the State of the World’s PGR was lauded by many participants, who qualified it as a milestone in promoting the conservation and sustainable use of PGR. Several delegates emphasized the importance of international collaboration in facilitating such work, including to establish national genebanks. A call by one country to explore developing a “Red List” to identify PGR at risk of extinction drew broad support. 

The close links between PGR preservation, food sovereignty, and cultural identity were brought to the fore in the afternoon, with one delegate citing the loss of their national genebank due to war, and another calling for greater recognition of the value of native and indigenous seeds. Adding to this, speakers pointed to the critical role of community seed banks and other key local stakeholders in preserving wild species and crop wild relatives, underlining that most landraces are lost if they are not used. 

In the afternoon, delegates endorsed the finalization of two newly developed practical guides for the application of genebank standards – one on species producing non-orthodox seeds and another on cryopreservation techniques. These guides will aid implementation of the Second Global Plan of Action (GPA) on PGR, with positive benefits for related processes such as the International Treaty on PGR. The efficient pace of deliberations began to stutter towards the end of the day as members repeatedly clashed over key issues to be included in the review of the Second GPA.

The day also featured the launch of the Second Report on the State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources.