ICARDA Caravan 4

pasture and forages; food legumes; industrial crops; and in situ conservation of biodiversity. The Working Groups allow the National Programs of the area to collaborate very closely with other groups, IPGRI and ICARDA. For example, when WANANET reviewed its Phase I in Cyprus during October 1994, the opportunity was taken to discuss among the participants the preparation of country reports on plant genetic resources and sub-regional meetings in preparation for the FAO International Technical Conference (ICPPGR), which took place in Leipzig, Germany, during June 1996. A synthesis report for the Mediterranean, Central and West

Asia was developed and published for the above meetings, in consultation with all concerned parties in the region.

Another example of regional collaboration is the development with ICARDA, ACSAD and national programs of the Near East project entitled Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use of Dryland Biodiversity in the Near East. This project is being formulated in the context of implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Further, the establishment of a Central Asian Network on Plant Genetic Resources (CAN/PGR) last October was a result of a Workshop organized by ICARDA, IPGRI and the Academy of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The workshop was attended by the Central Asian republics, IPGRI (WANA and Europe Groups), ICARDA and the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR, Russia). The first meeting of the CAN/PGR Committee will take place early in 1997 at ICARDA/IPGRI-WANA and will allow Central Asian groups to work closely with other regional organizations.

IPGRI and ICARDA have also worked together on a number of training initiatives. Hands-on practical training courses on documentation, data management and conservation were conducted during 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 at the Genetic Resources Unit of ICARDA. Trainees from Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Oman, Morocco, Syria and Yemen attended this program. And, in collaboration with ICARDA, a training course on documentation was held in Morocco from 20 September to 1 October 1993. The course was designed to provide an overview of procedures and technologies relevant to documentation of plant genetic resources information and to provide hands-on training in data handling and processing.

During 1994, an advanced course was organized jointly with ICARDA on the conservation of plant genetic resources in Aleppo, Syria. The course targeted senior staff involved in coordinating national plant genetic resources programs and/or genebank management. Major aspects of genetic resources management were dealt with in the course, including the legal aspects. Topics on collecting strategies, conservation, characterization, evaluation and utilization were also covered in the course. Lectures were given on in situ conservation, and international treaties--mainly, the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In Jordan, during 1995, a training course on Collection and Conservation of Drylands Genetic Resources was organized by ICARDA and IPGRI-WANA. This was within the framework of the Near East project (Conservation, Management and Sus-tainable Use of Dryland Agro- Biodiversity in the Near East), with the support of UNEP.

Past history has shown how effective a collaborative approach can be in developing regional initiatives. ICARDA and IPGRI have been able to take maximum advantage of their shared interests and close regional proximity.

There are a number of other areas of potential collaboration between IPGRI, ICARDA and the national programs and various institutions committed to protecting the genetic diversity of the WANA region. With continued collaboration, we can work to preserve the region's rich heritage for future generations.

Dr Yawooz Adham is Group Director, Dr Abdullah A. Jaradat is Genetic Resources Specialist and Mr Abdullah Bari is Documentation, Information and Training Officer at IPGRI-WANA Regional Office, Aleppo, Syria.

he West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region is the center of crop origin and biological diversity for several key crops, including wheat, barley, lentil, vegetables, fruit trees and nuts. The whole region is a living genebank, and IPGRI has had a Regional Group dealing with the area for a number of years.

The Regional Office was originally based in IPGRI headquarters in Rome, Italy, but during 1993 it was moved to the campus of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria. The positioning of IPGRI's WANA office inICARDA facilitated the day-to-day operation of the group through the sharing of ICARDA's facilities. ICARDA has been exceptionally generous in making available its services to IPGRI. The ICARDA/IPGRI grouping has also enabled close cooperation between the two centers in dealing with regional and national programs.

The region's diversity is endangered by a number of factors. IPGRI's long-term strategy in the WANA region is to combine work towards achieving IPGRI's own objectives with regional priorities that take into account the rapidly-growing human population, destruction of original habitats of wild relatives of crops, and changes in agricultural practice resulting in rapid genetic erosion of landraces (farmers' varieties).

IPGRI's medium-term objectives have been addressed through specific working groups established by WANANET. This is the WANA Plant Genetic Resources Network, established in 1992 in collaboration with ICARDA, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Arab Center for Studies of the Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), with the participation of national plant genetic resources programs from the WANA region. The working groups of WANANET are: cereals; horticultural crops;

IPGRI-WANA and ICARDA: some

forthcoming activities

International Symposium: IPGRI WANA and ICARDA are working togther to host the International Triticeae Symposium that will take place next year 4-8 May, 1997. The major topics of the symposium are: Evolutionary Genomic Relationships in the Triticeae; Biodiversity and Biogeography; Genetic Resources and Core Collections in Breeding and Research; Evaluation and Pre-breeding of Cereals and Forages; and Quality and Utilization. Just after the Triticeae Symposium (10-14 May, 1997), a symposium on the Origins of Agriculture and the Domestication of Crop Plants in the Near East will be organized by ICARDA, the University of California, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), IPGRI-WANA, the Department of Antiquities of Syria and the Institut Fancais d'Archeologie au Proche Orient (IFAPO).

Training courses

The Moroccan Institute (IAV Hassan II), in collaboration with GTZ, IPGRI and ICARDA, is organizing a course early next year (February-March). The course will be for Francophone countries. The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) with IPGRI and ICARDA are planning to have a joint course during June 1997, to be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The course will be attended by participants from Central Asian countries.