Download The Swedish national programme for plant genetic and

The Swedish national programme for plant genetic and cultural resources
Presented by Jens Weibull, The Swedish Biodiversity Centre,
Box 7007, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
[email protected]
Summarized by Lila Towle, Frøsamlerne
In order to carry out its commitment to the Rio Convention and the FAO Global Plan of Action for
the conservation of genetic resources, Sweden established the Swedish Biodiversity Centre in
1994. As a nation, we have accepted that genetic diversity is an important part of our natural and
cultural heritage. Our future may also depend on the conservation and utilisation of this heritage –
increasing climatic changes place new demands on the adaptation of cultivated plants.
POM, the Programme for the Diversity of Cultivated Plants (Programmet för Odlat Mångfald), is
the national programme responsible for carrying out this mission. POM’s areas of activity include
the collection, description and conservation of PGR; further utilisation of PGR through plant
breeding and cultivation; research and development; education and information; and international
cooperation.
The main current activity of POM is its national surveys of agricultural and horticultural plants.
These plant groups are defined very broadly: not only crops but garden plants, both edible and
ornamental, and park and landscape plants. We emphasize the collection not only of plants as
valuable genetic material, but also their history and the knowledge surrounding their use.
Over a 7 year period, finishing in 2011, we are carrying out a series of “calls” or appeals (Upprop)
with the slogan “Help save our green cultural heritage!”. Some of these are completed, like the
appeal for seed of vegetable varieties under threat of disappearing; others are on-going, such as the
calls for perennials, or more recent such as the call for roses. Other areas being inventoried are
berry crops, fruit and nut trees, bulbs, and ornamental trees and bushes. In each case, the plants we
are trying to find and preserve are those dating from before 1940-1950.
Through these appeals we hope to find and preserve plants with the many unique tastes and
qualities of our past, old varieties and people’s original creations which are well adapted to the
local climate, and generations’ worth of traditions and stories. This is both valuable genetic
diversity and a rich cultural history.
What happens with the plants we find? They are documented and registered, a reference group
decides on their importance and uniqueness, the plants are grown, compared and evaluated over a
few years. Samples of all living material have been placed in the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre,
NordGen, where they are available to the public and to researchers. Plants are placed in collections
or “clonal archives”. Some of these already exist, others are planned as part of the coming national
gene bank with central and local collections for cultivation, research and enjoyment of our plant
heritage.
One of our research and development initiatives is the genetic analysis of the diversity of peas,
roses and apples. Some of the varieties tested turn out to be the same under different names, while
others are unique, previously unknown varieties. We are also developing a digital, searchable
library of historic garden literature.
We publish popular works telling the stories of plants in our collections, the history of various
plants, and the reasons for preserving old varieties. Among these works are detailed guidelines for
those who would like to carry out local surveys – of cultivated plants generally, and separate
guides for spring bulbs and for roses.
Some of our historic varieties are already being served in specialty restaurants as part of the “New
Nordic Cuisine”. Possibilities for future utilisation of our heritage plants include distribution of
plant material which nurseries can propagate and sell.
We believe that POM’s conservation of biodiversity in the long run can lead to benefits to the
environment, to improved food security, increased interest in gardening (social, cultural and health
benefits), and to increased tourism to gardens and living heritage sites.