Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives in Natural Ecosystems

The wild relatives of crop plants, which include the progenitors of crops, as well as species more or less closely related to them, constitute an increasingly important resource for improving agricultural production and for maintaining sustainable agroecosystems.  They have contributed many useful genes to crop plants, and modern varieties of most crops now contain genes from their wild relatives.  The wise conservation and use of crop wild relatives are essential elements for increasing food security, eliminating poverty, and maintaining the environment.

Click below to read about three projects regarding the conservation of crop wild relatives.

In Situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives Through Enhanced Information Management and Field Application: A UNDP/GEF PDF B Project

Producing an inventory of wild relatives of crop species in Sichuan.  

Internationally available information sources for the development of in situ conservation strategies for wild species useful for food and agriculture.

 

	Turkey gene management zone