To facilitate exchanges of experience in the risk management of animal and plant genetic resources among APEC economies, the Council of Agriculture (COA) invited 12 APEC economies including Canada to attend the APEC-ATCWG Symposium on Improving and Promoting Risk Management of Agricultural Genetic Resources that takes place between October 14 and 17 at the COA’s Agricultural Research Institute (ARI).

Since preservation and sustainable use of animal and plant genetic resources are the foundation of agricultural development, the COA has paid much attention to the subject. In addition to setting up the National Plant Genetic Resources Center under the ARI, the COA has established the Animal Germplasm Center under the Livestock Research Institute and the Aquatic Animal Germplasm Center under the Fisheries Research Institute. Meanwhile, the COA has pushed for the creation of the Agricultural Technology Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG) under the APEC for the member states to cooperate in the seven areas, including preservation and utilization of animal and plant germplasms, which are high on the list of the APEC’s priorities. During the process of economic development, genetic resources are lost due to either a lack of germplasm preservation equipment or deficiency in the preservation technologies or negligence, leading to irreversible losses, which makes preservation and sustainable management of genetic resources even more important. Thus promoting risk management of agricultural genetic resources has become a critical subject.

Hosted by the ARI, the symposium aims to explore the risk management of animal and plant genetic resources. As well as speeches given by experts and academics from Norway, Canada and the ROC, experts in the preservation of agricultural genetic resources from 12 APEC economies – Canada, the US, Japan, S Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and the ROC – will attend the symposium. In addition, the COA will arrange that the attendees visit the Livestock Research Institute, the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) and the Freshwater Fish Breeding Center of the Fisheries Research Institute in order for them to have a better understanding of what the ROC has done to preserve and utilize agricultural genetic resources