Andersen, R. (2008). Governing Agrobiodiversity: Plant Genetics and Developing Countries
The point of departure for the book is how domesticated plant varieties are disappearing at an alarming rate. This loss of biodiversity has negative consequences for food security, traditional small-scale farming, and poverty alleviation. Meanwhile, interest in the commercial use of genetic resources has increased through the development of biotechnologies, and industry is demanding intellectual property rights. This has triggered and affected the formation of various international regimes from different angles and with different objectives. The book analyses the interaction between these international agreements related to plant genetic resources in agriculture. It especially looks into how their interaction affects developing countries.
A key conclusion in the book is that the interaction between the various regimes has had largely negative effects for the management of these vital resources for food security in developing countries - despite other intentions behind the individual agreements. The result is an emerging situation where multiple actors have the possibilities to exclude each other from the use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) that entered into force in 2004 has potentials to change this development, but its success depends on the political will of its Contracting Parties.