Conservation for enhanced utilization of crop wild relative diversity for sustainable development and climate change mitigation 

Problem trying to address (the issue)

Wild plant species related to crop plants (crop wild relatives or CWR) can provide genes that might help in mitigating against climate change. Major scientific advances in cataloguing CWR in the UK and Europe have been made recently and are now influencing policy. The collaboration provided through this project will develop new technologies jointly to demonstrate the value of CWR and influence future policy in both China and the UK.

Contribution to SAIN’s strategic objectives (key outcomes)

Contributes to policy translation, joint research, agricultural sustainability and global sustainable development, by:

•      Advising policy makers in China and UK on the consequences of inadequate conservation of CWR in terms of loss of ecosystems services and reduction in food security

•      Developing and exploiting new ‘omics’ technologies and bioinformatic capability, through the complementary scientific and technological capacities of UK and Chinese experts

•      Improving agricultural sustainability by increasing the awareness of conservation, and identifying appropriately adapted genetic material to combat the effects of climate change

•      Improved knowledge about, and access to, valuable germplasm through improved conservation and use of CWR benefiting global food security worldwide

Benefits

•      Improved knowledge and understanding of the value of CWR leading to positive policy development for conservation of biodiversity at different levels

•      Development of new technologies to enhance use of CWR and its economically valuable genes, so influencing agro-industrial development and food security

•      Strong research collaborations between China and the UK leading to greater influence on conservation, agricultural and research policy in both countries

Partners

This is a consortium project with a large number of collaborating partners, including: University of Birmingham and Rothamsted Research in the UK, and China Agricultural University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Fudan University in China.

Contact

University of Birmingham, UK

Shelagh Kell, s.kell@bham.ac.uk

Brian Ford-Lloyd, b.ford-lloyd@bham.ac.uk

Nigel Maxted, n.maxted@bham.ac.uk"

China Agricultural University, China

Kang Dingming, kdm@pku.edu.cn