Developments in international and national law and policy over the past 15 years have significantly changed the working environment for those who make decisions about plant genetic resources. For example, activities such as collecting samples now require an understanding of access legislation, while plant genetic resources research cannot be undertaken without considering relevant intellectual property rights.
One of the most important of these developments is the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA), the focus of a new online learning module published today by Bioversity International.
And very welcome it is too.