It sounds like the International Olive Genebanks are inching towards Article 15 status under the Plant Treaty.
And that may soon include a fourth collection.
Today, a network of 20 national olive germplasm banks is affiliated with the IOC network, which is also connected to the three current international banks located in Córdoba, Spain, Marrakech, Morocco, and Izmir, Turkey.
So what? Well…
Under Article 15 of the International Treaty, international institutions holding collections of crop germplasm can sign agreements with the Governing Body, in order to make the collections available worldwide under the Multilateral System and benefit from financial and technical assistance for maintenance and improvement of the collections.