Taking Action for Nature

CBD COP17 brings the world together in Yerevan, Armenia, for a shared purpose: to act for nature and the well-being of communities and future generations.

Our side events

CGIAR Pavillion

Unlocking opportunity crops for healthy diets and climate resilience

Monday, 26 October | 16:00
Co-organizers: International Potato Center (CIP), Peru’s Ministry of Environment (MINAM), International Plant Treaty, Crop Trust, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Alliance Bioversity and CIAT

Opportunity crops have an untapped potential for healthy diets and climate resilience. They can diversify food systems, but farmers’ limited access to quality seed remains a major barrier. In Zanzibar, Mariam Salim demonstrates their potential: after training in amaranth seed production, she sold 150 kg of seed in one year, earning US$450. A new Food Security policy framework proposes six actions to scale such successes, from prioritizing and conserving crop diversity to variety registration and seed delivery. This side event brings together CGIAR, government and international partners to discuss how these recommendations can translate into action from seed to plate

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Official Side Event

Multilateral cooperation for plant conservation and food security - implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Monday, 26 October | 18:15
Co-Organizers: International Plant Treaty, NordGen, CGIAR, Alliance Bioversity and CIAT, Crop Trust

This side event will bring together the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and key partners, including the Crop Trust and NordGen, to showcase how international cooperation on crop diversity conservation is supporting the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Participants will explore the Treaty’s role in facilitating access to plant genetic resources, supporting genebanks and benefit-sharing, and generating data to inform decision-making. The event will also feature regional experiences in Treaty implementation and highlight the "Journey of Seeds" from farmers’ fields to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, demonstrating how local, national, and international efforts work together to safeguard crop diversity for food security and sustainable agriculture.

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Nordic Pavilion

Genebanks for Biodiversity: How to Unlock the Potential of Plant Genetic Resources in the Genebank System and Increase the Sustainable Use of Underutilized Crops

Wednesday, 28 October | 10:00 - 11:00
Co-organizers: NordGen

A wide range of crop diversity is important for increasing agricultural resilience to climate change, pests, and diseases, and for providing better nutrition. More than 850 genebanks around the world collectively conserve almost 6 million samples of crop diversity. These collections contain genetic diversity of crops with great value for food and agriculture, but today, many of these resources are only marginally used in our modern food systems. For example, only six crops (rice, wheat, maize, potato, soybean, and sugarcane) account for more than 75% of total plant-derived energy intake.

So how can we increase the sustainable use of plant genetic resources stored in genebanks to enrich the production of food, fodder, fiber, and medicines? This side event will focus on the role of genebanks in creating sustainable food systems and highlight the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. The speakers will also present current initiatives on underutilized crops and look ahead to identify the key actions needed to unlock the full potential of the world’s genebank collections.

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Official Side Event

Biodiversity for Food Security: Mobilizing Plant Genetic Diversity for Resilient Food Systems

Wednesday, 28 October | 10:15
Co-organizers: Alliance Bioversity and CIAT, Crop Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, New York Botanical Garden, International Plant Treaty

This session will explore how conserving and using plant genetic diversity can help deliver the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework while strengthening resilient food systems and livelihoods. Bringing together leaders from botanic gardens, genebanks, research institutions, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, farmers’ organizations, governments, donors and the private sector, the discussion will highlight the critical role of crop diversity and crop wild relatives in addressing food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss. The event will showcase opportunities to better connect conservation efforts with seed systems, agricultural landscapes and value chains, while promoting collaboration, investment and policy solutions that support the conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits from plant genetic resources.

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Nordic Pavilion

From an Arctic archipelago to global food security: How the Svalbard Global Seed Vault safeguards the world’s crop diversity

Wednesday, 28 October | 12:00
Co-organizers: NordGen, Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Crop Trust, International Plant Treaty

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the world's largest backup facility for crop diversity, making it a crucial outpost for global food security. Today, the Seed Vault contains more than 1,4 million seed samples of more than 6,500 plant species from 134 depositors. In this -18°C facility, genebanks are offered free black-box safety deposit for seeds that are vital to the world’s food supply. Altogether, the seed samples in the Seed Vault originate from almost every country in the world.

This side event will focus on the mission of the Seed Vault as an ambassador for the conservation of the world's plant genetic resources. The program will also highlight the importance of safety backups of seed collections and provide practical information for potential depositors.

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Official Side Event

Genebanks for the Future: Conserving Crop Diversity through Global Cooperation

Wednesday, 28 October | 12:00
Co-organizers: NordGen, Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Crop Trust, International Plant Treaty

This event will highlight the vital role of genebanks in implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by conserving and making available the crop diversity needed for food security, climate resilience and sustainable development. The discussion will showcase how national and international genebank systems work together to conserve, share and support the use of plant genetic resources. Set in Armenia, a country rich in agricultural biodiversity and crop wild relatives, the event will explore successful models of international cooperation, scientific collaboration and long-term investment that help safeguard agricultural biodiversity and strengthen resilient food systems for future generations.