Plant genetic heritage resources: a help in decision-making for collection managers

While we have a fairly clear idea of what is meant by built heritage, the same cannot be said for plant heritage. The Plant Genetic Resources Section of the CTPS has therefore looked into establishing criteria for identifying these resources.

The concept of heritage plant genetic resources is important in the national approach. According to the regulations (article L.660-3 of the CRPM), these resources should be included in the National Collection. Similarly, as part of the official recognition of collection managers, the list of heritage resources present in the collection must be accessible (article D660-3 of the CRPM).

To help collection managers identify these resources, the CTPS Plant Genetic Resources Section drew up a list of criteria in three main categories at its meeting on 24 September: agronomic or genetic, historical or cultural, and environment-specific. These criteria can be used independently or in combination by collection managers.