Nordic wild plant genetic resources

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are species or subspecies of plants that are closely related to our cultivated crops. As such, they have the potential to contribute beneficial properties to crops. They are genetically diverse, locally adapted and represent a potential source of valuable traits for adapting crops to changing environmental conditions and human needs.By 2050, global food production will need to have doubled compared to the turn of the millennium. Accelerating climate change and continuing alarming loss of biodiversity and habitats emphasize the acute need to adopt and implement effective policy measures to prevent further loss of valuable genetic diversity. In addition, safeguarding and properly utilizing these wild genetic resources may contribute to strengthening Nordic plant breeding and, consequently, its competitiveness.All Nordic countries are Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and thereby bound by decisions taken by the Conference. One decisive policy instrument is the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022. With respect to wild genetic diversity, the framework both sets a global goal for 2050 and a specific target for 2030. It is now time for the Nordic countries to implement these policies at the national level.The following set of recommendations – addressing the joint Nordic and the national level, respectively – is the result of a project within the Nordic Council of Ministers Nature-Based Solutions programme. In addition, essential recommendations from the joint Nordic project Access and Rights to Genetic Resources: A Nordic Approach (II), have also been considered.