established to provide for hemispheric and worldwide 

 systems of reserves designed to conserve representative 

 samples of major geographic areas and the genetic 

 materials they contain. This includes a network of 

 research stations that are providing new opportunities 

 for international cooperative activities. 



In this regard, the United states is a party to 

 such treaties, conventions, and programs as the Man and 

 Biosphere Program (UNESCO) , Global Environmental 

 Monitoring System (U.N. Environment Programme) , World 

 Heritage Convention (UNESCO) , Western Hemisphere 

 Convention (Organzation of American States) , Trade in 

 Endangered Species, the International Board for Plant 

 Genetic Resources, and the international agricultural 

 research centers sponsored by CGIAR. We recommend that 

 the United states strengthen its cooperation with and 

 support of these programs to help assure their 

 continuation and expansion to include all important 

 crop plants and their close relatives. 



Germ plasm collections should be made available to 

 all nations. U.S. computer capabilities could be used 

 in developing a worldwide information system on 

 available germ plasm. This work is being implemented 

 for selected crops by the International Board for Plant 

 Genetic Resources, working with the international 

 agricultural research centers and other institutions. 

 However , more complete coverage of crop plants is 

 needed, and identification and preservation of 

 livestock germ plasm also needs greater emphasis. 



Finally, we recommend that the United States assist 

 the development of collections of organisms injurious 

 to all important crop plants and breeds of livestock. 

 Current pest collections are fragmented and incomplete. 

 Often they depend on the interest and dedication of 

 individual scientists, and important collections have 

 been lost due to retirement or death. The problems 

 involved go beyond national boundaries; an 

 international diagnostic service is needed. 



6- Management Systems for Sustained Crop 

 Production on Tropical Soils 



Currently, about 40 percent of the world's arable 

 land is used for agriculture. The bulk of the still 

 unused or underutilized land with agricultural 

 potential is in the tropics, with more than 500 million 

 hectares each in Africa and South America and 200 

 million hectares in Asia. Tropical areas generally 

 suffer from rampant, unplanned clearing and 

 exploitation of forests and savannahs, which often 

 leads to abandonment because of declining soil 

 fertility, severe erosion, poor crop growth, or 



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