Two of the work programmes adopted by the CBD concern genetic resources and focus on agricultural biodiversity (Decision V/5, adopted in 2000) and forest biodiversity (Decision VI/22, adopted in 2002). Both programmes largely rely on the initiatives undertaken by specialised international bodies.

The FAO has established an institutional framework, the Commission of Genetic resources for Food and Agriculture, as well as technical management tools. These are organised by two Intergovernmental Working Groups tasked with, respectively, plant genetic resources and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture.

They suggest international actions to the Commission, that meets every two years :

•  " State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources " (1996) and "State of World's Animal Genetic Resources" (in progress), based on national reports ;

•  the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Plant Genetic resources, and the Global Strategy for the management of Farm Animal Genetic resources ;

•  the World Information and Early Warning System ( WIEWS ) on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and DAD-IS , on Domestic Animal Diversity ;

•  an International Network of Ex Situ Collections under the auspices of FAO, with the participation of the international centres of the CGIAR . The FAO relies on international organisations, such as the IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute), for the adoption of descriptors, taxonomic databases, standards and technical guidelines related to the management of genetic resources collections and related data.

The notion of Biological Resources Centres (BRCs) appeared in 1999, in the context of the OECD Working Group on Biotechnology, as an initiative from managers of microbial collections who wanted to set the basis for a reliable use and a service of high quality. The collections of biological materials that meet internationally recognised quality criteria and undergo national certification procedure will become BRCs. The originality of the BRCs reside more in the high standards of quality they advocate in terms of traceability, openness, availability and long-term maintenance, than in their mission itself.

The BRC initiative is not directly part of the international framework for the conservation of genetic resources :

•  its scope covers all biological resources, including those of human origin ;

•  its implementation is strictly voluntary, for the States as for the collections, and is non-legally binding. The initiative does not modify the obligations resulting from international agreements or national legislations ;

•  the initiative does not aim at substituting itself to existing tolls for the management of genetic diversity, whether at national or international level.

On the contrary, the BRC is a natural complement to these tools. Insofar as quality criteria guaranteeing the optimal functioning of biological material collections are identified at the international level, it naturally ensues that the collections tasked with managing the plant, animal and microbial genetic heritage should strive to meet these criteria.