Crop wild relatives (CWR) are the group of plant species, which are more or less closely related to crops and to which they can potentially contribute traits (resistant to stress, disease, drought and other factors) desired by plant breeders. They are of increasing importance because of the traits that they are likely to provide for climate change mitigation, thus they will play a key role in future food security. Although historically CWR have primarily been conserved ex situ in gene banks, it is now widely recognized that due to the large number of CWR species and the need to sustain pest/disease/CWR co-evolution, in situ conservation is the most desirable conservation option. However, there are few recognized methodologies for in situ CWR conservation and few practical case studies.
The book is based on experience gained during a recent Global Environmental Facility research project coordinated by Bioversity International to develop and test methodologies, and provides the most detailed exemplar case studies thus far of in situ CWR conservation from five countries across the globe. The 16 chapters introduce CWR science, in situ conservation planning, in situ conservation establishment, major threats and raising awareness of CWR diversity. The chapters are very well written and provide a fair overview of the existing literature, but the editor should be commended for the integration of practical experience gained from the five country studies into the description of each facet of in situ conservation planning and establishment. The need to adopt a participatory approach is rightly stressed, though perhaps it would have been helpful to the reader to hear more of the problems, which the project encountered during implementation. For example, several projects have experienced difficulty in integrating the work of the agrobiodiversity and protected area communities, did this prove problematic in the five project countries? Also I would have liked to have seen a chapter dedicated to ex situ CWR conservation, although the focus is clearly on in situ conservation, with climate change, the major concern of contemporary conservation, it would be foolish to see in situ in isolation, ex situ CWR conservation is a necessary safety backup.
There have been several texts published in recent years that address CWR conservation, but this is a significant addition, and despite some minor quibbles, I recommend this text to all interested in agrobiodiversity and protected area conservation.
