Conventions and Policies

Introduction

The Kew collections, the breadth of horticultural, educational and scientific expertise of its staff, the extensive research base, and worldwide network, form a unique resource for the UK Government and our partners. This resource also carries responsibilities in the national and international policy arena. Government looks to Kew for advice in areas concerning access to, and the use and management of, plant resources - in all their different forms.  The partner countries that we work with expect Kew to operate best practice and take note of the priorities for conservation and sustainable use set in their laws and policies.  The international framework for these actions lies within the major United Nations environment conventions, and prime among these are the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). 

The Conventions and Policies Science Team concentrates on tracking the major conventions, identifying initiatives relevant to Kew and our partners, briefing Kew staff, advising government, and working to further refine the internal policies and procedures that allow Kew to fulfil its obligations in areas such as access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing. An important aspect of our work is to develop tools which assist the UK and other countries with implementing these conventions – this is the key aim of our research.  The group is a small team concentrated in the Conventions and Policy Section (CAPS) of the Herbarium with strong links to HPE, the Seed Conservation Department, the Jodrell Laboratory, Defra, other European Union Member States, the European Commission and the Convention Secretariats. The mixture of legally trained and scientific staff in CAPS provides the core resource which links Kew with the international environmental policy community.

Kew influences and supports the positive development of these conventions in a number of ways including:

·        direct advice to government based on our scientific, horticultural, policy and practical expertise, for example our role as UK CITES Scientific Authority for Plants

·        direct advice to government based on our policy expertise in areas such as access to genetic resources and benefit sharing, for example input into CBD and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) negotiations

·        making the complex simple, or as simple as possible, for example by producing user-friendly guides on implementation of the Conventions such as our publications CITES and Plants and CBD for Botanists

·        training and advising Kew staff on key measures within CITES and CBD to ensure Kew works within the confines of these conventions

·        negotiating access and benefit-sharing agreements that are practical, promote best practice and support Kew science

·        ensuring that we are best placed to influence negotiations, by ensuring CAPS or other relevant staff are on UK Government delegations at major negotiations

·        ensuring that we are best placed to further key UK and EU international objectives, for example by having a CAPS staff member lead an EU CITES mission on Mahogany to Peru and represent the EU in the CITES Mahogany Working Group

·        working to develop our capacity building programme by providing national and international training on CITES and CBD

·        working with partners to further practical implementation of the Conventions, for example with South Africa on the production of a DNA Banking Manual and with a range of countries through the CITES Plants Committee

·        being a catalyst for CBD and CITES friendly research by supporting Kew staff in their development of Darwin Initiative and other projects