Crop wild relative checklist and inventory descriptors v.1.
Abstract
To ensure effective and efficient in situ conservation of crop wild relatives (CWR), it is necessary to prepare strategies and action plans. An essential step in conservation planning is the prioritization of CWR species, for which a checklist has to be created, i.e. a list of CWR taxa found in a defined geographic unit (usually a country or region), which comprises a list of taxon names and authorities. This checklist can then be supplemented with information required to prioritize the taxa (e.g. the socio-economic value of the related crops, the actual and potential utilization value of the CWR for crop improvement, its distribution, and its Red List status) resulting in an annotated checklist. Finally an inventory is produced which is a list of priority CWR taxa and ancillary information (e.g. information used to prioritize the checklist, species biology, and current conservation actions). The present list of descriptors for the standardized development of CWR checklists and inventories is based on results from a series of international projects that progressively worked to improve information management related to CWR conservation and use. It is hoped that these descriptors will help to facilitate and streamline the collection of data needed as a basis for developing national CWR conservation and sustainable use strategies.