Midrand, South Africa
/11 April 2005 02:15/
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) recommended on Monday the creation of a bank for storing samples of the continent's plant resources.
This should be done "with a view to preserving plant species and reconstituting the vegetation cover in the event of major ecological disasters", says a recommendation adopted at the conclusion of the PAP's third session in Midrand.
Underscoring the importance of agriculture in addressing Africa's food shortages and dependence on imports, the PAP pointed to the need for preserving the continent's rich plant heritage.
It noted "interest" shown by laboratories of developed countries in Africa's resources, to "export them illegally" and their "subsequent large-scale reproduction with a view to marketing them in Africa".
The PAP also noted potential risks posed by genetically modified crops to Africa's own plant species and the health of consumers.
It urged members of the African Union to reinforce legislation relating to the dissemination, storage, marketing and use of plant material, and requested the AU to create a phytogenetic (relating to plants) bank.
It also urged the AU to promote agronomic research for the improvement of plant species "and to create seed banks based on improved species".
Describing the recommendation as "revolutionary", PAP president Gertrude Mongella told reporters after the meeting that this is a timely initiative aimed at building Africa's capacity to protect its own.
"We in Africa are losing ... our crops, our plants in a way that, finally, Africa will have to import the crops back to Africa," she said.
The PAP's third session also recommended that the AU investigate the viability of operating an "African land title system".
This is in the light of widespread conflicts over land ownership on the continent and continuing difficulties facing African people in securing financing because financial institutions require land titles as collateral.
Mongella said the proposal is aimed at ensuring that Africa has a system that allows people to own land. Agriculture is key to eradicating poverty on the continent.
"If we don't have appropriate mechanisms to deal with the land question, we will always have a problem," she said.
"This is a long-term resolution signalling to African states and leadership that we should look into the way we can systematically deal with the land issue in Africa.
"How do we place ourselves on the land? That is the big question."
On security issues, the PAP resolved to send fact-finding missions to Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The missions will assess current conditions in the two conflict-ridden countries and report back to the PAP as soon as possible.
The PAP called on African countries that have not yet done so to ratify a continental peer-review mechanism.
It recommended that the AU speed up peace negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region.
The AU's mandate should be enhanced to include the protection of the people of Darfur, the PAP stated.
It recommended that the AU's Peace and Security Council start urgent consultations with the United Nations Security Council to "facilitate complementality in approaches" to the Darfur crisis. -- Sapa
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