After continuously raising the level of its involvement in China in the past years, CIOPORA is further expanding its activities with a member-driven project. Together with five CIOPORA breeder members, active i.a. in bedding and balcony plants, CIOPORA has initiated a project to support the DUS examination in China. The ultimate goal is to speed up the inclusion of relevant ornamentals into the list of protectable species – the issue that CIOPORA has repeatedly addressed in its advocacy before the competent authorities in China. To initiate the project, CIOPORA has compiled a list of commercially important ornamental species, passing it on to the Chinese officials. The list contains species, that are currently not protectable in China, as well as the species, for which technical guidelines are either have been developed shortly or are still under development.
As it has been agreed with MARA and NFGA, in the framework of the project, a task force of technical experts will be set up to support the development of Test Guidelines (based on the UPOV Test Guidelines). The task force will also provide DUS Examination sites with guidance on handling of the selected species. Currently, four experts have been nominated, but there is room for more CIOPORA members to join.
Experts should:
have detailed expertise in the species they are nominated for;
have a good understanding of how DUS examination is performed under the UPOV Technical Guidelines;
be aware of the CIOPORA Positions on PBR, particularly on DUS examination and Minimum Distance;
be prepared to join one to two missions to China in 2020 to inspect DUS test sites and to participate in meetings with the Chinese PBR Offices.
Nominations are welcome and can be submitted to the CIOPORA office via Email: edgar.krieger@ciopora.org.
Photo credit: Chuttersnap, Unsplash.com.
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