Our food and livelihood security depend on the sustained management of the diverse biological resources that make up the Earth's plant genetic resources. This book is about the creation, management and use of the global crop commons, based upon the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Michael Halewood is a Senior Scientist and Head of the Policy Research and Support Unit at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.

Isabel López Noriega is a legal specialist in the Policy Research and Support Unit of Bioversity International in Rome.

Selim Louafi is based at the Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France.

1. The Global Crop Commons and Access and Benefit-Sharing Laws: Examining the Limits of Policy Support for the Collective Pooling and Management of Plant Genetic Resources Part 1: Setting the Scene: Countries' Interdependence on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Imperative of International Cooperation 2. Demonstrating Interdependence on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 3. Flows of Crop Germplasm into and Out of China 4. Crop and Forage Genetic Resources: International Interdependence in the Face of Climate Change 5. Changing Rates of Acquisition of Plant Genetic Resources by International Gene Banks: Setting the Scene to Monitor an Impact of the International Treaty Part 2: The History and Design of the international Treaty's Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing 6. Brief History of the Negotiations of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 7. The Design and Mechanics of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit Sharing 8. Protecting the Interests of the Multilateral System: The Third Party Beneficiary 9. Plant Genetic Resources "Under the Management and Control of the Contracting Parties and in the Public Domain": How Rich Is the Basket of the Multilateral System? 10. Efforts to Get the Multilateral System Up and Running: A Review of Activities Coordinated By the Treaty Secretariat Part 3: Critical Reflections 11. Experiences of Countries in the Implementation of the Multilateral System: incentives and Challenges at the Country Level 12. From Negotiations to Implementation: Global Review of Achievements, Bottlenecks and Opportunities For the Treaty in General, and the Multilateral System in Particular 13. The Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing: Could It Have Been Constructed another Way? 14. The Moving Scope of Annex 1: The List of Crops Covered under the Multilateral System 15. Building A Global information System in Support of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources For Food and Agriculture 16. Collective Action Challenges in the Implementation of the Multilateral System of the international Treaty: What Roles For the CGIAR Centres? 17. International and Regional Cooperation in the Implementation of the international Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 18. The Evolving Global System of Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources For Food and Agriculture: What Is It, and Where Does the Treaty Fit It? 19. Institutionalizing Global Genetic Resource Commons for Food and Agriculture Index