Rome, Italy
October 5, 2007
The Board of
Bioversity
International held its 30th Board meeting in Beijing, China,
last week. Among the decisions taken, the Board adopted a new
whistle-blower policy for the organization and endorsed the
re-appointment of Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity,
for a further five-year term.
"The Board was uniformly impressed with the DG's performance,"
said Tony Gregson, Board Chair. "The past couple of years have
not been easy and Emile has steered Bioversity with a sure
touch. We all look forward to further development as Bioversity
beds down into its strategy and focus areas."
Frison expressed his gratitude at the Board's confidence. "I
would also like to pay tribute to all the staff who have been so
central to Bioversity's growth and success," he added.
The whistle-blower policy sets out the processes that staff can
use to draw attention to any perceived unethical or fraudulent
conduct within Bioversity. It represents the final policy that
Bioversity needed to adopt to bring the organization fully in
line with the latest suggestions on good governance from the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR), which supports Bioversity and 14 other centres.
"I believe this puts us at the head of the pack for governance,"
Frison said, "and I will be happy to share the results of our
efforts with all the other CGIAR centres."
While in China the Board also took advantage of opportunities to
meet with partners and donors. At a high level meeting with the
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Frison and Gregson
presented Professor Zhai Huqu with a plaque commemorating the
50th anniversary of the foundation of CAAS. Professor Zhai paid
tribute to the long-standing collaboration between Bioversity
and CAAS and the important progress this had produced in the
conservation and use of Chinese plant genetic resources. He also
stressed the need to build on that collaboration.
At the official opening of the Board Meeting Li Zhengdong,
Director General of the Department of International Cooperation
of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, told the Board that "the
Chinese government has given a high priority to agricultural
biodiversity," and that "cooperation between Bioversity and
China ought to be further strengthened."
"All in all it was a very successful meeting," said Tony
Gregson, Board Chair, "and on behalf of the whole Board I would
like to thank everyone who was involved." |
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