ABSTRACT
Access to the diversity of genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) is vital for human survival, notably given the current context of climate change. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. E. Ostrom’s work with her eight design principles, the chapter identifies six invariable principles for a Global Seed Commons to effectively function beyond this appropriation paradigm. These are: sustainability; interdependence; the anticommons dilemma; physical and informational components inextricably bound to the use of seeds; the global seed community; diversity, heterogeneity and complexity. Access to GRFA for farmers is an essential component of more sustainable farming. It helps transform local agri-food systems by enabling environmentally appropriate and culturally adapted food production. The chapter concludes that innovative legal frameworks and governance arrangements inspired from the philosophy of the commons may help user to go beyond Ostrom’s views and facilitate access to and sharing of GRFA.
