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[exsitu]

Landrace and Heirloom Varieties Critically Endangered and Threatened Cannabis Genetic Resources

'Today distinct cannabis landraces are the most at risk cannabis populations. The introduction of foreign gene pools (particularly modern hybrids) into traditional cultivation regions and centers of diversity threatens the genetically distinct diverse populations in these regions (Wiegand, 1935, Rhymer and Simberloff 1996, Merlin and Clarke 2013).

In 2020 John McPartland and Ernest Small and John co-authored a paper describing landrace populations of cannabis in south and central Asia as critically endangered and in need of immediate conservation action warning “[w]orldwide introgressive hybridization…threatens the agro-biodiversity of C. sativa.” Specifically, “Central and South Asian landraces face extinction through introgressive hybridization.” They argue, “…formal recognition of indigenous Central and South Asian varieties…may help prevent their extinction.” Concluding, “collection and conservation of germplasm of indigenous populations of Central and South Asian landraces in their centers of diversity is urgently needed.” The findings of McPartland and Small echo a common concern emerging in the literature on cannabis genetic resources (Clarke and Merlin 2013, Welling 2016).

Existing heirloom cannabis varieties are also important sources of genetic diversity critically threatened by genetic erosion. We have already witnessed the disappearance of specific traits and varieties that were once ubiquitous though are no longer readily available driven largely by the forces described above in the section on prohibition. Going forward if decisions regarding genetic resources of heirloom and landrace cannabis varieties are left in the hands of government regulators and licensed commercial farms, as market forces and consumer trends increasingly determine what is or is not commercially viable within the regulated markets heirloom and landrace varieties will be increasingly subject to the whims of the market with all of the attendant consequences.

Today, all around the world, cannabis genetic resources are critically endangered. Instead of acknowledging the inherent value of cannabis genetic resources and the threat of genetic erosion policy makers, bureaucrats, law enforcement officials and commercial interests have actively adopted policies and practices that exacerbate the problem and contribute to genetic erosion. In the absence of coherent coordinated international efforts to protect and preserve cannabis genetic resources the urgency of the present moment calls for those of us in the grassroots cannabis movement to organize around concrete strategies to preserve cannabis genetic resources. This column will provide a space for exploring and mobilizing around these concrete strategies to preserve and improve cannabis genetic resources into the future.' - @sungrownmidz Source: https://skunkmagazine.com/cannabis-genetic-resources-the-seeds-of-our-collective-past-present-and-future/