Ford-Lloyd, B.V., School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Schmidt, M., Organization for International Dialogue and Conflict Management, Vienna, Austria
Armstrong, S.J., School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Barazani, O., Israel Plant Gene Bank, Institute of Plant Sciences, Bet-Dagan, Israel
Engels, J., Bioversity International, Rome, Italy
Hadas, R., Israel Plant Gene Bank, Institute of Plant Sciences, Bet-Dagan, Israel
Hammer, K., Kassel University in Witzenhausen, Germany
Kell, S.P., School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Kang, D., Plant Genetic Breeding Department, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Khoshbakht, K., Kassel University in Witzenhausen, Germany
Li, Y., Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Long, C., Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, China
Lu, B.-R., Fudan University in Shanghai, China
Ma, K., Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Nguyen, V.T., Hanoi University of Agriculture in Hanoi, Vietnam, Viet Nam
Qiu, L., Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Ge, S., Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Wei, W., Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhang, Z., Bioversity International, Beijing, China
Maxted, N., School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

The world's wealth of plant genetic resources has much value for world food security, but these resources are under considerable threat. Crop improvement, particularly under climate change, depends on the genetic diversity of our plant genetic resources, which are arguably inadequately conserved and poorly used. There is wide recognition that the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 targets to reduce the loss of biodiversity have not been met. Biodiversity is at risk from multiple threats, including climate change, and the genetic diversity contained within plant genetic resources, particularly of species that are wild relatives of our crops, faces similar threats but is essential to our ability to respond to the new stresses in the agricultural environment resulting from climate change. It is important to consider the genetic value of these crop wild relatives, how they may be conserved, and what new technologies can be implemented to enhance their use. © 2011 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.