'It is clear that we should accelerate our efforts to improve the production and consumption of crop plants. It is in this context that the present manual on in situ conservation of crop wild relatives is a timely one. It will help to rekindle interest in the wild relatives of crop plants and help to initiate a climate resilient food security system, based on the widening of the food basket....I hope this book will be widely read and used for saving plants in order to save lives and livelihoods.' Professor M S Swaminathan'It is our hope that through these pages we can conserve and promote crop wild relatives as an efficient way to build sustainable development and protect against famine and the effects of climate change worldwide.' Monique Barbut (Chief Executive Officer, Global Environment Facility) and Achim Steiner (UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme)'This is a fine and welcome book that both demonstrates the enormous value of conserving plant resources and shows clearly how they can be used to help in the continued improvements of agricultural systems. This emerging recognition of the importance of conservation of crop wild relatives in situ has significance for social and ecological systems worldwide, and will require adoption of the new practices and policies set out here.' Professor Jules Pretty, OBE, Professor of Environment & Society, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, UK 'Whoever really cares for the future of mankind's food should read this book. Crop wild relatives have been the genetic mine from where most of our variety of cultivars originate, and are essential for attaining a sustainable agriculture.' Professor Jose Sarukhan, Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico