At the Seventh International Congress on Culture Collections delegates noted with great concern that the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, tailed to fully appreciate the fundamental importance of microorganisms to the maintenance and functioning of global ecosystems. They also recognised that the diversity of microorganisms and cell lines (e.g. viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae, and protozoa) represents a vast, largely untapped source of new genes and organisms essential for developments in medical, industrial, agricultural and environmental biotechnology. The following areas of concern should be addressed as matters of urgency:

I. Delegates resolved that government and non-government agencies at both the national and international level be asked to strengthen their commitment to the following:

• the support of interdisciplinary studies for the search and discovery of new microorganisms and novel products necessary for the advancement of medicine, industry, and agriculture;

• the support of national and international data exchange through the development of data bases, computerised networks and other appropriate systems;

• ensuring that microbial diversity features prominently in all future national and international policies on the sustainability and conservation of the natural resource base; and

• support for the inventory and conservation of microbial resources;

II. The decline in the number of microbial systematists is and will be detrimental to a full expression of biodiversity and the delegates resolved that:

• Universities in particular be encouraged to increase the number of positions and facilities for the training of microbial systematists which is vital for the continued development of applied strategies for biodiversity.
  
  

• Research in microbial systematics and ecology as fundamental sciences necessary for the understanding and exploitation of biodiversity should be encouraged and supported.

III. Financial support to realize all these objectives is required, especially for culture collections which are the conservators of the living gene pool.