“One of the major challenges of the beginning was definitely the size of the steering committee, with 14 members you always have many conflicting interests”, says Marius Ekué when he thinks back to the start of GTTN’s phase 1 in 2011. Ekué, who holds a PHD in Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding, works as a scientific coordinator for Bioversity and was responsible for GTTN Phase 1.
For him the other most memorable challenges in the beginning were the broadening of the spectrum – from stable isotopes and DNA to include wood anatomy and the development of the database – to harmonize the conflicting opinions on how to access and how to share data.
A lot has been done since the first phase of GTTN has started. “Looking back over the past seven years, we can say that most recommendations given so far have been taken either into action or into consideration and that is a great accomplishment for the network already”, reflects Ekué.
Watch the interview to find out more on GTTN’s progress so far and on Marius Ekué’s thoughts on how challenges can be overcome or even avoided in the future.
