There is a strong social and ethicalpolicy context to plant genetic resources conservation and use. This is achieved by providing the historical background, introducing the major conventions, treaties and agreements, as well as the key stakeholders from the formal and informal sectors that are concerned with plant conservation, use and the equitable sharing of benefits. An attempt is made to assess the impact of the CBD and other conventions and to provide a balanced summary of the continuing debate on key issues such as ex situ versus in situ conservation, hotspots of botanical diversity and ex situ conservation and plant breeders’ rights, farmers’ rights, access, release of transgenic plants and sustainability both in conservation and use.