Mariana Yazbek
Genebank Manager – Senior Scientist

Mariana Yazbek is an ICARDA Scientist and the Genebank manager at ICARDA Lebanon, where she is responsible for the conservation and management of the rich and unique “Crop Wild Relatives collection” originating in the Fertile Crescent. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the CGIAR Genebank Platform and acts as a co-chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission - Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group.

Mariana holds a PhD. in Plant Biology (Plant Systematics) from Cornell University. In addition to ex-situ conservation, her research also extends to promoting in-situ conservation of Agrobiodiversity (landraces and wild relatives of agricultural crops) in the MENA region. Mariana is particularly interested in strengthening collaboration with national partners and building national capacities in plant genetic resources conservation.

Mariana Yazbek's Publications

Journal Article
November 09, 2020

Crop diversity underpins food security and adaptation to climate change. Concerted conservation efforts are needed to maintain and make this diversity available to plant scientists, breeders and farmers. Here we present the story of the rescue and...

Journal Article
October 01, 2020

The international collections of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) hosted by 11 CGIAR Centers are important components of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s global system of conservation and use of PGRFA...