Showing papers on "Convention on Biological Diversity published in 2002"

Genetic diversity and conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources

Abstract: Biodiversity refers to variation within the living world, while genetic diversity represents the heritable variation within and between populations of organisms, and in the context of this paper, among plant species. This pool of genetic variation within an inter-mating population is the basis for selection as well as for plant improvement. Thus, conservation of this plant genetic diversity is essential for present and future human well-being. During recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the importance of adopting a holistic view of biodiversity, including agricultural biodiversity, conservation for sustainable utilization and development. These principles have been enshrined in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Plan of Action of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The emphasis is now to understand the distribution and extent of genetic diversity available to humans in plant species, so that the genetic diversity can be safely conserved and efficiently used. It is generally recognized that plant genetic diversity changes in time and space. The extent and distribution of genetic diversity in a plant species depends on its evolution and breeding system, ecological and geographical factors, past bottlenecks, and often by many human factors. Much of the large amount of diversity of a species may be found within individual populations, or partitioned among a number of different populations. A better understanding of genetic diversity and its distribution is essential for its conservation and use. It will help us in determining what to conserve as well as where to conserve, and will improve our understanding of the taxonomy and origin and evolution of plant species of interest. Knowledge of both these topics is essential for collecting and use of any plant species and its wild relatives. In order to mange conserved germplasm better, there is also a need to understand the genetic diversity that is present in collections. This will help us to rationalize collections and develop and adopt better protocols for regeneration of germplasm seed. Through improved characterization and development of core collections based on genetic diversity information, it will be possible to exploit the available resources in more valuable ways.

Towards a methodology for on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources

Abstract: The signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the ``Earth Summit'' in 1992, its ratification and its subsequent entering into force have highlighted the need for an approach to biodiversity conservation that employs both ex situ and in situ techniques in a complementary manner. Though much research has focused on ex situ techniques, less progress has been made in developing methodologies for the conservation of genetic diversity in situ. The definition of in situ conservation used in the Convention on Biological Diversity encompasses two distinct processes: conservation of wild species in genetic reserves and of crops on-farm. Of these two, the latter, where the genetic diversity of crop land races is conserved within traditional farming systems, has been the less studied and remains less well understood. While there are still relatively few practical examples of on-farm genetic resources conservation, most genetic diversity of immediate and potential use to plant breeders is found among land races, and there is evidence that it is being rapidly eroded. This paper attempts to set on-farm conservation within the context of plant genetic resource conservation as a whole, to introduces a possible generalised model for the conservation of genetic diversity on-farm and to promote debate around the science of on-farm conservation.

Conserving the peace : resources, livelihoods and security

Abstract: As one of the world’s last remaining strongholds of unexploited resources, tropical forests often serve as a point of contention as they become the focus of social, ecological, political and economic changes. Poor management of forest resources and the absence of an established set of equitable sharing principles among contending parties lead to shifts in resource access and control. Resulting tensions and grievances can lead to armed conflict and even war. Many governments have contributed to conflict by nationalizing their forests, so that traditional forest inhabitants have been disenfranchised while national governments sell trees to concessionaires to earn foreign exchange. Biodiversity-rich tropical forests in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Indochina, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Central Africa, the Amazon, Colombia, Central America and New Caledonia have all been the sites of armed conflict, sometimes involving international forces. While these conflicts have frequently, even invariably, caused negative impacts on biodiversity, peace is often even worse, as it enables forest exploitation to operate with impunity. Because many of the remaining tropical forests are along international borders, international cooperation is required for their conservation; as a response, the concept of international “peace parks” is being promoted in many parts of the world as a way of linking biodiversity conservation with national security. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force at the end of 1993 and now has nearly 180 State Parties, offers a useful framework for such cooperation. Overview A – Biodiversity, Conflict and Tropical Forests

The CBD - Key Characteristics and Implications for Implementation

Abstract: The UN-sponsored series of world summits throughout the 1990s was an important innovation in global governance. The first of these, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), provided an unprecedented forum for focusing worldwide attention and action on sustainable development. As the largest gathering of heads of state and government in human history, the UNCED also served as a crucial incentive for concluding two treaties: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At the UNCED, a record 157 countries signed the CBD. Following ratification by the requisite number of countries, the CBD entered into force in December 1993. 1

The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Climate Change Convention 10 Years After Rio: Towards a Synergy of the Two Regimes?

Abstract: At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro two key agreements were adopted: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for the preservation of biodiversity on Earth. Ten years after these treaties were concluded, the possible entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol (the Protocol) to the UNFCCC may threaten biodiversity conservation by enhancing sinks activities. In this article, implications of the interrelationship between carbon offsets and biodiversity are analysed. The regime on sinks activities in relation to forestry under the Protocol and its Marrakesh Accords (adopted in November 2001) is presented, and the expected impacts on biodiversity from the use of sinks through forestry activities proposed under the Protocol’s regime are analysed. In this article, the relationships between the Protocol and the CBD are investigated to assess possible conflicts and to suggest legal solutions for reconciling the two regimes.

Science and the Convention on Biological Diversity

Abstract: Can a treaty concerning all of life on Earth make a practical difference to scientists? As countries implement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) work programs, apply its guidelines, and execute national strategies, its influence on science is likely to grow. CBD-compliant national laws and policies already set priorities for research and affect the way in which scientists can access and use genetic resources. Scientists and scientific organizations are urged in this [Policy Forum][1] to weigh in when the Conference of the Parties to the CBD meets in The Hague in April to discuss conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5564/2371

Biodiversity Update--Progress in Taxonomy

Abstract: Taxonomy and systematics underpin our ability to conserve and benefit from biodiversity in sustainable ways as envisaged under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Despite progress in phylogenetics towards reconstructing the "Tree of Life" and in biodiversity informatics, the fundamental documentation of species necessary to complete the inventory of life has lagged behind. It is argued that this reflects a lack of appreciation of the role played by species-level taxonomic information in underpinning conservation and sustainable use and under investment in the relevant institutions at the expense of supporting the centralised financial mechanism of the CBD.

Biodiversity management and local livelihoods: rio plus 10

Abstract: Despite the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, the world’s biological resources continue to be lost at an alarming rate, and particularly so in developing countries where many of the remaining resources are concentrated. Both inside and outside protected areas, biological resources, their management, and people’s livelihood systems are complex and intricately inter-connected. While conventions are signed globally the implementation of provisions has to be local, and prospects for success depend on assessment of likely costs and benefits among stakeholders at various levels, and the resolution of conflict of interest among them.

The Convention on Biological Diversity: An Institutionalist Perspective of the Debates

Abstract: Biodiversity came out as a global issue from the mid 1980s, under the pressure of converging forces: the threatening increase in species extinction and the changes in the theory as well as in the practice of nature conservation, but also the expansion of genetic engineering and the intrusion of industrial interests into areas from which they had been hitherto excluded. These elements have participated in the development of utilitarian perceptions of nature, reduced to a set of resources thanks to new technologies that have made its extensive economic exploitation possible. The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is in line with this approach (UNEP 1992). Indeed, the Convention rests on the notion of sustainable use of biological resources (first article), that is, an exploitation that meets the criteria of efficiency and equity and is meant to finance conservation but also to foster development in countries of the South and to benefit pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The Convention presents the definition of adequate property rights to biological resources and related knowledge as an essential prerequisite for the institution of the sustainable use—hence of the conservation—of biodiversity. This analysis comes to adhere implicitly to the conventional view of biodiversity erosion as a consequence of the appropriation failure that prevailed prior to the adoption of the Convention. Transnational corporations then had free access to indigenous resources—including knowledge—and after screening they could patent parts of these resources or their applications, depriving their former holders of their traditional use rights, as attested by the examples of neem in India or yellow bean in Mexico, both patented by American

The Global Taxonomy Initiative in Africa

Abstract: The Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has recognised the currently existing taxonomic impediment to ensure the conservation and management of the world's biodiversity. In response, COP has formulated the concept of a Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) to promote a concerted effort among international funding agencies, national and sub-national governments, and non-governmental bodies. The GTI Africa Regional Workshop was held at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa, from 27 February to 1 March 2001. The Workshop was attended by a total of 43 delegates, representing 32 countries (23 African) and 36 institutions or organisations. The Kirstenbosch Declaration was compiled during the Workshop and summarises the major decisions and proposals made by the delegates at the Workshop. A Final Report summarising the discussions and decisions from the GTI Africa Regional Workshop is being prepared and will be distributed to all interested parties. A taxonomic needs assessment for Africa has been conducted as part of this project. The results from this first ever comprehensive taxonomic needs assessment covering plants, animals and micro-organisms for the African continent as a unit, are reported on here and forms an important part of the Final Report. The needs assessment highlights the prominent taxonomic impediment currently existing in the continent. Taxonomic capacity building is urgently needed in Africa; therefore, African taxonomic institutions can benefit immensely from the Global Taxonomy Initiative.

Ethnobotanical research into the 21st century.

Abstract: In 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was created at the Earth Summit in Brazil. Since that time, numerous individuals and organizations working on the sustainable development of biological and cultural diversity have faced both significant support and criticism for conducting field research with local healers throughout the world. This paper describes the specific approach and activities undertaken by a collaboration of two primary groups, Shaman Pharmaceuticals and the Buganda Traditional Healers Association. The political setting and languages spoken are presented along with a description of the incidence of diabetes. An ethnomedical approach to identifying plants to treat diabetes is also described. Details on the process of project development and prior informed consent are presented within the context of the CBD. Data on the multiple projects funded as part of immediate, medium and long-term benefit sharing are presented on two distinct research expeditions. A discussion on the return of data from plant screening and follow-up fieldwork is also presented.

BIODIVERSITY AND TOURISM Impacts and Interventions

Abstract: This paper sets a framework for intervention in the relationship between biodiv- ersity and tourism against the background of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is argued that intervention cannot and should not only be based on considerations of measur- able impacts of tourism on biodiversity alone. This action should also be weighed against arguments of legitimacy, feasibility, and effectiveness of its various types. Currently, feasibility seems to be the main principle on which interventions are based. As most instruments are non-compulsory, they are effective only to a limited extent. For reasons of legitimacy, the position of small-scale entrepreneurs should receive more attention in international and national policy debates. Keywords: biodiversity, interventions, sustainable development. 

'Talking' and 'Doing' Gene-Technology Politics: A Policy Analysis.

Abstract: This thesis explores the environmental politics surrounding agricultural biotechnology innovations and diffusion. Recent developments in agricultural biotechnology are accompanied by growing social concerns that such innovations pose risks to the environment and to human health. Biosafety is a term used to discuss the possibility of such risks. Currently, the regulation of agricultural gene-technology and biosafety are contentious environmental issues for national and international policy communities. However, detailed studies of the conflicts and complexities generated by biotechnology for environmental governance are scarce. In particular, little is understood of the ways in which biotechnology issues emerge on regulatory agendas, and research gaps remain on how differing perspectives of biotechnological risks impact on policy outcomes. This thesis makes a significant contribution to these outstanding research issues. My contribution is a new analytical framework that unearths the discursive role biotechnology plays in constructing international environmental policy regimes. I develop this framework on the understanding that the use of language resources like storylines, metaphors and other rhetorical devices are critical in shaping environmental policy in general and biotechnology governance in particular. This analytical framework couples a language analysis to an investigation of the practices of institutional power. The result is a discourse analysis that provides important and useful insights into the theory and practice of biosafety policy. In other words, my thesis explores both the ‘talking’ and the ‘doing’ of policymaking and thereby provides new insights into the contested and uncertain environmental policy area of international gene-technology regulation. Specifically, I undertake a discourse analysis of international biosafety politics within the Convention on Biological Diversity. I apply my discourse analysis to a case study: the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2000. My research provides a different reading of international gene-technology politics, one that

The CBD at ten: The long road to effectiveness

Abstract: This article reviews progress and challenges in the implementation of the Convention on biological diversity since its adoption in 1992. Progress has been significant in many ways, although difficult to measure beyond procedural improvements (creation of new institutions, guidelines, national processes) and the development of new tools. Many challenges remain, both at the level of the operation of the regime and of national implementation, in part due to the nature of the convention and the complexity of its relationships with other regimes. Since knowledge about the state of biodiversity is scant and indicators poor, the argument is advanced that we should assess CBD's success and effectiveness by its ability to promote several of the preconditions of regime effectiveness. Accordingly, this article considers the record of the CBD in terms of learning, capacity‐building, network building, transparency, and the elaboration and diffusion of new norms.

Sharing Agriculture's Genetic Bounty

Abstract: L ast November, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization adopted the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. To date, 53 countries have signed the treaty; 7 countries have officially ratified it. Forty are required to do so before it will enter into force. The treaty has the potential to become the principal international legal instrument governing transfers of crop genetic materials. As such, it would both underpin and shape crop-improvement efforts and, one might argue, agriculture itself. No trivial matter. The acquisition, control, and exploitation of economically valuable plants has fueled international conflict ever since Queen Hatshepsut, the first Pharaoh, sent her army on a plant-collecting expedition to East Africa in 1482 B.C. Today's disputes are resolved through more diplomatic displays of power. This new treaty caps 20 years of acrimonious UN debate over the rules of access and benefit-sharing for one of the most important resources on Earth—the genetic materials used by plant breeders of wheat, maize, rice, and other crops. Genetic resources of specified crops are to be made available automatically to all contracting parties under the terms of a yet-to-be-finalized Material Transfer Agreement, which will mandate royalty payments into an International Fund under certain circumstances. The money—no one expects it to be much—will go toward conservation and breeding programs, primarily in developing countries where so much of the genetic diversity upon which agriculture is based originated. In the closing session, weary negotiators bequeathed a number of difficult issues to the treaty's future governing body, including the level and form of payments to be made to the fund. They also confined the number of crops covered by the treaty to the 35 they decreed to be important to world food security. Their politically motivated cautiousness resulted in the nutritionally indefensible inclusion of asparagus and strawberry and the exclusion of certain globally important crops such as soybean and peanut. Most vegetables, fruits, and tropical forages, as well as all industrial crops, were excluded and are thus outside the scope of the agreement. Mistrust between developed and developing countries also prompted negotiators to saddle the governing body with a cumbersome one-country, one-veto decision-making process, a decision that will constrain the “evolutionary” potential of the treaty itself, reducing the possibility that future deliberations might correct past mistakes. Despite these shortcomings, the treaty is better than the alternative. Currently, access to genetic resources is by “prior informed consent” and on the basis of “mutually agreed terms” with “countries of origin” under the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. With the convention, the notion that plant genetic resources are the “common heritage” of humankind yielded to assertions of national sovereignty, visions of financial rewards, and restrictions on access. Countries saw themselves as sellers of genetic resources. The problem? Nobody's a buyer. Countries still routinely deny access, even to plant-collecting missions organized to rescue unique populations from the threat of extinction. Recent efforts to collect and conserve wild relatives of peanuts in Bolivia and papaya in Colombia have been turned back, perhaps because these countries, like others, equate potential usefulness with current (and substantial) monetary value. Controversies over intellectual property rights and charges of “biopiracy” have fueled passions and convinced many countries that they are sitting on genetic gold mines. The value of a single sample in a long-term breeding program involving hundreds or thousands of crosses would be difficult to determine, however, and almost impossible before it is even collected. But the value, in dollars, is certainly small and well below the expectations of those who vigilantly guard against the threat of exploitation. Transfers of genetic materials for research and breeding have thus slowed to a trickle, arguably damaging future crop-improvement efforts as the planet races toward a population of 8 billion. Plant genetic resources are more valuable, economically and practically, as a public good than as a commodity. As a commodity, they're a flop. Exchanged and used, they bring enormous benefits. Witness the contributions to productivity and food security for the poor made through deployment of these resources in the breeding programs of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), as recognized by the Nobel and World Food Prize juries. The new treaty will not end the millennia-long struggle over biological diversity, but it could bring some order and regularity to the transfer of crop genetic resources for most major crops. As every country's agricultural system is highly dependent on nonindigenous crops and their genetic resources, all countries could consider ratification to be in the national interest. The alternative most countries have is to engage in a historically unprecedented experiment: development without diversity. Or, enlist the Queen's army.

Marine Issues:From a Scientific, Political and Legal Perspective

Abstract: List of Abbreviations. From the Rhodian Sea Law to UNCLOS III W.G. Vitzthum. Non-European Sources of the Law of the Sea R.P. Anand. Port State Control: An Assessment of European Practice D. Koenig. The Northern Sea Route - Chance or Threat J. Schwarz. The Development of Environmental Standards for the Baltic Sea U. Jenisch. Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement of Compliance through the Helsinki Convention M. Fitzmaurice-Lachs. Marine Environment Protection - The Baltic Sea Example P. Ehlers. The Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme U. Kremser. The Quality Status Report (QSR 2000) for the North East Atlantic R. Salchow. The Development of Environmental Standards for the North-East Atlantic, including the North Sea W.H. v. Heinegg. Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement of Compliance through the OSPAR Commission R. Lagoni. The Mediterranean Marine Environment: Pressures, State of Pollution and Measures Taken (The Barcelona Convention and the Mediterranean Action Plan) F.S. Civili. The Development of the Black Sea Area V.V. Efimov, V.N. Eremeev. Fishery and sustainability G. Hubold. Reflagging of Fishing Vessels: Critical Assessment of its Impact on the Enforcement of Fishing Regulations and the Responses thereto A. Yankov. The Interaction between the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea N. Matz. The Protection of the Marine Environment against the Impacts of the Seabed Mining: An Assessment of the New Mining Code of the International Seabed Authority M. Bothe. The Deep Sea Floor - New Discoveries and Visions K. Lochte. The Introduction of Alien or New Species into the Marine Environment: A Challenge for Standard Setting and Enforcement M. Boeckenfoerde. German Marine Science - a Case Study C. Stienen. Is Marine Research an Economic Factor in Europe? K.-G. Barthel. A European Approach to Ocean Observation D. Tromp, N.C. Flemming. Towards a European Marine Information Highway A. Nielsen. Ocean and Coastal Zones in Global Programmes and the Ocean 21 Project A. Vallega, S. Belfiore. Eco-Economic Management of Coastal Zone Y. Jinsen. Index.

Managing the marine and coastal environment of Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: This publication surveys the challenges facing coastal and marine environments in Sub-Saharan Africa and describes the World Bank's strategy for supporting sustainable development in the sector. Social change and ecosystem degradation are affecting coastal and marine areas around the world, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa. The crisis affecting the region's coastal and marine areas requires an immediate and concerted response by the global community. There is significant scope for larger and more coordinated investments to address the serious inequities and impoverishment in coastal communities and to improve the long-term viability of the coastal ecosystems on which these communities depend. In line with these Bank-wide and regional strategies, this report outlines an agenda for guiding investment and capacity building in support of sustainable development in the sensitive and threatened ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa's coastal and marine areas.

Providing Protection for Plant Genetic Resources: Patents, sui generis Systems and Biopartnerships

Abstract: The purpose of this book is to show that the access to plant genetic resources and the compliance to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity can only be realized, in this biotechnological era, through the balance of rights and duties of States and stakeholders. Specifically, this book suggests that the global partnership, as professed in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, has so far not been reached. It examines the possibility of achieving the global partnership though clear, fair, ethical and equitable biopartnerships in, between, and among States. For this purpose, the author analyzes international instruments and national laws dealing with patents, plant breeders' rights, farmers' rights and sui generis protection and shows how they affect developing countries rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge, such as Brazil. She raises awareness of problems derived from the patenting of genetic resources, plants and traditional knowledge and presents sui generis alternatives proposed by different sectors of society in several countries. This book critically examines five biopartnerships of countries in four different continents. The author proposes measures to protect traditional knowledge and innovations and suggests which indigenous peoples, traditional farmers and developing countries may achieve an equitable share of benefits for their contribution in the development of new medicines and foods.

Equitably sharing benefits from the utilization of natural genetic resources: the Brazilian interpretation of the Convention of Biological Diversity

Abstract: The utilization of natural genetic resources could yield great benefits. The Convention on Biological Diversity introduced a number of rules concerning the sharing of these benefits. However, the interpretation and application (legal implementation) of these rules is a matter of discussion among specialists around the world. In theory, the alternatives for the implementation of the equity principle vary. On the one hand, the role of private law can be emphasized by leaving freedom to contracting parties; on the other, a public law approach (enacting a national legal rule) can be chosen. By doing this, different expressions of equitableness (distributive, retributive or procedural) are accentuated. In this article, we will illustrate how biodiversity-rich Brazil has changed its initial approach. The Bioamazonia- Novartis contract, a retributive solution in a private law context, aroused many criticisms and was therefore changed by a distributive and procedural solution in a public law context. The core elements of the Brazilian solution could serve as a lesson for other countries that have to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity. Equitableness seems to be protected more in a public law context where distributive and procedural equity exists than in a private law context with its emphasis on retributive equity

Contested Ownership: TRIPs, CBD, and Implications for Southern African Biodiversity

Abstract: The increasing importance of biodiversity sparked by the emergence of modern biotechnology has ignited tensions between transnational corporations and indigenous communities. Conflicting international instruments governing access to and control over biodiversity exacerbate disputes over control of local bioresources and knowledge. While there is some overlap between the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the agreements provide conflicting policy prescriptions regarding trade in biodiversity. The tension derives from the fundamentally different ontologies on which the agreements are based. In Southern Africa, governments are attempting to reconcile the agreements through national frameworks based on the OAU/AU Model Legislation. The success of such efforts will depend on the ability of the state to guarantee the rights of indigenous communities to control local biodiversity and the participation of such communities in the development of national legislation. In the end, such efforts depend on the rearticulation of the relationship between public and private spheres.