Showing papers on "Convention on Biological Diversity published in 2004"

Medicinal plants, conservation and livelihoods

Abstract: Many types of action can be taken in favour of the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Some of these are undertaken directly at the places where the plants are found, while others are less direct, such as some of those relating to commercial systems, ex situ conservation and bioprospecting. In the latter cases, actions taken will not lead to in situ conservation unless they feedback to improvements in the field. Probably the single most important role for medicinal plants in biological conservation is their ‘use’ to achieve conservation of natural habitats more generally. This stems from the special meanings that medicinal plants have to people, related to the major contributions that they make to many people's lives in terms of health support, financial income, cultural identity and livelihood security. Problems associated with biopiracy or (the other side of the coin) excessive restrictions on research have come to assume policy prominence in the general thematic area of ‘medicinal plant conservation and use’. The fair and equitable sharing of benefits from bioprospecting is required under the Convention on Biological Diversity, but it is not always easy to achieve these ideals in practice. While experience is accumulated in how this may practically be achieved, it is important, at the present time, that controls imposed on scientific research to prevent biopiracy or theft of local and indigenous intellectual property do not unduly restrict research that has little or nothing to do with these matters.

Geodiversity. The concept and scope of geodiversity

Abstract: A b st r ac t . A definition of geodiversity is presented, analogous to that of biodiversity. An outline of existing Polish geodiversity studies is given, with emphasis on geoenvironmental cartography and regional monographs. The ideas of a European geodiversity atlas and geosphere monitoring program are put forward. The author postulates also to proclaim an international convention on geodiversity protection. The principle of a sustainable development, declared during the conference Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), opened a new epoch in our approach to the management of natural resources. New ideas and new principles aiming at preventing further environmental degradation of the Earth have been formulated. It is necessary to maintain balance between individual elements of the natural environment, which has significant importance in supporting life on Earth. Maintaining proper environmental conditions to support life is the fundamental goal of humanity. In order to meet this challenge, the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed in Rio de Janeiro (Convention…, 1993). This convention assumes that the diversity is the major factor helping to maintain life on Earth. The principles of biological diversity emphasize “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” The convention also defines the rules of environmental management and criteria of distribution of the achieved benefits. The theory of biological diversity refers to all the biosphere levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity (for ecological systems, abiotic background — on which life develops — is taken into account). The issue of ecosystem diversity of phytocenoses (floral communities and landscapes) is a key problem today (Andrzejewski, 1996). The main fields of the protective activity are: counteraction, prevention, and suppression of the causes which reduce or destruct biodiversity. Over the last 12 years after the Rio de Janeiro conference, much work has been done in the field of biological diversity conservation. It has been a very quickly developing discipline amongst environmental sciences. Rapid loss of biological diversity in the recent years is called the Sixth Extinction (Leakey & Lewin, 1995), alluding to the “Big Five” of mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic. Inhibition of this process is considered the major task facing our civilization. In 2001, in Goteborg, the European Union strategy for sustainable development was accepted. The goal of that strategy is, among others, to reduce the rate of biological diversity loss in Europe by 2010. This is a very difficult job that requires multidirectional actions. Development of life is strongly related to abiotic conditions. Geodiversity has been the basis for the increasing biological diversity during geological history. The environmental conditions within the lithosphere and on the Earth’s surface have significant importance for the creation and development of life. We gradually begin to appreciate the significance of the geosystem in maintaining life. Research of the Solar System, conducted over the last years, distinctly shows that the terrestrial system plays a unique part in the process of the origin and evolution of life (Sagan, 1996). Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to the role and significance of the terrestrial system (geosystem). Particularly important is to determine the rules by which the Earth’s geosystem operates. It refers to both recognition and determination of qualitative and quantitative relationships and interactions between these elements, phenomena and objects, as well as between neighbouring subsystems and systems. The changes occurring in the geosphere can be categorized into 4 groups: planetary, endogenic, exogenic and anthropogenic (Table 1). Of special significance are those anthropogenic changes which increasingly disturb the natural balance in the lithosphere that has evolved for at least a few billion years. Human-generated changes intensified beginning in the 19 th

Women and biodiversity: The long journey from users to policy-makers

Abstract: Although there has been a broad acknowledgment that women’s local and traditional knowledge is fundamental to guarantee food security and conserve biological diversity, few women are represented at the managerial and decision-making level of environmental movements and organizations. The United Nations, its agencies and agreements have long promoted the full and effective participation of women in decision-making processes. So how can commitments contained in international agreements be translated into concrete actions? By using the case of the Convention on Biological Diversity, one of the key agreements adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, this article analyses how gender-equitable initiatives tend to assume an ad hoc character with few governments effectively involving women in their sustainable development strategies. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the United Nations or its subsidiary bodies.

Accessing biodiversity and sharing the benefits : lessons from implementing the convention on biological diversity

Abstract: The book aims to address the lack of information on the experiences of others by providing a comparative analysis of national access and benefit-sharing laws and policies in the 41 Pacific Rim countries that signed the CBD. It provides key insights on the main characteristics of selected access and benefit-sharing (ABS) policies and laws, their development, and implementation process. It contains a detailed comparative analysis of existing laws and policies. It presents four case studies of countries with regulations in place and contrasts them with four case studies of countries that are struggling to develop their regulations. It ends by discussing options of an international regime on ABS and a summary analysis of the main lessons and recommendations from the study.

On-farm management of crop genetic diversity and the Convention on Biological Diversity programme of work on agricultural biodiversity

Abstract: 1. The Executive Secretary is circulating herewith, for the information of participants in the seventh meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), a background paper prepared by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) on on-farm management of crop genetic diversity. This information note supplements the progress report by the Executive Secretary on the implementation of the programme of work on agrobiodiversity, including the development of the international pollinators initiative (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/7/9). As noted in paragraph 21 of that progress report, syntheses of case-studies and analysis of lessons learned are under preparation for various dimension of agricultural biodiversity. As recommended by the liaison group on agricultural biodiversity, which met in January 2001, the present information note has been prepared by the IPGRI to provide a synthesis of case-studies and lessons learned on on-farm management of crop genetic diversity.

Taxonomy and environmental policy.

Abstract: In 1992, with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and the subsequent Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the world changed for the science of taxonomy. Many taxonomists appear not to have noticed this change, but it has significantly altered the political climate in which taxonomic research is undertaken. By the late 1990s it was clear that effective implementation of the CBD needed the participation of and funding for the taxonomic community. In this paper, I chart the rise of the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI), review some of its goals and explore how it interacts with the CBD. The interactions of the GTI with the Global Environment Facility, a potential funding body, are explored, as are the possible synergies between the GTI and the many other global initiatives linking to taxonomy. Finally, I explore some of the challenges ahead as taxonomy begins to take a front seat in the implementation of environmental policy on the world stage.

The Ecological Consequences of Managing Forests for Non-Timber Products

Abstract: HUMANS WERE HUNTERS and gatherers long before they became farmers and loggers. The fruits of hunting and gathering non-timber forest products continue to this day to make an important contribution to subsistence and market economies alike. Worldwide, it is estimated that several thousands of species are collected from the wild for a variety of purposes (Myers 1988); in the high-diversity forests of Amazonia, for example, more than two-thirds of all tree species are used by indigenous peoples (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity 2001). At the local community level, non-timber forest products (hereafter, NTFP) can account for 35 per cent (for example, Zimbabwe; Cavendish 1997) to as much as 60 per cent (for example, India; Hegde et al. 1996) of household incomes. And even at a global level, the estimated value of the market in herbal medicines alone (a large proportion of which is collected from the wild) is about US$ 14 billion (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity 2001).

Philosophy and Biodiversity: Making the Biodiversity Crisis Tractable

Abstract: INTRODUCTION In current conservation parlance, “biodiversity” has become a generic term for everything that is good and worth preserving in living nature. It was originally used as a rallying cry of conservation biologists/ecologists/conservationists in the 1980s; Takacs (1996) describes the process, starting from the arrangement of the Forum on BioDiversity in Washington, D.C. in 1986. After the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, biodiversity became a staple theme in international politics. Parallel to this institutional solidification of biodiversity on the political scene, the term itself has acquired more and more scientific credibility. E. O. Wilson's widely acclaimed monograph (Wilson 1992) was important for making the literary public familiar with the term. The most ambitious scientific project to date is headed by the Princeton ecologist Simon A. Levin, aiming at an Encyclopedia of Biodiversity ; a five-volume printed version was published in 2001 (Academic Press), and a much larger electronic version is under preparation. The preceding paragraph summarizes briefly the history of biodiversity as an environmental issue. The term broke through into scientific, political, and public consciousness remarkably quickly. It was invented in the early 1980s by a group of ecologists and evolutionary biologists, basically as a political slogan (see Takacs 1996). In other words, biodiversity rose to the position of an important environmental issue through deliberate social construction (Hannigan 1995; Haila 1999a).

The Living Planet in Crisis Biodiversity Science and Policy

Abstract: 14. Seeing the World as It Really Is: Global Stability and Environmental Change, by Peter H. Raven and Joel Cracraft13. Strange Bedfellows: Why Science and Policy Don't Mesh and What Can Be Done About It, by Jeffrey A. McNeelyIV. What Needs to Be Done12. Convention on Biological Diversity: Program Priorities in the Early Stage of Implementation, by Kalemani J. Mulongoy, Susan Bragdon, and Antonella Ingrassia11. The Facts of Life (on Earth), by Thomas E. Lovejoy10. Saving Biodiversity and Saving the Biosphere, by Norman MyersIII. Biodiversity Science and Policy Formulation9. The Economic Consequences of Biodiversity Loss, by Dominic Moran and David Pearce8. Biodiversity Loss and Its Implications for Security and Armed Conflict, by Arthur H. Westing7. The Implications of Biodiversity Loss for Human Health, by Francesca T. Grifo and Eric Chivian6. Biodiversity, Agricultural Productivity, and People, by John Burnett5. Regional and Global Patterns of Biodiversity Loss and Conservation Capacity: Predicting Future Trends and Identifying Needs, by Joel CracraftII. Consequences of Biodiversity Loss: Science and Society4. Requiem 'ternam: The Last Five Hundred Years of Mammalian Species Extinctions, by Ross D. E. MacPhee and Clare Flemming3. The Medium Is the Message: Freshwater Biodiversity in Peril, by Melanie L. J. Stiassny2. Dimensions of Biodiversity: Targeting Megadiverse Groups, by Norman I. Platnick1. The Magnitude of Global Biodiversity and Its Decline, by Nigel E. StorkI. Science of Diversity and Extinction

A Review Of The Kenya National Legal System

Abstract: The coming into force of the Biosafety Protocol2 charts out a new direction in the growth and development of modern biotechnology. It is a timely and vital development given that in a very short time frame, transgenic croplands have increased rapidly. This decade will witness many African countries adopt and commercialize transgenic crops. However, efforts to invest have to be guided by sound mechanisms for assessing risks and benefits. This is crucial to enable African governments to make informed choices and decisions. The Protocol, an internationally binding legal instrument concluded by parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), was the result of the work of the Ad hoc Working Group on Biosafety which was set up in 1995 and completed its work in 2000. The Protocol aims at comprehensively addressing concerns raised about biotechnology. These concerns include safe handling, use, and transfer of living modified organisms (LMOs).3 All Parties to the Protocol have the obligation to comply with its terms. However, the obligations set out in the Protocol do not fully align with the national needs and priorities of many African countries. The numerous areas of non-consensus within the Biosafety Working Group support the validity of this assertion. 4 The Protocol contains not only elements of compromise but also provisions forced upon by some parties, particularly African States.5 The indefinite position on liability and redress is one such issue. However, most African States intend to implement the Protocol and some have begun putting in place mechanisms for biosafety.6 To provide a suitable framework for the implementation of the biosafety measures, parties are required to put in place relevant national legislation.7 For LMOs intended for direct use as feed, food or processing, only developed countries are obligated to put in place domestic regulatory frameworks while developing countries including those with economies in transition need only make decisions based on risk assessments.8 The challenge for African states is to put in place effective legal and administrative structures to implement the Protocol. African countries have been particularly concerned about the potential harmful impacts of biotechnology on their environment and most of them have put in place precautionary frameworks for biosafety The objective of this paper is to review Kenya s legal system based both on legislation and common law. The main objective of the review is to analyse the adequacy and relevance of such regimes to liability and redress for damage caused by transboundary movement of Living Modified Organisms. It will seek to ascertain principles or provisions that can help form the country s and regional position in future negotiations for the elaboration of article 27. As a starting point, the paper will give an overview of the Protocol s main provisions. We view the Protocol as an environmental impact assessment aid and this position is borne out by the inclusion of major developments in biotechnology including the introduction and testing of genetically modified organisms in the Second Schedule of the Environment Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) as one of the projects that should undergo environmental impact assessment. We will look at Kenya s Constitution and other laws and identify the main liability regimes that exist under the domestic legal framework.

Global status and trends in intellectual property claims: genomics, proteomics and biotechnology

Abstract: This paper was prepared as a contribution to analysis and discussion surrounding the development of an international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity (Decision VII/19). The paper provides a review and assessment of the implications of trends in relation to genomics, proteomics and biotechnology for the development of an international regime. The results of the review are also relevant to the ongoing work of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and other relevant bodies. It is divided into two sections. Section I examines the challenges and potential opportunities represented by the growth of bioinformatics and international electronic transfers of genetic data for the development of an international regime. The review reveals that by the end of 2003 the international DNA sequence depositary known as GenBank contained 30,968,418 DNA sequences from an estimated 130,000 organisms. The review concludes that further attention could be paid to the potential of bioinformatics and "open source" models to provide alternative forms of benefit-sharing directed towards conservation and development objectives and the cost-effective regulation of biopiracy. However, the relevance of bioinformatics to the needs of developing countries and substantive issues surrounding the human rights and ethical dimensions of bioinformatics merit careful analysis and evaluation. Section II considers the challenges involved in tracking intellectual property claims in relation to genetic material on the global level. The review presents the results of a search of available patent publications from 73 national patent offices, four regional patent offices, and WIPO contained within the European Patent Office esp@cenet worldwide database between 1990 and 2003 using a working definition of biotechnology developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This is followed by a detailed analysis of the implications of patent claims arising from the sequencing of the rice genome. The paper concludes by considering the wider implications of patent activity for the international regime. The paper was also available as an information document UNEP/CBD/WG-ABS/3/INF/4 as presented here.

Exploring Regime Interaction

Abstract: The international system is populated by a steadily growing number of international institutions. More than two hundred major regimes exist in the field of international environmental protection alone; with five major agreements being adopted per year since the 1980s (Beisheim et al. 1999; see also Sand 1992). While these institutions usually are separately established to respond to particular problems, they increasingly affect each others’ development and performance. In some cases, “regime interaction” creates conflict.1 Whereas the Word Trade Organization (GATT/WTO) promotes free international trade, several international environmental regimes, such as the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Montreal Protocol for the protection of the ozone layer, establish new trade restrictions (see Petersmann 1993; Lang 1993; Moltke 1997). Likewise, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change provides incentives for establishing fast-growing mono-cultural tree plantations in order to maximize carbon sequestration from the atmosphere, whereas the Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992 aims at preserving biological diversity of forest ecosystems (see Gillespie 1998; WBGU 1998; Tarasofsky 1999; Pontecorvo 1999). In other cases, interaction creates synergistic effects. The global regime on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes has been strengthened, for example, upon the establishment of a number of regional regimes addressing the same environmental problem (Meinke 1997).

Economics of Agroforestry Carbon Sequestration

Abstract: The restoration of tropical lands, degraded by inappropriate anthropogenic practices such as logging, grazing, and agriculture, has the potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon at moderate costs through reforestation and agroforestry activities; the so-called Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) projects. Two international environmental treaties – the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Convention on Biological Diversity – include provisions to make financial resources available to developing countries for global environmental benefits. The Third Conference of the UNFCCC, held in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, described two market-based mechanisms that will allow countries to trade in greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions: − Between two Annex 1 countries (countries with binding emission limits), known as Joint Implementation (JI), and

The Biological Diversity Act of India and agro-biodiversity management

Abstract: After the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted by the United Nations, in June 1992, the contracting countries were required to integrate consideration of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant legal procedures, programmes and policies. The Biological Diversity Act was passed by the Parliament in 2002 after a process of consultation among stakeholders. The Act provides for conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources. Agro-biodiversity which is a subset of total biological diversity is a major concern for the world food security and the issues of conservation and management of agro-biodiversity are one of the high priorities for a diversity-rich country like India. In this article we analyse the provisions of this Act related to agro-biodiversity management and how the access to these resources may be managed to channel the benefits to the users as well as custodians of agro-biodiversity.

Treaty Governance, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity

Abstract: When resources become valuable, various social and institutional pressures come to bear to enclose them in a property rights regime. Given the substantial progress of biotechnology and the life sciences, genetic resources found in biological diversity are experiencing such pressures. The question of how much commodification or commercialization of genetic resources is appropriate is of global concern; it affects the distribution of wealth in and among societies and countries. This article explores the emerging treaty law on intellectual property and biodiversity. It inquires What is biodiversity? and Why is biodiversity preservation important? It then focuses on the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), concluded on 5 June 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. Finally, it compares the CBD to other treaties relevant to intellectual property and biodiversity, using a two-part framework: the treaties are either property-oriented, such as the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), or commons-oriented, such as the CBD and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, negotiated under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization, has the potential to become the most important in the field.

Accessing biological resources : complying with the Convention on Biological Diversity

Abstract: This is a multidisciplinary volume comprising contributions from lawyers, scientists and policy makers on the globally significant issue of accessing biological, and ultimately genetic, resources for commercial and scientific purposes. This volume deals with a number of international instruments but emphasizes the Convention on Biological Diversity and considers the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as issues in bioprospecting, scientific and commercial development. Consideration of the issues is raised at national, regional and international levels but here the focus is primarily the unique Australian experience, thereby reflecting the larger international debates between the developed nations and the megadiverse developing nations.

ô Databasing Invasions: A Review in the Context of the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN)

Abstract: Due to significant and costly impacts on agriculture, economy and biodiversity caused by the accidental or intentional introduction and establishment of invasive alien species (IAS), IAS have been recognized as a significant global threat in need of urgent attention. Consequently, the international community has been urged to address the IAS issue as a national and international priority. Although some nations may have so far escaped the effects of IAS, the burgeoning status of global trade and travel guarantees that all nations will not only be threatened, but will experience the direct impact of IAS at some point in the near future. Developed nations with established infrastructure, clearly defined biodiversity-management policies and regulations, decision-supporting data, information systems and technology have already demonstrated their capacity to detect and prevent potential invasions, combat established invasive species, and restore affected communities and ecosystems. A significant factor affecting the success of these activities is the existence, availability and accessibility of IAS data, databases and information systems. Databases represent a potentially valuable yet often inaccessible or unobtainable resource to nations that lack their own. Nations that are developing IAS databases should share their information resources in a cooperative effort towards combating the common threat posed by IAS. However, the act of sharing information presents several problems in itself. Standards, formats, methods and protocols must be adhered to by dissimilar data products if they are to share or exchange data in an efficient and effective manner. The Internet and its associated formats and protocols for information management and exchange, represents a valuable tool for facilitating global IAS-data exchange. Recent cooperative development efforts among members of the international community and the Convention on Biological Diversity have resulted in the definition of international standards for biodiversity data exchange. Members of the international community have called for the development of a Global Invasive Species Information Network. The success and persistence of this network will depend on the support and participation of capable stakeholders, international standardization and cooperation in data exchange, and continued maintenance and development of the component information sources. Among the nations of the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, IAS databases, biodiversity clearinghouse mechanisms, networks and international agreements have grown in number and complexity. Regardless of whether they are called Web sites, online databases, clearinghouse mechanisms, hubs, or portals, if they provide IAS-related information through the globally accessible Internet and continue to develop network linkages with other complimentary online information systems, they lend valuable support to the continued development of a Global Invasive Species Information Network. This report describes and synthesizes invasive species information management activities occurring around the globe during the past decade. It is prepared in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s recommendation that the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) coordinate the development of the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN). In this context, the proceedings of seven regional workshops coordinated by GISP are highlighted.

Is there a need for restructuring the collaboration among the wto and un agencies so as to harness their complementarities

Abstract: Given the broad objectives of the WTO, it is not surprising that there is need for effective collaboration with a number of UN agencies. One specific example relates to sustainable development. At the launching of the WTO Doha Development Agenda in Qatar in November 2001, the trade ministers strongly reaffirmed their 'commitment to the objective of sustainable development . . .'. At the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 in Johannesburg, ministers committed themselves to continue 'to promote open, equitable, rules-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading . . .'. Notwithstanding such declarations, it is argued that there is scope for a clearer appreciation of the relationship between the work of the WTO and the United Nations Agencies. To achieve this, however, what is important is to identify the specific areas where there are complementarities and overlaps in their work. A selection of such areas are presented by way of example. They include the WTO Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement and its relationship to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and recent dispute settlement cases at the WTO dealing with the environment and public health. The relationship between WTO rules and those of Multilateral Environment Agreements is also reviewed, and attention is also drawn to human rights and labour standards where the everyday work of the WTO impacts on matters dealt with by United Nations Agencies. What emerges from this review is that an increasing number of non-traditional (in trade terms) issues are gravitating towards the WTO. Against this backdrop, a strong argument can be made that a trade policy organization such as the WTO should not be responsible for the non-trade issues that are gravitating towards it. One way to address this situation would be to strengthen those UN Agencies with the mandate and expertise to deal with the elements of sustainable development -- economic development, the environment, and social matters. It seems, however, that the requisite political will is not forthcoming to pursue this root. Against this backdrop, two proposals are advanced as to how to proceed in the WTO. Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

Human impacts on tropical forest biodiversity and genetic resources

Abstract: The conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources has been a high priority under the Convention on Biological Diversity for more than a decade. Many studies have been conducted on this subject in tropical forests. The aim of this book is to bring together many of these studies in order to evaluate current knowledge of the impact of disturbance and fragmentation on tropical forest biodiversity and genetic resources. Themes covered include biodiversity and ecological processes, genetic diversity, local people's livelihoods, case studies from Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin and South-America.

Programa de pesquisa em produtos naturais: a experiência da CEME

Abstract: The Brazilian effort on R&D of products from the national biodiversity dates back to the 70's. The Central de Medicamentos - CEME - was tailored to add scientific and technological competence to the production of pharmaceutical drugs derived from the Brazilian biodiversity by means of the Research Programme on Medicinal Plants - PPPM. Although previous to the Convention on Biological Diversity - CBD - and to the current debate and the ever-growing interest on phytomedicines, CEME has historical importance in the present governmental efforts on fostering the R&D on phytomedicines. This article makes a historical redemption of the PPPM, the actions and the results in the course of its existence.

On the Politics of the Politics of Origins: Social (In)Justice and the International Agenda on Intellectual Property, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore

Abstract: It is a great pleasure to read Valdimar Hafstein's essay, and I applaud the Journal of American Folklore for publishing an article that raises critical issues at the intersec- tions of folkloristics, cultural conservation, political economy, and social justice. Hafstein's essay nicely echoes the conclusion of Peggy Bulger's recent AFS presiden- tial address (2003:388) in focusing attention on an international debate and arena of great importance to the cultures folklorists study and champion. I believe Hafstein's most significant contribution is his emphasis on the political and economic ecolo- gies of formalized agendas in fora on cultural conservation and protection. National and international governmental agencies, as well as nongovernmental organizations, have attended to legal issues regarding the commerce and protection of traditional culture for at least the past seventy years; however, the number of actors and institu- tions, as well as the levels (especially national and international) at which this debate occurs, has greatly increased over the past two decades (Drahos and Mayne 2002). The history and arenas vary according to particular categories of knowledge and folklore, but today an overview of even relevant United Nations groups would include not only the target of Hafstein's essay—the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)—but also, among others, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 1 Each of these latter three institutions has established international discussions, as well as international instruments, 2 with significant implications for traditional knowledge and folklore and, most important, the "holders" of these traditions. 3