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Convention on Biological Diversity

About: Convention on Biological Diversity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2232 publications have been published within this topic receiving 65599 citations. The topic is also known as: CBD & United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.


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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: The number of articles using the word “yeast” is approaching 100,000 as mentioned in this paper and the current trend continues, by the year 2016 searches for either word will produce in excess of 36,000 hits for that year only.
Abstract: Biodiversity is now a common word. Harper and Hawksworth (1995) tabulated the frequency of use of the term in Biosis and reported its first occurrence in 1988 followed by an increase to approximately 900 by 1994. A similar search of the PubMed database yielded a cumulative total of 1,361 hits by the end of 2003. By comparison, the number of articles using the word “yeast” is approaching 100,000. If the present trend continues, by the year 2016 searches for either word will produce in excess of 36,000 hits for that year only. The task at hand is to make similar predictions about yeast biodiversity. Biodiversity means different things to different individuals. Gaston (1996) reviewed several definitions and concluded that the concept is an abstract expression of all aspects of the variety of life. Recent publications dealing with yeast diversity, had they appeared only 15 years earlier, might have used instead such terms as taxonomy, ecology, or survey (Nout et al. 1997; Buzzini and Martini 2000; Fell et al. 2000; Poliakova et al. 2001; Gadanho et al. 2003; Granchi et al. 2003; Lachance et al. 2003a; Ganga and Martinez 2004; Renker et al. 2004) or even enzymology (Lamb et al. 1999). The Convention on Biological Diversity (Anonymous 1992) defines biological diversity as “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.” As with most things in our society, biodiversity became a tangible reality when it could be assigned a significant economic value. And as with most things in science, the recognition of biodiversity as a worthy research topic is predicated on measurability and the generation of testable hypotheses. The current urgency of the scientific study of biodiversity stems from the realization that only a small fraction (approximately 8%) of the total diversity of life is known (Stork 1999) and that species extinction is occurring at a measurable and increasing rate (Purvis and Hector 2000). Chapter 1

52 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world as discussed by the authors, and during the last year 17,148 ships passed through the Canal, reducing emissions, saving time, and operating costs to shippers.
Abstract: The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world – during the last year 17,148 ships passed through the Canal – reducing emissions, saving time, and operating costs to shippers. The rapid increase in ship size from the “Post-Suezmax” (> 12,000 TEU) to the latest container vessels (> 19,000 TEU) now requires enlargements of port facilities and canals. A project of this magnitude, and with potentially negative environmental outcomes, requires a transparent and scientifically sound “Environmental Impact Assessment” (EIA). An explicit obligation on Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (https://www.cbd.int/doc/ legal/cbd-en.pdf) was made to consider transboundary impacts on biodiversity, particularly those associated with invasive non-indigenous species. Although a nonbinding instrument, the “Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” sets forth important principles of international environmental law (UN 1992): States are responsible for ensuring that activities within their jurisdiction do not damage the environment of other States, and EIA, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment. To our knowledge, no Environmental Impact Assessment has been

52 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: It is claimed that non-facilitative regulations have placed a dead hand on value-addition to South Africa's biodiversity and an alternative, practical, CBD-com- pliant model on which to base urgently required legislative reforms is presented.
Abstract: lobally, many nations are legislating access for bioprospecting purposes to their biological and genetic resources. South Africa, as a megadiverse country, has recently regulated bioprospecting, access and benefit-sharing activities in accordance with its obligations as a ratifying party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The context and process of key legislation devel- opments in South Africa are discussed, prior to our presenting a critique which emphasizes the practical impacts, especially on drug dis- covery, arising from the newly introduced systems. Probable effects on existing bio- resource-based industries within South Africa, together with current as well as future bioprospecting activities, are assessed. Several practicalities of bioprospecting meth- ods have been poorly accommodated, result- ing in the development of impracticable and unnecessarily restrictive regulations. We con- clude that though well-intentioned, these non-facilitative regulations have placed a dead hand on value-addition to South Africa's biodiversity. Bioprospectors will find it diffi- cult to continue with broad-scale screening programmes given their user insecurity, legal uncertainty, and cost-inefficiency. Existing bioresource-based industries within South Africa face potential closure in view of onerous bioprospecting permit application require- ments. An alternative, practical, CBD-com- pliant model on which to base urgently required legislative reforms is presented. one of the six most signifi- cant concentrations of plant diversity in the world, being the smallest but most diverse floristic kingdom known. With over 19 500 indigenous plant species in about 350 plant families, South Africa indeed has the richest temperate flora in the world. In addition, three global hotspots of biodiversity are currently recognized within the country: the CFR, the Succulent Karoo, and Maputaland- Pondoland-Albany. 4 Regional biotic ele- ments other than plants are similarly diverse, exemplified by the fungi which have recently been estimated conserva- tively at 200 000 species 5 and coastline

52 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, international cooperation, including through international legal instruments, appears important for the conservation of large carnivores worldwide, due to the worrying conservation status and population trends of many large carnivore species; their occurrence at low densities, with many populations extending across various countries; and the international nature of particular threats.
Abstract: International cooperation, including through international legal instruments, appears important for the conservation of large carnivores worldwide. This is due to, inter alia, the worrying conservation status and population trends of many large carnivore species; the importance of large carnivores for biodiversity conservation at large; their occurrence at low densities, with many populations extending across various countries; and the international nature of particular threats. For the 31 heaviest species in the order Carnivora, this study (i) documents to what extent existing international legal instruments contribute to large carnivore conservation, and (ii) identifies ways of optimizing their contribution in this regard. From this dual perspective, it reviews all global wildlife conservation treaties — Ramsar Wetlands Convention, World Heritage Convention, Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) — and selected regional instruments, using standard international law research methodology. Results indicate that a substantial body of relevant international law already exists, whereas simultaneously there is clear potential for enhancing the contribution of international law to large carnivore conservation. Avenues for pursuing this include promotion of instruments’ effective implementation; clarification of their precise implications for large carnivore conservation; development of formal guidance; expansion of instruments’ scope in terms of species, sites and countries; and creation of new instruments. The CMS and CBD hold particular potential in some of these respects. The experiences being gained under European legal instruments constitute an interesting ‘laboratory’ regarding human coexistence with expanding large carnivore populations and transboundary cooperation at the (sub)population level.

52 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy also reflects New Zealand's commitment to help stem the loss of biodiversity worldwide, including wetlands, and the protection of wetlands on private land has been identified as a national priority for action as mentioned in this paper.

51 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023112
2022219
2021107
2020116
201995
2018104