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KEY PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE
RESOURCES
BIODIVERSITY AND WILDLIFE
This page was updated
on: 01/12/10
STATUS AND TRENDS OF BIODIVERSITY OF
INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS
(CBD Secretariat Technical
Series No. 11, December 2003) Written by Carmen Revenga and Yumiko Kura
of the World Resources Institute, this technical report covers: the
condition of and threats to inland water ecosystems; a review of inland
water species richness, distribution and conservation status; inland
water ecosystems and habitats identified as high conservation
priorities; and data gaps and information needs. It also includes a
review of 18 ongoing assessments of water resources and inland water
biodiversity, including those by IUCN, BirdLife, WWF, the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment and others. It is available online at:
http://www.biodiv.org/doc/publications/cbd-ts-11.pdf
AMERICAN PATENT POLICY,
BIOTECHNOLOGY, AND AFRICAN AGRICULTURE: THE CASE FOR POLICY CHANGE
(Resources for the
Future, December 2003) Written by Michael R. Taylor and Jerry Cayford,
this report
examines
current patent policy in the US and shows
how it may impede the
use of
agricultural
biotechnology advances in developing countries. The
authors
recommend
a set of policy changes
to
help African
farmers access these new technologies, while leaving intact the
structure of the patent system and not undercutting the innovation
incentives it provides. The
report.
THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY: A RECORD OF THE NEGOTIATIONS
(CBD/FIELD, September 2003) Compiled by the Foundation for
International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) as requested by
the CBD Secretariat, this report provides an article by article
negotiating history of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, until the
final adoption of its final text in January 2000.
The
report.
DEMOCRATISING
BIOTECHNOLOGY: GM CROPS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(Institute for
Development Studies, 2003) As part of a project under the title
"Democratising Biotechnology – GM crops in developing countries," 13
briefings were produced on a series of issues, including: corporate
dominance and agricultural biotechnology: implications for development;
intellectual property rights, biotechnology and development; GMOs and the
politics of international trade;
harmonization,
diversity and uncertainty in international biosafety regulation;
regulating biotechnology for the poor?; science, policy and
biotechnology regulation;
from risks to rights:
challenges for biotechnology policy; and power-reversals in
biotechnology: experiments in democratisation.
The briefings are based on research carried out in China, Kenya, India
and Zimbabwe, under research projects that investigated national and
international biotechnology policy and regulatory processes. The
briefings are available online at:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/env/biotech/pubsBriefings.html
US BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
(Études
internationales, vol. 34, no 3, December 2003, p. 537-562) Written by
Jean-Frédéric Morin, this article in French, titled "Le droit
international des brevets: entre le multilatéralisme et le bilatéralisme
américain" portrays 39 bilateral agreements on intellectual property
rights (IPR), concluded by the US with developing countries. These
agreements allow the US to bypass multilateral negotiations currently
held at the World Trade Organization. The author argues that the US is
shaping a web of bilateral IPR agreements wider than the TRIPS
Agreement, as many countries that sign bilateral agreements are not WTO
members or take advantage of the TRIPS' transitional periods.
Highlighting also that bilateral agreements often set higher IPR
standards especially those related to the patentable subject matters,
the author notes that the potential gains that developing countries
could obtain during the Doha Round need to be put in the perspective of
these bilateral agreements. This publication is available at:
http://enb.iisd.org/whats_new/US_bilateral_IPR.pdf
BIOPROSPECTING AGREEMENTS AND
CONSERVATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES
(Revue de droit de
l' Université de Sherbrooke, vol. 34, no 1, November 2003, p. 307-343)
Authored by Jean-Frédéric
Morin, this article in French titled "Les accords de bioprospection
facorisent-ils la conservation des ressources génétiques?" looks at
certain bioprospecting agreements and argues that their analysis
indicates that benefit-sharing arrangements regarding monetary benefits
and technology transfer rarely contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Noting that those arrangements are used instead to foster local economic
development, users' public relations and the providers' integration into
the biotechnology industry, the writer stresses the need to strengthen
the environmental aspects of benefit-sharing arrangements, using the
Bonn Guidelines on Access and Benefit-sharing as a first step to that
regard. The
publication.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT STATUS REPORT
(IUCN, 2003) The new African
Elephant Status Report (AESR) has recently been published by experts
from the IUCN Species Survival Commission's African Elephant Specialist
Group (AfESG). According to the report,
between 400,000 and 660,000 elephants are currently thought to roam in
African forests and savannas. The AESR estimates Southern Africa to have
the largest populations of elephants, with numbers ranging from a
definite 246,000 to a speculative 300,000. Eastern Africa follows, with
at least 118,000 elephants and speculatively as many as 163,000. Central
Africa may harbor between 16,500 and 196,000 elephants, while the
smallest and most fragmented populations are found in West Africa,
ranging from a definite 5,500 to a speculative 13,200 elephants.
Overall, the population figures in the AESR are higher than those
reported in 1999, when the previous AESR was published. This is partly
due to reported increases in elephant populations in countries such as
Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, which have high concentration of
elephants in protected areas. The report's authors also point out that
the estimates cover a much larger area than five years ago, which can
explain differences in numbers. Despite the current limitations of data
quality and availability, the AESR provides a comprehensive and
up-to-date review of the current status of African elephants throughout
their range, and will be valuable for wildlife managers and policy
makers to develop long-term strategies for the conservation of elephants
and their habitats. The AESR is available at:
http://iucn.org/afesg/aed/aesr2002.html
IMPACTS OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED
CROPS ON PESTICIDE USE IN THE UNITED STATES: THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS
(Northwest Science and
Environmental Policy Center, November 2003) Authored by Charles
Benbrook, this report is the first comprehensive study of the impacts of
all major commercial GE crops on pesticide use in the United States over
the first eight years of the commercial use of the GE crops (1996-2003).
Being the sixth in a series of technical papers prepared for AgBioTech
Info Net, the report draws on official data from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture on pesticide use by crop and state. Its conclusions include
a reduction of insecticide use by 2-2.5 million pounds annually for GM
crops engineered to produce the natural insecticide Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt), and an increase in herbicide use on HT crop
acres, which far exceeds the reductions in insecticide use. The report
is available at:
http://www.biotech-info.net/Technical_Paper_6.pdf
ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING (ABS): AN
INSTRUMENT FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION. PROPOSALS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ABS
REGIME
(German Development Institute,
November 2003) Prepared by Gudrun Henne, Klaus Liebig, Andreas Drews and
Thomas Plän, this study has been distributed to the Second Meeting of
the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on ABS of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD). The authors argue that ABS can contribute to
poverty alleviation if the international community develops an ABS
regime that supports the goals of the CBD.
More information.
DIALOGUE ON COHERENCE BETWEEN
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROCESSES AND A PRO-DEVELOPMENT AGENDA ON IPRS
The papers and a report from
the "Strategic Dialogue on Coherence between Multilateral, Regional and
Bilateral Processes on Intellectual Property and a Pro-Development
Agenda on IPRs" are available online. The Dialogue was organized by the
UNCTAD-ICTSD Project on IPRs and Sustainable Development and took place
at the University of Miami on 20 November 2003. The
proceedings.
CONSERVATION FINANCE GUIDE CD-ROM
The Conservation Finance
Alliance has released a CD-ROM version of its Conservation Finance Guide,
a replica of their website at
http://www.conservationfinance.org. The Conservation Finance Alliance
is made up of a number of intergovernmental and governmental agencies and
NGOs dedicated to increasing awareness of the range of finance mechanisms
available. It includes the Ramsar Convention, UNDP, IUCN, WWF, The Nature
Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Conservation
International, USAID and Germany's GTZ, among others. Copies of the CD-ROM
can be obtained free of charge by contacting Ramsar's Senior Trade and
Development Advisor Alain Lambert at:
lambert@ramsar.org
2003 IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES
(IUCN, November 2003) IUCN–The World Conservation Union has recently
released its updated Red List, regarded as the world's most reliable
inventory of the conservation status of flora and fauna. With over 2,000
entries added and 380 taxa reassessed since the release of the previous
year's list, the Red List currently records over 12,000 species threatened
with extinction. 762 plants and animal species are already logged as
"extinct." The list finds that invasive species are an overriding threat
to global biodiversity, threatening to undermine populations of native
plants and animals on islands and continents. All known conifer species
have been reassessed, and the 2003 list sees new entries of over 1,000
Ecuadorian plants, 125 Hawaiian plants, over 300 cycads and 35 Galapagos
Island snails. IUCN will undertake a major analysis of the Red List in
2004, the results of which will be presented to the 3rd IUCN World
Conservation Congress in Bangkok in November 2004. The
2003 Red List is available as a searchable database at:
http://www.redlist.org/
ACCESS TO GLOBAL ONLINE RESEARCH IN
AGRICULTURE (AGORA)
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
launched a new website on
14
October 2003 to provide students, researchers and academics in developing
countries free or low-cost access to scientific literature. The Access to
Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) project will allow
participants to access more than 400 journals in food, nutrition,
agriculture and related biological, environmental and social sciences. The
AGORA website is located at:
http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/
INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES
TOOLKIT
An online toolkit of best
prevention and management practice of invasive alien species was developed
using comments and experiences of participants in various workshops.
Although the authors state that the toolkit will need to be locally
adapted for different countries or regions, it is intended to have global
applicability. The
toolkit.
SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS IN PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
The papers from the Symposium
on Intellectual Property Rights in Plant Biotechnology held on 24 October
2003 in Geneva, and organised by the World Intellectual Property
Organisation and the International Union for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants, Geneva, are available online:
http://www.upov.int/en/documents/Symposium2003/index1.htm
DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
CONCERNING GENETIC RESOURCES AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
(WIPO, 2003) This
paper
is prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Secretariat at the request of the CBD
for COP-7.
ONE GLOBAL PATENT SYSTEM?
WIPO'S SUBSTANTIVE PATENT LAW TREATY
(GRAIN, October
2003) GRAIN's new briefing addresses WIPO's attempts to promote a
substantive patent law treaty. Authors argue that such a treaty would
remove most of the remaining national flexibility in patent systems and
pave the way for a future world patent granted directly by WIPO. Such
developments would appeal to transnational corporations and developed
countries, but would result in developing countries losing even the
limited freedom left by TRIPS to adjust patent systems to national
development goals. This issue is available at:
http://www.grain.org/publications/wipo-splt-2003-en.cfm
ESA WORKING PAPERS
(FAO, 2003) FAO's Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the
Economic and Social Department (ESA) has prepared a variety of papers
related to agriculture, food security and poverty alleviation. Topics
include: diversification in South Asian agriculture; land use change,
carbon sequestration and poverty alleviation; armed conflicts and food
security; agricultural export performance in Africa; biotechnology R&D:
policy options to ensure access and benefits for the poor; the economics
of agricultural biotechnology research; and an overview of smallholder
contract farming in developing countries. The papers are available at:
http://www.fao.org/es/ESA/pub_esa_2003_en.htm
COMMUNITY CONSERVED AREAS
AND CO-MANAGED PROTECTED AREAS
(IUCN's Commission
on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, 2003) The report of the IUCN
Theme on indigenous and local communities, equity and protected areas for
the Ecosystem, Protected Areas and People project, authored by Grazia
Borrini-Feyerabend, is available online at:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ceesp/Wkg_grp/TILCEPA/community.htm#synthesis
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND BIODIVERSITY: PROCESS AND SYNERGIES
(ICTSD and IUCN, September 2003) Prepared by Manuel Ruiz, David
Vivas-Eugui and Maria Fernanada Espinosa for the workshop on TRIPS and the
CBD that took place during the 18th Session of the Global Diversity Forum,
this paper aims to overview the key processes where discussions on
protecting traditional knowledge and on intellectual property rights are
held and to assess the most critical matters concerning these issues. The
paper is available at:
http://www.gbf.ch/Session_Administration/upload/Background%20paper%20Final.doc
AGROBIODIVERSITY STRATEGIES TO COMBAT FOOD INSECURITY AND HIV/AIDS
IMPACT IN RURAL AFRICA
(FAO, 2003) Authored by J.A. Gari, this paper demonstrates, on the
basis of participatory field research conducted in different rural areas
of Sub-Saharan Africa, that agrobiodiversity and the associated indigenous
knowledge are relevant forces to combat food insecurity and the HIV/AIDS
crisis. The paper argues that development of these agrobiodiversity
components would expand the options and means available at the rural level
to improve nutrition, cope with labor constrains and enhance sustainable
agriculture. The paper is available at:
http://www.developmentgateway.org/download/204068/agbdv_prelim.pdf
MEGADIVERSE WEBSITE
The Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries, consisting of Bolivia,
Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya,
Mexico, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and Venezuela, have a
new website that updates visitors on the Group's activities. This resource
is available in both Spanish and English, and is located at:
http://www.megadiverse.org
SCIDEV.NET BIODIVERSITY QUICK GUIDE
SciDev.Net has launched a
"Quick Guide" on biodiversity where visitors can find information on the
biodiversity challenges facing developing countries. This resource
considers the issues surrounding the need to protect global biodiversity
and promote social and economic growth in developing countries. The guide
includes: news stories from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle
East; descriptions of key reports and new research findings; links to
relevant organizations; and an events section listing major conferences
and workshops. The quick guide is located at:
http://www.scidev.net/dossiers/biodiversity
BIOSPHERE RESERVES: SPECIAL PLACES FOR
PEOPLE AND NATURE
(UNESCO, 2002)
Launched in the 1970s as part of UNESCO's Man
and the Biosphere Programme, the biosphere reserve concept is both a
concept and a practical tool that seeks to balance conservation of
biodiversity and biological products with their sustainable use. This book
reviews the concept and its implementation, describing its evolution and
highlighting its application in conserving biological and cultural
diversity and in sustainable development. Filled with images and
illustrations, the book brings together case studies from around the world
to describe the achievements, challenges and impacts of biosphere
reserves. More
information is available at:
http://www.unesco.org/mab/publications/BRbook/BRbook.htm
US VS. EU: AN EXAMINATION OF THE
TRADE ISSUES SURROUNDING GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD
(Pew Initiative on
Food and Biotechnology, August 2003) Issued by the Pew Initiative on Food
and Biotechnology, this paper, originally published in June 2002, was
updated in August 2003 to reflect recent activities relating to the trade
dispute between the US and the EU on genetically modified food. It
summarizes the history of the GM food issue in Europe, the recently
adopted legislation, impacts on US-EU agricultural trade and other
background issues dividing the US and the EU on the topic. The paper can
be accessed online at:
http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/issuebriefs/europe.pdf
PAPERS FROM DIALOGUE ON INTERNATIONAL
PROCESSES ON GENETIC RESOURCES AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
An open dialogue on
"International Processes on Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge:
Which Way Forward?" was organized by ICTSD, IUCN and SPDA in Geneva, on 12
July 2003. Two papers from this event can be found online at:
http://www.ictsd.org/dlogue/2003-07-11/11-07-03-docu.htm
SEEDLING
(GRAIN, July 2003) The July 2003 issue of GRAIN's
publication, Seedling, focuses on the 50th anniversary of discovery of the
structure of DNA. The editorial and articles stress how the Watson and
Crick ideas are now the guiding principles for most agricultural research
and development. It includes an editorial titled "Blinded by the gene,"
and articles on: unravelling the DNA myth, the Bt gene failure in India,
public research, and the promise of participation. It also includes an
interview with Johnson Ekpere on agricultural research in Africa. The
publication can be accessed online at:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/seed-03-07-1-en.cfm
GM SCIENCE REVIEW: FIRST REPORT
(GM Science Review Panel, July
2003) Requested by
Margaret Beckett, the UK's Secretary of State for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs, and prepared by a panel of experts, this report
contains the results of an independent review of current scientific
knowledge on GM crops and foods. The report emphasizes that modern
biotechnology is not a single homogeneous technology and that its
applications need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. It also
underscores the importance of regulation keeping pace with scientific
developments. It identifies areas where more scientific research is
needed, including allergenicity, soil ecology, farmland biodiversity and
consequences of gene flow.
A follow up
report, to be published in the autumn, will consider further scientific
developments, and comments from the public together with the results of
the UK's GM public debate. The deadline for comments on this first report
is 15 October 2003. The report can be downloaded at:
http://www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk/report/default.htm
IUCN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
PROGRAMME 2003 NEWSLETTER
(IUCN, 2003) The
2003 edition of IUCN's ELP Newsletter focuses on implementation. It
contains articles on the major themes embodied in the Johannesburg Plan
of Implementation, reports on the meetings held during the "Law Week,"
which preceded the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and
information and updates on selected specialist groups of the IUCN
Commission on Environmental Law. The newsletter can be downloaded at:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/law/pdfdocuments/Newsletter1_2003_en.pdf
FOOD SAFETY, FOOD SECURITY
AND TRADE: HOW TO END THE CONFLICTS
(IFPRI, June 2003)
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Johns
Hopkins University SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations held a
high-level consultation on food safety, food security and trade on 21 June
2003. The outcomes of the consultation are available at:
http://www.ifpri.org/events/seminars/2003/20030621_consultation.htm
CITES INVITES PARTIES TO SUBMIT INFORMATION FOR JUDICIARY REFERENCE KIT
The CITES Secretariat is currently compiling a reference kit that will
provide members of the judiciary, prosecutors and legal advisors with an
introduction to CITES and examples of its administrative, civil and
criminal enforcement throughout the world. The reference kit will contain
outlines of a number of cases that will serve as examples of how certain
legal issues related to the enforcement of CITES have been addressed. The
Secretariat would be grateful to receive information on any court cases of
particular interest, and copies of the full texts of the judgments or
information on where they may be found. CITES Parties and interested
organizations are invited to send this information by 15 August 2003 to
the following address:
yoriko.otomo@unep.ch
BIOFILMS IN MEDICINE, INDUSTRY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY CHARACTERISTICS, ANALYSIS AND CONTROL
(IWA Publishing, May 2003)
Edited by P. Lens, V. O'Flaherty, A.P. Moran, P. Stoodley, and T. Mahony,
this book introduces readers to biofilms, which are important for
beneficial technologies such as water and wastewater treatment and
bioremediation of groundwater and soil, but which can also bring about
problems such as bacterial infections, accelerated corrosion in
industrial systems, oil souring and biofouling. The book presents the
structure and function of biofilms as determined by recent research, and
highlights their applications in medicine, industry and environmental
biotechnology. More information is available online at:
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390191
CMS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The CMS Information Management System brings together the information
provided by the Parties to CMS through their national reports, the
knowledge generated within CMS and other biodiversity-related agreements,
and the data from various expert organizations. It includes information
on: animals listed in the CMS appendices; animal groups of special
interest to the CMS; information about Parties to the CMS; and information
provided by Parties on specific themes. This resource is available at:
http://www.wcmc.org.uk/cms/nw150603_CMS_IMS_launched.htm
BIOTECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: NE |
