BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 12: FEBRUARY 2007 — by Rose Hessmiller — last modified 2007-04-14 22:27

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 12: FEBRUARY 2007

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 22: January 2008 — by PCLG — last modified 2008-02-10 20:03

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin Research highlights on biodiversity and society, poverty and conservation ISSUE 22: JANUARY 2007 “DON’T LET THE PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD!” CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE 2007 TRONDHEIM BIODIVERSITY CONFERENCE

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 13: MARCH 2007 — by Rose Hessmiller — last modified 2007-04-14 22:21

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 15: May 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-05-31 13:48

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE GEF: LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES? A number of studies have highlighted the negative impacts of Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects - particularly those associated with protected areas - on indigenous people. This includes studies conducted by the GEF itself - the GEF Monitoring and Evaluation Office recently conducted an analysis of the extent to which local benefits are generated within GEF biodiversity projects. The study found that the links between local and global benefits were often overlooked, misunderstood or inappropriately addressed but noted that its analysis focused on old projects (up to 2000) while newer projects were much more sensitive to local socio-economic priorities.

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 21: November 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-12-26 22:28

MAPPING THE POVERTY-CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE - WHO IS DOING WHAT AND WHERE? Numerous organisations are now engaged in research, policy work and projects that address the links between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) tries to keep abreast of this wealth of activity by, amongst other things, hosting the Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG). Recognising that one key constraint to more effective working is a lack of information about relevant activities of other organisations, PCLG has recently published its 2007 Directory of poverty and conservation organisations and initiatives. This is a quick reference guide to different organisations working in this field - including conservation NGOs, development agencies, indigenous peoples' organisations and academic institutions. The Directory does not claim to be comprehensive but is based on a survey of current PCLG members - other organisations working on poverty-conservation linkages are strongly encouraged to submit their details for next year's edition!...

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 14: APRIL 2007 — by BioSoc — last modified 2007-04-23 21:59

PARTICIPATION, PLANNING, POLITICS AND POWER: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR INDIA

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 19: September 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-10-01 17:25

As a follow up to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), the World Resources Institute together with the International Livestock Research Institute and the Kenya Government have published an innovative new atlas of Kenya. Nature's Benefits in Kenya explores the link between ecosystem services and poor people, overlaying socio-economic information with spatial data on ecosystem goods and services. The atlas shows the location and status of key environmental resources - including water, biodiversity, agricultural land and forest land - and the ways poor people use these resources. ...

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 11: JANUARY 2007 — by Portal Web Editor — last modified 2007-02-11 17:22

BIODIVERSITY AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: NORWAY SETS A NEW STANDARD The Norwegian government is seeking to establish Norway as a leader in integrating environmental issues into development cooperation. Following up on a recent government white paper Fighting Poverty Together, and taking into account the findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has produced the Norwegian Action Plan for Environment in Development Cooperation. An earlier issue of BioSoc noted the real constraints faced by donor agencies in terms of their ability to push an agenda on partner countries. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, to which European donors are committed, emphasises the importance of developing countries setting their own priorities rather than being driven by their donors. Norway fully supports this principle but also recognises that, as parties to a range of multilateral environmental agreements, donor countries have an obligation to support developing countries to meet their commitments under those agreements. This is the entry point for the Action Plan.

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 9: NOVEMBER 2006 — by webadmin — last modified 2007-02-11 17:39

INVESTING IN NATURE: WHAT ROLE FOR BIODIVERSITY IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION? IUCN convened an international conference in September 2006 to explore how best to address biodiversity conservation within the current European framework for development cooperation. Hosted by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs the conference was unusual, for a biodiversity gathering, in its high level of participation by officials from European development cooperation agencies alongside the more typical NGO audience.

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 25: April 2008 — by PCLG — last modified 2008-04-30 21:10

THE POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF CONSERVATION: WHAT’S THAT THEN? A recent article in Conservation and Society explores, once again, the parks-people-poverty relationship. In this paper, however, the authors - Bill Adams and Jon Hutton - note that to date this discussion has not been based, to any great extent, on an explicit understanding of the political and economic dimensions of conservation policy. They suggest that one important reason for this is “the disciplinary gulf that exists between predominantly natural science-trained conservation planners and predominantly social science-trained critics of conservation.”

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 20: October 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-10-30 21:06

It is well documented that a wide range of plant species support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. These include edible fruits, grains, leaves, nuts, oils, roots and tubers, medicinal plants, spices and so on. Many of these species are, however, only considered important locally and may present difficulties for broader uptake because of their harvesting, storage or processing requirements. As a result, such so-called "underutilised plant species" (UPS) have received little investment to date through formal research and development activities....

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 10: DECEMBER 2006 — by Portal Web Editor — last modified 2007-02-11 17:32

LOCAL ACTION - GLOBAL ASPIRATIONS: COULD COMMUNITY CONSERVATION CONTRIBUTE MORE TO INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AND POVERTY REDUCTION GOALS? International targets have been set for both biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) emphasises the positive links between these two goals. But there is also a dilemma: while biodiversity conservation is essential for maintaining the ecosystem services on which human well-being depends over the long term, in the short term the costs of conservation can clash with the day-to-day livelihood needs of poor people in developing countries. Nordic countries have made significant investment in community-based natural resource management over the last 20 years. Given this the Norwegian Ministry of Environment recently commissioned a review to examine the extent to which this approach might resolve the trade off between biodiversity conservation and livelihood needs and also contribute to both sets of international targets by generating benefits for poor people and for biodiversity.

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 18: August 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-09-03 20:16

Research highlights on biodiversity and society, poverty and conservation. ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AND HUMAN WELL-BEING - WHERE DOES BIODIVERSITY FIT IN? The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), published in 2005, was instrumental in raising awareness about the nature and state of different ecosystem services and their contributions to human well-being. The MA conceptual framework shows biodiversity underpinning the provision of ecosystem services, but what do we really know about this linkage and the subsequent implications for poor people? A new report by the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre sets out to unravel the current state of knowledge on the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services in order to help shape development policy in this field....

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 23: FEBRUARY 2008 — by PCLG — last modified 2008-03-05 23:21

HOW DO YOU DEFINE GOOD PRACTICE IN CONSERVATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION? THE NATURE AND POVERTY PROGRAMME PROVIDES AN EXAMPLE

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 16: June 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-09-03 18:38

Research highlights on biodiversity and society, poverty and conservation. COUNTERING CRITICISM: CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS' RESPONSES TO DISPLACEMENT FROM PROTECTED AREAS Conservation has recently come under fire in the academic and popular press for its impacts on local people - in particular those associated with their displacement from protected areas. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an international conservation NGO, convened a meeting last year to bring together its field and policy staff with representatives of other conservation organisations and social scientists to try to better understand when, and to what extent, protected areas have negative impacts on local people and what policies or other responses conservation organisations could or should adopt to address such impacts....

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 26: May 2008 — by PCLG — last modified 2008-05-23 15:29

CAN COMMUNITY CONSERVATION SURVIVE POLITICAL INSTABILITY? It wasn’t so long ago that the CAMPFIRE initiative in Zimbabwe has held up as a model for community-based conservation. Certainly it has inspired and informed many community conservation efforts across Southern Africa and, indeed, worldwide. But how has it fared under the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe? Everisto Mapedza explores the fate of CAMPFIRE and of state-forest co-management in Zimbabwe in an effort to understand the resilience of community-based institutions in the face national instability....

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 24: March 2008 — by PCLG — last modified 2008-03-25 20:29

WILDLIFE, REFUGEES AND RELIEF AGENCIES: WHAT’S THE CONNECTION? Discussions about poverty-conservation linkages in recent years have paid significant attention to the – often disputed – roles and responsibilities of conservation organisations and development assistance agencies. A new report by TRAFFIC sheds light on an often overlooked sector in this debate – humanitarian relief agencies: the NGOs, UN agencies and government bodies that work on the ground with refugees, victims of natural disasters and so on. Night Time Spinach explores what happens when insufficient attention is paid to wildlife management and conservation in areas that have been designated for refugee camps, drawing on experience from Tanzania which, since 1993, has been host to one of the largest concentrations of refugees in the world. ...

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 17: JULY 2007 — by PCLG — last modified 2007-08-21 20:58

Research highlights on biodiversity and society, poverty and conservation RED ALERT? REDUCING EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION MAY IMPACT NEGATIVELY ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES. Land use change - particularly that associated with deforestation - is responsible for a significant portion of global carbon emissions. Although preventing deforestation was not considered as an eligible means of reducing carbon emissions under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012), "avoided deforestation" has recently become a hot issue in ongoing policy debates about climate change. Proponents of "reduced emissions from deforestation" (RED) schemes want incentives for forest conservation to be included within the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol (post-2012). ...

BioSoc: the Biodiversity and Society Bulletin ISSUE 6: AUGUST 2006 — by webadmin — last modified 2007-02-11 17:36

SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR CONSERVATION: DISPLACEMENT REDEFINED Displacement of local people has been one of the most contentious negative impacts of protected areas. The World Bank was one of the first agencies to address this issue, developing a policy on involuntary resettlement in 1980. Michael Cernea, architect of the World Bank resettlement policy describes, in articles published recently in the Journal of Social Change and IUCN's Policy Matters, how the mounting criticism of forced, physical relocation from protected areas brought about a slight "tactical shift" in the establishment of conservation areas whereby a strategy of restrictions on local access to, and use of, resources within the park was employed in place of geographic displacement. While physical displacement brought with it (at least theoretically) an obligation to compensate and resettle those affected, restricting access to resources has not been accompanied by any counter measures to address the subsequent local impoverishment that this strategy has caused.

South America Environment, Science & Technology, and Health Newsletter ISSUE 107: February 2008 — by ESTH — last modified 2008-03-25 20:22

Agriculture: Argentina:Danger in the Fields; BrazilAuthorizes Genetically Modified Crops; Health : Paraguay: Yellow Fever Update; Industrial Wastewater Pollution: Argentine Potassium Mining Plan Stirs Water Worry; Venezuela: Photocatalysis Fights Water Contamination; Argentina’s New President Pushing Sugar-Mill Cleanup; Forests: Latin America:Deforestation Still Winning; Brazil: Pantanal Indians Threatened by Deforestation; Peru:"For Sale" Signs in Amazon Jungle; Colombian CourtThrows Out Disputed Forestry Law; Peru:Logging Firm Accused of Using Workers’ Identities for Tax Fraud; Wildlife: BrazilLaunches Extinction Initiative; Ecology: Overfishing May Hurt Brazilian Pantanal Trees; Antarctic Research: VenezuelaHelped by Uruguay Plans Antarctic Base; Brazilian President Commits Support for Antarctic Research; Peru: Scramble for Gold Scars Madre de Dios Region; Energy: Brazil, Argentina Launch Energy Cooperation, but Natural Gas Negotiation Fails; PeruPlans Renewable Energy Investment; Brazil, French Guiana Cooperation includes Tackling Illegal Mining, Biofuels; ColombiaIgnores Pledge to Indians, Plans New Sinú Dam; Special Report: Increase in Deforestation Rate in Brazilian Amazon Sparks Government Action; Brazilto Boost Penalties to Pare Amazon Devastation; BrazilMob Attacks Anti-Logging Agents in Amazon Region; BrazilPlans Fund to Help Finance Amazon Conservation; BrazilPolice Resume Crackdown on Amazon Logging;