Orientador: Fábio Porto-Foresti / Banca: Fernanda Simões de Almeida / Banca: Daniel Cardoso de Carvalho / Resumo: O rio Sapucaí-Mirim, tributário da bacia do Alto Paraná apresenta grande diversidade de peixes neotropicais, em termo de riqueza de espécies. Paradoxalmente, a região que compreende a bacia do rio Paraná e alto Paraná apresenta uma grande interferência antrópica devido principalmente a construção de centrais hidrelétricas. Centrais hidrelétricas podem ser classificadas em Usinas Hidrelétricas (UHE) e Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas (PCH), de acordo com a capacidade de gerar energia. As PCHs são colocadas por vários autores como uma das alternativas de menor interferência, por apresentarem um tamanho reduzido, sendo construídas para suprir a demanda energética de pequenos centros urbanos e rurais. No entanto, a construção de diversas PCHs somada a construções de UHE causam uma fragmentação ainda maior nos ambientes aquáticos, ocasionando a interrupção do fluxo dos rios, este evento tem se mostrado prejudicial para várias espécies de peixes, principalmente as espécies migradoras. Estas espécies têm a necessidade de movimentar-se rio acima para fins tróficos e reprodutivos uma vez ao ano, com a construção de barramentos estas encontram dificuldades para completar seu ciclo de vida. Diversos estudos apontam esse bloqueio como principal fator na redução populacional destas espécies, alertando para necessidade de ações conservacionistas, a fim de manter os estoques pesqueiros que além de apresentarem importância ecológica nos ambientes aquáticos são de grande importância na pesca comercial e de subsistência. Há diversas ações tomadas para mitigar a redução populacional destas espécies, no entanto, no Brasil, estas ações são realizadas sem informações científicas, ocorrendo de forma equivocada, especialmente em práticas de repovoamento, onde alevinos são liberados na natureza sem nenhum conhecimento prévio biológico e genético. Práticas mitigadoras realizadas sem respaldo .... / Abstract: The Sapucaí-Mirim River, tributary of Alto Paraná basin presents great diversity of Neotropical fishes in terms of richness of species. Nevertheless, the region which encompasses the Paraná and Alto Paraná basins presents a great anthropic interference especially due to the construction of hydroelectric plants, these constructions can be classified as to its capacity to generate energy, in Hydroelectric plants and Small Hydroelectric Plants (SHP). The SHP are considered by several authors as one of the alternatives with less interference, due to its small size, this kind of hydroelectric are constructed to feed the energetic demand of small urban and rural centers. However, the constructions of SHPs together with hydroelectric plants constructions causes an even bigger fragmentation in the aquatic environments , which results in the interruption of rivers flow, this event has been shown as very harmful to fishes species specially the migratory species. Once a year these species move upstream to feed and reproduce, due to dams constructions migratory fishes species have difficulties to complete their life cycle. Several studies indicates the dams as a principal factor in the reduction of migratory species population , warning to necessity of conservationist actions, aiming to maintain the fisheries stocks that represent a fisheries and ecological importance in the aquatic environments. Many actions are employed aiming to minimize the reduction of migratory species population, however, in Brazil these actions are performed without scientific support, occurring in a wrongful manner, specially the restocking, where the fishes are released into the wild without any prior biological and genetic knowledge. Mitigation practices performed without scientific support may endanger the wild stocking. The development of genetics technologies has been proven of extremely importance to assist in the ecology and conservationist biology, through ... / Mestre

This study explores two interlinked aspects of human-environment relationship—cash crop development and biodiversity conservation—by examining the situations of the Hmong people, the largest traditional pioneer swidden group in the Thai highlands. Cash crop adoption among the Hmong have occurred in two main ways. The first involves the adoption of low-input upland crops and a shift to high-input vegetable crops. This pattern is found in the Lower North and spread to the Upper North, particularly in Tak, Phrae, Nan, Payao and Chiang Rai. The adoption is closely linked to the development of roads into the uplands and the diffusion of maize cultivation in the lowlands. The second pattern is a direct shift from opium to high-input crops, particularly cabbage. Large scale cabbage growing began in the early 1980s as a response to the demand for off-season vegetables. The most important driving factors behind cash crop adoption were the government poppy eradication activities, the contacts between market agents and the Hmong and the increased accessibility of Hmong villages. Adoption was facilitated by favourable market prices at the initial period and by the Hmong clan network. Each type of cash crops has had its particular effects on the Hmong socio-economy. Cut-flowers bring small but regular income into a household while cabbages bring a lump sum, a few times a year. Cabbage production induces high level of truck ownership leading to increased mobility, rapid diffusion of innovations, changing cultural values and increased uses of lowland services (such as health care, schools, market, etc.). Flower production, on the other hand, allows women to take active parts in marketing. The study also found a type of movement not discussed in earlier literature, the temporary migration of households or parts of households to take advantage of successful cash crop cultivation in other villages for a period of 1–2 years. The examination of four cash crops: opium, maize, cabbage and carnations shows that the Hmong have gradually shifted from land extensive to land intensive cash crops. This move to economize on land is, however, recompensed by the need for high inputs in agriculture. The more land intensive the crop is, the more fertilizers and pesticides are used. Comparisons between crops on three variables: population-land ratio, income and pesticide used per unit area, suggest that cut-flowers may be a superior crop, if measures to reduce pesticide uses can be found. Cash crop adoption affect the relationships between the people and wildlife in three ways. First, the labour-intensive nature of cash crop production prevents farmers from spending as much time in the forest as in the past. Second, cash crops provide incomes which allow the people to obtain meat from the market and thus reducing the needs for wild meat. Third, cash crop economy orients people toward the lowland, resulting in weakening traditional knowledge about wildlife behaviours, hunting or trapping. Most Hmong view hunting as a leisure activity, and some, particular women, see it as a waste of time. Reduced hunting, however, has not lessen the pressure on wildlife as the population of all species are reportedly declining. Many Hmong villages have rules against hunting some species, particularly gibbons. This rule is respected by most people but not all. Since the people do not feel that their livelihood is greatly affected by the disappearance of wildlife, the direct relationships between economic improvement and conservation is not clearly apparent. / Graduate

This study explores two interlinked aspects of human-environment relationship—cash crop development and biodiversity conservation—by examining the situations of the Hmong people, the largest traditional pioneer swidden group in the Thai highlands. Cash crop adoption among the Hmong have occurred in two main ways. The first involves the adoption of low-input upland crops and a shift to high-input vegetable crops. This pattern is found in the Lower North and spread to the Upper North, particularly in Tak, Phrae, Nan, Payao and Chiang Rai. The adoption is closely linked to the development of roads into the uplands and the diffusion of maize cultivation in the lowlands. The second pattern is a direct shift from opium to high-input crops, particularly cabbage. Large scale cabbage growing began in the early 1980s as a response to the demand for off-season vegetables. The most important driving factors behind cash crop adoption were the government poppy eradication activities, the contacts between market agents and the Hmong and the increased accessibility of Hmong villages. Adoption was facilitated by favourable market prices at the initial period and by the Hmong clan network. Each type of cash crops has had its particular effects on the Hmong socio-economy. Cut-flowers bring small but regular income into a household while cabbages bring a lump sum, a few times a year. Cabbage production induces high level of truck ownership leading to increased mobility, rapid diffusion of innovations, changing cultural values and increased uses of lowland services (such as health care, schools, market, etc.). Flower production, on the other hand, allows women to take active parts in marketing. The study also found a type of movement not discussed in earlier literature, the temporary migration of households or parts of households to take advantage of successful cash crop cultivation in other villages for a period of 1–2 years. The examination of four cash crops: opium, maize, cabbage and carnations shows that the Hmong have gradually shifted from land extensive to land intensive cash crops. This move to economize on land is, however, recompensed by the need for high inputs in agriculture. The more land intensive the crop is, the more fertilizers and pesticides are used. Comparisons between crops on three variables: population-land ratio, income and pesticide used per unit area, suggest that cut-flowers may be a superior crop, if measures to reduce pesticide uses can be found. Cash crop adoption affect the relationships between the people and wildlife in three ways. First, the labour-intensive nature of cash crop production prevents farmers from spending as much time in the forest as in the past. Second, cash crops provide incomes which allow the people to obtain meat from the market and thus reducing the needs for wild meat. Third, cash crop economy orients people toward the lowland, resulting in weakening traditional knowledge about wildlife behaviours, hunting or trapping. Most Hmong view hunting as a leisure activity, and some, particular women, see it as a waste of time. Reduced hunting, however, has not lessen the pressure on wildlife as the population of all species are reportedly declining. Many Hmong villages have rules against hunting some species, particularly gibbons. This rule is respected by most people but not all. Since the people do not feel that their livelihood is greatly affected by the disappearance of wildlife, the direct relationships between economic improvement and conservation is not clearly apparent. / Graduate

Ph.D. / South Africa has the highest biodiversity of tortoises in the world with possibly an equivalent diversity of apicomplexan haematozoans, which to date have not been adequately researched. Prior to this study, five apicomplexans had been recorded infecting southern African tortoises, including two haemogregarines, Haemogregarina fitzsimonsi and Haemogregarina parvula, and three haemoproteids, Haemoproteus testudinalis, Haemoproteus balazuci and Haemoproteus sp. A. The taxonomy of all of these species was questionable, and therefore one goal of this study was to examine at least some in great detail with the view to resolving taxonomic issues. This involved using a number of techniques such as light microscopy and image analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and molecular analysis. Outcomes were the transfer of one Haemogregarina species (Haemogregarina fitzsimonsi) to the genus Hepatozoon, the suggestion that the genus Hemolivia might be more appropriate for another haemogregarine (Haemogregarina parvula), the synonymisation of two known species of Haemoproteus (Haemoproteus balazuci with Haemoproteus testudinalis), and the naming of a third haemoproteid (Haemoproteus natalensis Cook, Smit and Davies, 2010). In addition, a likely new species of haemogregarine (Haemogregarina sp. A.) was described. To achieve all this, 367 tortoises were collected representing 62% of the species and all five genera, of South African tortoises. Tortoises were both wild (287) and captive (80), with these being both live (270) and dead (97) when taken. They were located in four different provinces, including Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Northern and the Western Cape, and in four different biomes (semi-arid grassland, Kalahari desert, subtropical thorn bushveld, and coastal endemic fynbos). Light photomicroscopy examination of Giemsa stained peripheral blood smears prepared from the subcarapacial vessels of live tortoises allowed for descriptions and comparisons of the observed haematozoans. Of the live tortoises, 14.8% had haemogregarines, including 13.3% with H. fitzsimonsi, 0.7% with H. parvula, and 0.7% with a previously unknown, intraleucocytic, Haemogregarina sp. A. A further 1.1% had haemoproteids, including 0.7% with Hp. testudinalis/Hp. balazuci and 0.4% with Haemoproteus sp. A. The host and locality records of previously described haematozoan species were increased and records for likely new species provided. Subtropical areas (KwaZulu-Natal) compared to arid regions (Northern Cape) presented with a higher diversity of apicomplexans, along with a higher prevalence of ticks, possible vectors of the tortoise blood parasites. Overall, male tortoises had the highest haematozoan and tick prevalences compared to females and juveniles,

Magister Artium - MA / Cape Town is a unique city. It has a global biodiversity hotspot, in the midst of an urban area. Historically, nature conservation practice excluded and marginalized certain groups of people based on their race and class. This has led to peoples‘ disconnection from nature. Rapid biodiversity loss is a major concern for conservators. In the last three decades, there has been a paradigm shift in conservation practice in certain parts of the world. The Cape Flats Nature programme based in Cape Town followed suit and aimed to stimulate a bottom-up participatory approach to conservation and replace the traditional top-down management strategy. The programme was tasked to reconcile the challenges of complex and conflicting relationships between urban poverty, unequal access to resources and biodiversity conservation.This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between conservation management, community partners and urban conservation areas. These relationships are vital for the progression of new conservation practice in places where people live and work. In addition, the transformative aspects of conservation in relation to social inclusion and the shift in conservation approaches was investigated. The study was conducted at five of Cape Town‘s nature reserves, Edith Stephens Wetland Park, Macassar Dunes, Harmony Flats, Wolfgat and Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserves. Data collection included in depth interviews with key informants from various conservation organizations, the Cape Flats Nature Programme team, the managers of the selected reserves and community partners. Others included observational methods and analysis of secondary data.It was found that relationships between conservators and local communities are not easily created and maintained but relationships regardless of its depth are equally beneficial to communities and the conservators. Balancing social needs with conservation needs is a struggle for conservators but many successes came in cases where this balance was realized. In addition, the transformation of conservators‘ identity has changed community perceptions of conservation practice holistically. Although, many informants feel that transformation continues to remain unequal.

This paper examines the possibility of extending biodiversity conservation onto the communal lands of the Dwesa-Cwebe area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, by investigating the natural resource based factors, the community based factors and the external institutions based factors that have contributed to the perceived success in the on-going biodiversity conservation programme in the Nqabara Administrative Area using the qualitative approach to scientific investigation. To accomplish this, this study developed a conceptual framework to unravel the complex community conservation initiative in the Nqabara Administrative Area to gain a good understanding of the factors that have enhanced its successful implementation. The field work lasted the period July, 2009 and March, 2010. The interview sample composed of thirty participants, with sex ratio of 18 males to 12 females. The number of villages under the umbrella name Nqabara Administrative Area is ten, and each village was represented by three people which made our sample’s spatial allocation even. A focus group discussion was adopted as the data collection method; and the underlying factors that have contributed to the success of the conservation initiative were subsequently identified. Appropriate coding was assigned to each distinct and major factor for proper presentation of the results, and observations were appropriately provided to buffer the explanation of the results. The main findings of the study indicate that for success: (a) there is a major need for any community that desires to participate in biodiversity conservation to possess important biodiversity species on their lands, understand the basic principles and demands of engaging in conservation, and have alternative sources of livelihood to reliance on these important biodiversity; (b) it is important to seek for assistance from reliable and relevant external institutions in the form of finance, community training, coordination, regular evaluation, and adequate representation in the decision-making processes at the government level and (c) it is important to have a common interest and goal by a community on the issue of adopting biodiversity conservative initiative, and to what extent it is to be adopted; and reliable members should be appointed as their Trust Board members who will be charged to direct the affairs of the conservation initiative on behalf of the general community and represent their best interest with the government and other concerned external institutions. Based on the foregoing, this study recommends that the Dwesa-Cwebe area should adequately consider and ensure the above-mentioned factors are in place to achieve successful community biodiversity conservation. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The central thesis of this study addresses biodiversity challenges from a social relations perspective. This is viewed from the standpoint of enhancing sustainable bioresource-use systems from a behaviour change departure. The study reviewed the activities of organisations in Nigeria which focus on bioresource management. The review focused on how the organisations view, conceive and implement activities which aim to address biodiversity loss emphasising how these aspects inform the concept of programme design, planning and implementation. The strategies were weighed against theories and techniques in behaviour change. The study argues that it should be recognised that the challenges of biodiversity loss have a strong relationship with how a society is socially constructed, and that addressing the challenges will require a systematic approach aimed at social construction, using efficient techniques to ensure behaviour change. The objective of the study was to acquire insight on how programmes which aim at addressing biodiversity loss in Nigeria approached behaviour change towards sustainable bioresource-use practise. The study captured these insights in a set of themes which provided an improved analysis on the dynamics of behaviour change and biodiversity management in Nigeria as well as extrapolated these findings to articulate new ideas on how to address the challenges of biodiversity loss in Nigeria. Through analysing basic suppositions and exposing contradictions, social science disciplines examine the credibility of arguments and key concepts that commonly remain unquestioned. Based on this premise, critical assumptions on biodiversity management were challenged by the study. Furthermore, the study articulated questions which have been raised in recent years from a variety of social science perspectives on biodiversity management concerns. The study postulated the need for biodiversity management to be approached from a social-construct perspective in rethinking the discourse on unsustainable bioresource-use patterns. The thesis derives from an eco-sociology framework rooted in human interaction analysis, which is connected with approaches in the social science of functionalism and behaviourism. The concepts and ideas discussed in the thesis lay out the main dimensions relevant to the discourse on behaviour change-biodiversity management. The study’s conceptual and theoretical underpinning discussed biodiversity management concerns from a global context and narrowed the discussion down to country specific contexts. Within these contexts, the study discussed issues of policies, legal systems, political and social systems, practices and programme activities, as part of management concerns. The study compiled relevant views on conservation and protection practises which were in line with internationally accepted norms and practises on biodiversity management. It highlights the challenges of current practises which emphasise strengthening of legal frameworks, policies and practises, and which criminalise actions that contravene ideally-construed conservation precepts as best models of addressing biodiversity loss. It further discussed the emphasis placed on protected-area systems as the main model of biodiversity conservation and argued on the need to rethink the approach within the Nigerian context. The study articulates the role of sociology in ecological discourse and argues that although the knowledge gained by physical and biological sciences are essential in addressing ecological challenges, however, they are not sufficient to understand the driving forces underlying ecological challenges and the phenomenon fundamental to understanding trends and patterns of human factors in biodiversity loss. The study was explored within the methodological framework of phenomenology as the underpinning paradigm using a qualitative approach for analysis. The layouts of the thesis ensure that the research moves from theoretical and conceptual reflections to the actualities of lived realities and situated practices embedded in biodiversity management in Nigeria. The conceptual inclination for the theoretical base for the study analysis was postulated, which articulate the study’s scientific and empirical contributions. The survey method reflects exploratory analytical inquiry which supported the study’s methodological considerations. This was based on the specific data chosen for review, which was informed by the selected organisation’s application of social-construct concepts. Considered from a national perspective, the study assumed that issues of biodiversity management concerns were not to be separated from everyday social realities and the larger social challenges. In view of this consideration, the study analysis looked at historical, political and socio-economic backdrops in Nigeria, which reflected on bioresource-use practises. These are relevant to understand the dynamics and interplay of culture and values in bioresource-use patterns. The study builds on diverse arrays of global frameworks to integrate the major findings of the study. These were compared with related and different dimensions as well as existing theories of human-bioresource interactions. The first aspect of the empirical analysis explored conceptual dimensions which raised questions concerning perceptions of reality and social values that were linked to the strategies of social-constructs expressed through policies, plans and practices. The study’s fundamental empirical dimension explored the forms in which programmes and social institutions were relevant in ensuring behaviour change towards sustainable bioresource-use practise. The analytical sequences observed trends which support facilitation of social change through behaviour change. Another aspect of the empirical analysis focused on revealing the processional dynamics of programme activities to achieve set objectives. This was analysed from the methodical perspective of how the processes were monitored and measured in order to achieve anticipated outcomes. The study summarised the findings and the outcomes by outlining the themes which emerged from the research. The study analysis argued that the ideals of social interventions cannot be different from a society’s inherent and attributed meanings to realities, as well as how they engage with their everyday realities.

Sundays Thicket and Spekboomveld vegetation in the Eastern Cape have experienced intensive and extensive degradation due to over-browsing by domestic stock. The Subtropical Thicket Restoration Project aims to take advantage of the high carbon sequestration potential of Portulacaria afra (Spekboom) and other Thicket species, to rehabilitate degraded Thicket by restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, create job opportunities and socio-economic upliftment in local communities, and promote the trade of carbon credits generated by planting and „farming‟ with Spekboom truncheons, rather than domestic stock. Plant material (seeds and length of stem) was sourced from the farm Krompoort, outside Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape. The effectiveness of four different rooting media i.e. plain pool filter sand and 1:1 mixtures of pool filter sand with perlite, potting soil and Thicket soil, on the rooting of ten Thicket species, were tested. Species with the greatest percentage strike and mean root length on stem cuttings were succulent species, Crassula ovata (84 percent strike) and Portulacaria afra (97 percent), as was expected. The application of rooting hormone Seradix© No. 3 did not significantly promote cutting strike or increase mean root length in C. ovata and P. afra. Woody canopy shrub species with the greatest cutting strike and mean root length, overall, were Rhigozum obovatum (24 percent), Lycium cinereum and L. oxycarpum (21 percent), and Searsia longispina (19 percent). These species, as well as Grewia robusta (4 percent), are considered „easy-to-root‟ species, or of sufficient functional value in terms of their spinescence, flower and fruit production, and soil-binding capabilities. Very low percentage strike (<1 percent) and mean root length were achieved in Azima tetracantha, Carissa bispinosa and Gymnosporia polyacantha subsp. polyacantha. These species are considered unsuitable for propagation for rehabilitation purposes. Crassula ovata, L. cinereum, L. oxycarpum, P. afra and S. longispina cuttings produced longer roots when planted in Thicket soil, the same having been found in R. obovatum cuttings planted in perlite. Thicket soil was, therefore, best at promoting cutting strike and root growth in „easy-to-root‟ species. Plain pool filter sand was the only medium in which A. tetracantha, C. bispinosa and G. robusta, cuttings rooted, and perlite the only medium in which G. polyacantha subsp. polyacantha cuttings rooted. Potting soil did not promote significant cutting strike or root growth in any of the species tested. Physiological variables i.e. photosynthetic efficiency (chlorophyll a fluorescence, Fv/Fm) and stomatal conductance (mmol H2O m-2 s-1) were measured for ten Thicket species, including Portulacaria afra. Control plants were watered well once a week, and treatment plants were dried out for 30 days, rewatered on the 30th day and their recovery from drought stress monitored for a further 17 days. Species that responded poorly to drought stress were Gymnosporia buxifolia and Putterlickia pyracantha. In addition to Portulacaria afra, species that showed the fastest recovery and resprout after rewatering, were: Crassula ovata, Ehretia rigida, Grewia robusta, Lycium ferocissimum, Rhigozum obovatum and Searsia longispina. These species produced the smallest decline in volumetric moisture content of soil, and had the lowest decline in photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal conductance during simulated drought. Unlike C. ovata and P. afra, which are CAM or C3-CAM switching species, mortality of transplants will most likely be high, if not total, during transplantation, as this study was done at lower light and temperature, and higher humidity levels than experienced at rehabilitation sites. This study has shown that the reintroduction of propagated woody canopy shrubs and trees into degraded Thicket sites does not appear to be a practical or economical method of actively restoring biodiversity to rehabilitation sites. As woody climax species have been shown to return to sites planted with Spekboom truncheons through „natural regeneration‟ within approximately 50 years, future research efforts should focus on optimising restoration site selection and planting techniques in order to maximize carbon sequestration potential of planted truncheons, which will, in the long term, result in an environment that can support regeneration of the biodiversity to something resembling intact Thicket.

This thesis examines the extent to which sugar bush management in Eastern Ontario might contribute to biodiversity maintenance and conservation and therefore be promoted as a form of rural sustainable development. Ontario government policy seeks to actively promote actions that strengthen the province’s rural communities and protect biodiversity. Therefore sustainable development is an important concept to encourage in rural areas. The production of maple syrup on sugar bushes has already been demonstrated to be economically, socially, and in some aspects ecologically sustainable. This study seeks to determine how the operation of sugar bushes might also contribute to ecological sustainability through the maintenance and conservation of forest biodiversity. I identified three documents published by the Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF): a set of management principles for conserving biodiversity on private woodlots, a list of biodiversity indicators, and a manual for monitoring them. I monitored three of the biodiversity indicators (spring ephemerals, birds, and frogs) on three of the larger sugar bushes in the Eastern Ontario and established that the EOMF biodiversity monitoring practices and guidelines were suitable for working sugar bushes. Using the management principles for biodiversity conservation developed by the EOMF, I interviewed 22 sugar bush operators in Eastern Ontario. With these interviews I addressed two objectives: 1. To generate empirical information regarding the management practices of maple sugar bush operators in Eastern Ontario and to compare these with established management principles for forest biodiversity conservation in the region 2. To generate suggestions for woodlot operators and government policymakers alike about future opportunities for research and management decision-making. The results of the study show that although most operators do not have a formal management plan for their sugar bush, many of their management practices are consistent with prescribed biodiversity conservation principles. Sugar bush operators are receptive to conserving biodiversity on their properties. The findings suggest that through sound management and planning, small-scale commercial sugar bush operations generally can be made environmentally sustainable, and become important components in broader rural development strategies. This study provides new insights into how small-scale sugar bush management, when practiced well, is consistent with conservation principles and with sustainable development principles more generally. It shows how sugar bush operators in Eastern Ontario can help the province reach its goals of biodiversity conservation and rural development set out in Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy (2005) and Ontario’s Rural Plan (2004).

Includes bibliographical references / This thesis explores the tensions between biodiversity conservation and agricultural development in a legal context in Rwanda, a small and poor African developing country. It does so against the backdrop of relevant international conventions, the relatively recent constitutional dispensation in the country as well as the land reform process which has been underway in the country over the last few decades. Partly based on the findings of an empirical study, the core of the work outlines, examines and critically assesses relevant domestic Rwandan policies, laws and institutions focusing on areas of particular concern namely the laws applicable to the conservation of soil, water and genetic resources in agriculture, including conservation of crop and livestock diversity. The conclusions and recommendations are embedded in the need for policies, laws and institutions to accommodate the increase in agricultural production to eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty as well as recognition of the interlinkages between agricultural development and biodiversity conservation. The study concludes that Rwandan laws are inadequate in that they have been disparately and inefficiently developed, that agricultural development and biodiversity policies be revised to aim at sustainable agricultural development and that a coordinated institutional framework with full involvement of all concerned stakeholders and appreciation of local knowledge and sustainable agricultural practices is required. Specific legal, policy and institutional shortfalls are highlighted including lack of implementing regulations; omission of necessary legislative provisions on key areas in the biodiversity and agricultural sectors and others. The work concludes by making specific recommendations and proposals to reconcile the need to promote agricultural development while facilitating biodiversity conservation and ultimately sustainable development.