The abundance of wealth and technology in the North, and biological diversity and poverty in the South provokes an inquiry into an appropriate modality for the equitable harnessing and allocation of biodiversity dividends. Over the years, the traditional knowledge relating to biological diversity has been regarded as part of the "global intellectual commons", open to exploitation by all, and subject to validation by formal methods. That knowledge has remained the source of both increasing knowledge and critical discoveries of the therapeutic values of most components of biological diversity. There is a consensus between the North and the South that an effective biodiversity conservation strategy should be one capable of providing incentives to the traditional custodians of wild habitat. Intellectual property is generally recognised as an appropriate framework to implement this objective. However, as a perennial subject of North-South disagreement, there is no consensus on the relevant details or mechanisms for deploying intellectual property rights to effectuate the objective. The United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signifies a global regime embodying the ideals of incentivising the traditional custodians of the wild habitat as well as equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. Arguably, it marks an end to the idea of regarding traditional knowledge as part of the global intellectual commons. This thesis contends that the CBD regime carries with it the burden of unresolved North-South perspectives on intellectual property rights. It argues that the heart of the conflict is the reluctance of the North to accord intellectual property status to traditional knowledge. This is partly because of the latter's informal nature but most importantly it derives from an inherent geo-political ideological conflict on the subject of intellectual property rights. Presently, the recognition of rights over traditional knowledge is approached on a sui generis basis. This thesis takes the position that the approach with its several limitations is not persuasive. It contends that on the merits, traditional knowledge is, and ought to be recognised as a subject matter of intellectual property rights. The recent elevation of intellectual property (a traditional subject matter of national law) to the international level under the WTO/TRIPs Agreement further undermines traditional knowledge. This has posed a setback not only to the global biodiversity conservation initiative, but also to the quest for equitable allocation of its dividends. It is my thesis that a national approach offers a better option for accommodating the intellectual property status of traditional knowledge and consequentially for advancing the quest for biodiversity conservation as well as equitable allocation of the dividends arising therefrom. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Orientador: Mauro William Barbosa de Almeida / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T19:44:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carvalho_MairaBuenode_M.pdf: 1571795 bytes, checksum: 8055cef0ff34e4b7ed9d657f2fafa74d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é estudar os eventos associados à constituição do Programa Brasileiro de Ecologia Molecular para o Uso Sustentável da Biodiversidade da Amazônia (PROBEM) e do Centro de Biotecnologia da Amazônia (CBA) e a crise que se abateu sobre esses projetos. A nossa hipótese principal é que as práticas científicas relacionadas à informação genética e à biotecnologia são também práticas de poder e envolvem relações de poder. Mais especificamente, queremos com este trabalho entender os conflitos entre interesses regionais, nacionais e internacionais no uso da biodiversidade pela biotecnologia, abordando a disposição das hierarquias dentro do campo científico, numa relação entre centros mundiais e o Brasil, e entre Brasil e Amazônia. Procuramos mostrar, através de um estudo etnográfico da ciência, combinado ao estudo de documentos e entrevistas, como a política nacional de biotecnologia no país não apenas envolve disputas pelo capital científico, conectadas a uma rede científico-tecnológica em escala mundial, mas está subordinada a uma hierarquização que é parte integrante da universalização de um pensamento e de uma prática científica que estão intimamente ligados à mundialização do capitalismo / Abstract: The goal of this research is to study the events surrounding the creation of the Brazilian Molecular Ecology Program for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in the Amazonia (PROBEM) and the Center for Biotechnology in the Amazon (CBA), and the crisis that fell upon those projects. Our main hypothesis is that scientific practices related to genetical information and to biotechnology are also power practices and involve power relations. More specifically, we want to understand how conflicts between regional, national and international interests biotechnogical uses of biodiversity are inflected by hierarchies within the scientific field, relating on the one hand world centers and Brazil, and Brazil and Amazonia on the other hand. By means of an ethnographic study of science, combined to documental research and interviews with scientists, we propose to show how Brazilian biotechnology policies involve disputes over scientific capital and is connected to a world-wide scientific-technological network; we also want to show how they are part of a world-scale hierarchyzation of science which is part and parcel of the universalization of a mode of thought intimately linked to the universalization of capitalism / Mestrado / Natureza, Tecnologia e Cultura / Mestre em Antropologia

Orientador: Maria Beatriz Machado Bonacelli / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T03:11:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Canhos_DoraAnnLange_D.pdf: 4584795 bytes, checksum: 0096e2a4a1b77389778670564e53faae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: A tese apresenta como tema a influência das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs) na circulação do conhecimento científico e o seu efeito na elaboração de políticas públicas em biodiversidade. O avanço das TICs está afetando a forma com que o conhecimento é produzido e como os resultados são difundidos. As TICs tornaram possível o envolvimento de mais atores na gênese do conhecimento, atores de diferentes disciplinas, especialidades, instituições, localidades, países, culturas e realidades sociais. O paradigma tradicional de compartilhamento de dados e resultados científicos por meio apenas de publicações em livros e revistas especializadas não é mais suficiente para atender à demanda contemporânea que necessita não só da disponibilidade dos dados, mas dos processos, análises e métodos e, quando possível, em tempo real, proporcionando uma maior transparência e reprodutibilidade dos resultados. Também não basta a disponibilidade dos dados on-line; estes precisam estar organizados de forma padronizada em formatos úteis e utilizáveis, acessíveis, tanto por interfaces humanas, como também via serviços web. Além da tecnologia e da necessidade científica de compartilhar dados, métodos e análises em diferentes escalas e disciplinas, existe uma necessidade de acesso e uso dos dados e aplicativos para processos de tomada de decisão, também em diferentes escalas, do local ao global. Isso é particularmente verdadeiro quando o tema é meio ambiente e desenvolvimento sustentável. A tese argumenta que a política para dados sobre biodiversidade deve promover o seu acesso livre e aberto. Destaca a importância de políticas de longo prazo voltadas ao desenvolvimento e manutenção contínua de infraestruturas de dados para armazenar, organizar, preservar, recuperar e disseminar on-line, de forma livre e aberta, em formato útil e utilizável, dados e informações sobre biodiversidade, geradas com recursos públicos. Indica a necessidade das agências e do poder público se capacitarem para se apropriarem desses dados e informações disponibilizadas nessas e-infraestruturas. Na tese são analisadas três infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade: a rede global GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); a rede mexicana Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico) e a rede brasileira speciesLink. Para cada rede é apresentada uma breve análise dos pontos fortes e fracos, buscando elementos para avaliar a adequação das políticas de fomento para o desenvolvimento e manutenção desses sistemas. São também apresentados três exemplos de uso da infraestrutura brasileira, a rede speciesLink: (i) para o monitoramento e acompanhamento de programas e projetos e para avaliação e valorização dos serviços científicos prestados por curadores e taxonomistas; (ii) para a identificação de lacunas de dados e conhecimento sobre a ocorrência de espécies da flora e fungos do Brasil; e (iii) para a definição de estratégias de apoio à informatização dos acervos de coleções biológicas do país. A tese procura mostrar a oportunidade, viabilidade e importância de usar e-infraestruturas em biodiversidade, não só para ampliar o acesso e a usabilidade dos dados para o desenvolvimento científico, mas para a elaboração e avaliação de políticas públicas, inclusive para melhorar a qualidade, confiabilidade e completude dos dados e informações / Abstract: The theme of this thesis is the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the circulation of scientific knowledge and its effect on the formulation of public policies on biodiversity. Advances in ICTs are affecting the way in which knowledge is produced and how results are disseminated. ICTs have enabled the involvement of more actors in the genesis of knowledge, actors from different disciplines, specialties, institutions, localities, countries, and from different social and cultural backgrounds. Thus, the traditional paradigm of sharing scientific data and results through books and journals is not sufficient to attend contemporary demands that require not only the availability of data, but also processes, analysis, and methods and, when possible, in real time, providing increased transparency and reproducibility of results. But just making data available on-line is not sufficient. It must be organized following accepted standards, in useful and usable formats, and accessible, both through human interfaces and as web services. In addition to the technology and the need to share scientific data, methods and analysis in different scales and disciplines, there is the need to use a data infrastructure with tools for decision making, also in different scales, from local to global. This is particularly true when the theme is environment and sustainable development. The thesis argues that policy for biodiversity data must promote its free and open access. It also stresses the importance of long term policies for ongoing maintenance and development of electronic biodiversity data infrastructures, responsible for storing, organizing, preserving, recuperating, and for on-line free and open dissemination of information and data, generated with public funding. The thesis also indicates the need for public agents and authorities to make efficient and effective use of the data and information provided by such e-infrastructures. The thesis analyses three biodiversity data infrastructures: the global network GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility); the Mexican network Conabio (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico); and the Brazilian network speciesLink. A brief analysis is presented for each network, evaluating strengths and weaknesses, seeking elements to assess the adequacy of policies to promote the development and maintenance of these systems. Three examples of possible uses of the Brazilian network speciesLink are also presented: (i) for monitoring programs and projects and for the evaluation and acknowledgement of scientific services provided by curators and taxonomists; (ii) to identify data and knowledge gaps on the occurrence of species of flora and fungi of Brazil; and, (iii) to define strategies to support the computerization of biological collections in the country. The thesis aims at showing the opportunity, feasibility and importance of using e-infrastructures in biodiversity, not only to increase access and usability of data for scientific development, but for the development and evaluation of public policies, including those to improve the quality, reliability, and completeness of data and information / Doutorado / Politica Cientifica e Tecnologica / Doutora em Política Científica e Tecnológica

Previous studies of plant-pollinator interactions have relied on the use of floral visitation data. Although, this may be insufficient to fully characterize the diversity and strength of plant-pollinator interactions. By using pollen transport data (i.e. pollen on pollinators), new insights can be gained on the structure and function of plant-pollinator communities. Yet studies that characterize and compare pollen-transport with floral-visitation networks are scarce. Furthermore, the strength and frequency of plant-pollinator interactions can vary across temporal scales. Although, monthly and within-day variation in network structure has been little studied. By evaluating variation in network structure across these biologically relevant time scales we will gain a better understanding of the factors that shape plant-pollinator communities. Here, we build plant-pollinator interactions networks based on floral visitation and pollen transport data by observing, collecting and sampling pollen from floral visitors in a southern Appalachian floral community. We aim to 1) compare the congruence of plant-pollinator networks built on floral visitation and pollen transport data and 2) evaluate within season and within-day variation in plant-pollinator network structure. To assess floral visitation and to quantify pollen transport, four 1x40m transects were set up at the study site. Morning collections were conducted between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM twice per week while afternoon collections took place once per week between 3:01 PM and 5:00 PM over 20 non-consecutive days. All flower visitors observed interacting with a flower’s reproductive structures (i.e. searching for pollen and nectar) were collected.All collected pollinators were processed for surface pollen loads by dabbing the body with a 3x3mm fuschin jelly cube. Each area of the body was dabbed three times to standardize sampling. Identification and quantification of pollen was done using a compound light microscope. Data was then analyzed with the “bipartite” package of R to create bipartite plant-pollinator networks. Procrustes analysis was used to identify differences in network structure. Preliminary results show that the structure of floral visitation and pollen transport networks are significantly different from each other (P <0.01). Pollen-transport network size is almost four times larger (496 links) compared to the floral-visitation network (109 links). Species in the pollen transport network tend to be more connected (connectance = 2.3) and have five times more links per species on average (5.22 links) than floral visitation networks (connectance = 1.1, links = 1.8). Within-season and within-day differences in network structure are currently being evaluated. Our results so far show that pollen transport networks at our study site captured 78% more unique interactions and, thus, provide more accurate network structure. Interpretation of pollen transfer versus floral visitation networks can have important implications for our understanding of community-level functions such as their resilience and stability.

Traditional dogma is that men have a higher metabolism compared to women. Because of an increased obesity rate in women, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that compared to males, females will gain more body weight per gram of food consumed. Methods: To test our hypothesis male and female mice were fed either a high or low-fat diet for 20-weeks, while monitoring food intake and body weight. At the end of the 20 week feeding plan, a final weight on the mice was taken, as well as a measurement from the nose to rump of the mouse in order to calculate a BMI. Results: Male mice consistently consumed more food than female mice, regardless of the diet. As expected mice on the high-fat diet gained more weight than mice on the low-fat diet. Further, on the low-fat diet male mice gained more weight than the female mice. Interestingly, there was no difference between the amount of weight gain between male and female mice on the high fat. However, within the same diet, male mice gained more weight per gram of food consumed. On average, male mice gained approximately double the body weight per gram of food consumed compared with female mice (51 vs. 27 mg of body weight per gram of food consumed). Conclusions: We had hypothesized that increased food intake in male mice would primarily account for the differences in body weight between male and female mice. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the data shows that male mice gained more body weight per gram of food consumed. This finding provides a novel hypothesis to explain the mechanism by which, at least in rodents, females are more resistant to obesity. Future studies comparing metabolic rate and physical activity levels will need to be performed to explore this finding further.

Many organisms are known to reach high levels of endemism and biodiversity in the temperate forests of Southern Appalachia, especially in the dense forests and rugged terrain of the Blue Ridge physiographic province. Many plants and fungi reach their highest levels of biodiversity in these mountains, as does one group of vertebrates: the lungless salamanders, Plethodontidae. This family of salamanders hosts the most species of any other group of salamanders on earth and has adapted to a wide range of habitats. Only two of the approximately twenty-seven known genera are not found in North or South America, and while we know much about the modern-day biology of this family, few fossils older than ~15,000 years have been recovered, complicating our understanding of the historical distribution of this group and the timing of key evolutionary events within the family. Recently discovered salamander fossils from the Gray Fossil Site provide the foundation of this project. We describe these exceptionally large plethodontid remains to a new genus that belongs to the group containing dusky salamanders, or desmognathans. The morphology of the fossil material resembles Phaeognathus hubrichti, an extant burrowing species from southern Alabama with a suite of primitive characteristics. Comparison of the fossil material to modern desmognathans using geometric statistical methods has revealed that the extinct form was likely similar in lifestyle to P. hubrichti, but considerably larger. It was unparalleled in the southern Appalachians in terms of size and ecology, and reveals a more complex evolutionary history for desmognathan salamanders.

Magister Legum - LLM / The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) is ineffective in ensuring the conservation and long-term sustainability of marine fisheries in Areas beyond national Jurisdiction (ABNJ). This is a result of the lacuna in Part VII of the 1982 UNCLOS containing the framework provisions governing the conservation and management of marine living resources in ABNJ. The lacuna relates to the fact that the 1982 UNCLOS fails to address the threats posed by high seas fisheries to the long-term sustainability of the marine environment and the marine biological diversity found therein. The lacuna has not gone unnoticed by the international community as international laws and policies have been developed to address the issues plaguing the fisheries regime in ABNJ.

No description available.

Biodiversity losses are occurring at an unprecedented rate, with ongoing environmental degradation at the expense of expanding economic activities. A transformative change is needed away from business-as-usual development and towards prioritizing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. For the effective governance of biodiversity, a well-designed mix of policy instruments are needed that are suited to the local context. This PhD project examines the social-ecological implications of policy instruments for biodiversity governance, with an emphasis on biodiversity offsets. Offsets are a policy instrument where actions are taken to compensate for negative impacts to biodiversity caused by developments. I discuss how such policy instruments must be carefully designed and implemented to ensure positive outcomes for people and biodiversity. In Paper I, I examined how biodiversity offset policies, which have been commonly misunderstood as a market-based mechanism, can be designed with various levels of involvement from market and state. I presented an ideal-typical typology based on the institutions from which biodiversity offsets are organised: Public Agency, Mandatory Market and Voluntary Offset. I identified the institutional arrangements of six offset policies using cross-case comparison and stakeholder mapping to analyse how the biodiversity losses and conservation measures are decided. Based on these results, I determined how the six policies relate to the ideal types. The results found that the government plays a key role not just in enforcing mandatory policies but also in controlling the supply and demand of biodiversity units, supervising the matching of biodiversity values or granting legitimacy to the offset. The paper concluded that commensurability of natural capital is restricted in offsets (biodiversity is always exchanged with biodiversity), while different degrees of commodification are possible depending on the policy design and role of price signals when trading credits. In Paper II, I examined the implementation gap of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) objectives and global biodiversity targets at a (sub)national level. I identified obstacles to achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and challenges faced in interpreting the CBD guidelines through a content analysis of biodiversity policy documents, participant observation as well as semi-structured interviews with experts at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD. As compliance was found as a key challenge in the CBD, I presented insights for fostering the implementation and enforcement of biodiversity policies by drawing from concepts in international human rights law. In particular, I examined review mechanisms of human rights law and biodiversity agreements to determine the strategies used for compliance. The paper concluded that recognising the synergies between human rights and biodiversity can help strengthen review mechanisms for implementing the objectives of the CBD.The findings from Paper I provided a foundation for understanding the institutional design of national and local offset policies. In Paper II, I then broadened out to discuss the challenges faced in interpreting and implementing global biodiversity targets into national regulatory frameworks. Together, both papers analysed the institutional design and implementation of policy instruments, and examined their contributions to a transformation for the sustainable use of biodiversity.

This study tested an experimental approach to use in teaching the concept of functional diversity. The project culminated in a laboratory exercise for use in high schools. Experimental design consisted of representatives of three functional groups of plants, (legumes, grasses, and forbs), planted singly, and in two, or three species combinations. Legumes were represented by Trifolium repens and Medicago lupulina, grasses were represented by Cynodon dactylon and Festuca rubra, and forbs were represented by Helianthus annus and Raphanus sativa. Plants were grown inside a controlled growth chamber. During the growth phase, measurements were taken to highlight temporal differences in development. After two months, wet and dry weights of aboveground and belowground portions were measured as indicators of productivity. Research showed unique developmental patterns related to functional groups. Secondly, functional combination, not functional group number, produced a significant difference in biomass. Laboratory use involves group discussion, active-learning, and higher understanding of conservation.