An increasingly greater proportion of so-called bio-energy is produced from agricultural crops traditionally used as food and animal feed. The production of nonfood crops for energy production also requires land and water. This creates direct competition for resources needed to feed the world population, of which around 854 million people suffer hunger and malnutrition, the majority in rural areas. The possible impact of agrofuels on the human right to adequate food for the most oppressed and marginalised social groups must be considered prior to applying policies and programmes that encourage the production, investment and trade of agrofuels.
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A pest-resistant strain of genetically modified potato, earmarked for possible commercial release in South Africa, will be of no use to local spud farmers, said the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB), a section 21 non-profit organisation, based in South Africa. It will also increase risk to the farmer in an already volatile agricultural sector.
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What happens if women do not want to participate in negotiations about and enforcement of ´benefit sharing´ because they consider local resources their own common property? What if they do not want their livelihood resources and their knowledge to be integrated into the mainstream of commercialisation and patenting? What if they want to change the mainstream instead of participating in it? Does the strategy of gender mainstreaming leave space for an alternative concept and for needs, rights and interests that are not compliant with the mainstream? writes Christa Wichterich from WIDE.
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Wetlands are dangerous, scientists say, in the sense that they are ticking carbon bombs best left alone. To help stave off extreme climate change, existing wetlands should be enhanced and new wetlands created so they could capture more carbon. However, wetlands, including peatlands, continue to be converted to other uses around the world, resulting in large emissions of carbon and methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has 21 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide. These issues are being discussed at the 8th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference held in Brazil 20-25 July 2008.
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Biodiversity
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Kerala IPRs policy proposes 'knowledge commons'
The Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Policy for Kerala, released a policy that all traditional knowledge, including traditional medicine, must belong to the domain of "knowledge commons" and not to public domain.
Source:
Grain
Biodiversity
- Mon Jun 09 2008
UN CBD fails to protect forests from genetically engineered trees
Under heavy pressure from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand and Australia, the Convention on Biological Diversity's 9th Conference of the Parties failed to pass a moratorium on the release of genetically engineered trees into the environment.
Source:
Global Justice Ecology Project
