NEWS ARTICLES AND CASE STUDIES ON BIODIVERSITY
NEWS
Biodiversity Act : Draft ABS Guidelines Helps Businesses By Diluting Sharing Of Benefits With Local Communities
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is in the process of revising the Guidelines on Access to Biological Resources and Knowledge and Benefit Sharing Regulation, 2014 (2014 ABS Guidelines). It has recently introduced a Draft (revised)Guidelines on Access and Benefit Sharing Regulation 2019 (2019 Draft ABS Guidelines) and invited public comments on the same…..Read More
2020 UN Biodiversity Conference
The international community, under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, is set to review successes and failures in the context of the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020……Read More
Citizens should act as ambassadors for Biological Diversity Act: T Rabikumar
Stressing on the importance of the Biological Diversity Act and the robust nature of the legislative framework, former secretary of national biodiversity authority T Rabikumar has urged all citizens to act as ambassadors of the Act…..Read More
Biodiversity heritage sites could turn out to be a lifeline for India’s conservation efforts
By recognizing biodiversity heritage sites, India’s Biological Diversity Act of 2002 provides an opportunity for conserving these relics of ancient diversity……Read More
Indian entities now to share benefits from access and use of Indian Biological Resources: The Ruling in the Patanjali case
The Uttarakhand High Court has paved the way for State Biodiversity Boards to bring Indian entities accessing biological resources under the ambit of the Biological Diversity Act and to execute ABS agreements with such entities…Read More
DFO releases book on forest, biodiversity laws
On World Forest Day that was observed on March 21, the District Forest Office, Tiruvannamalai came out with a book – ‘Handbook on Forest and Biodiversity Laws.’ According to a press release, the theme for this year’s World Forest Day was “Forest and Sustainable Cities.” The theme is applicable to places like Tiruvannamalai that is fast becoming a hub for spiritual tourism.The initiative to release this book was to sensitise relevant stakeholders….Read More
Environmental Advocates Take Aim at Proposed Revisions to Indonesia’s Conservation Act
Environmental advocates have warned that proposed revisions to Indonesia’s conservation act could provide new loopholes for wildlife traffickers, who already enjoy a thriving trade in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries….Read More
Draft Laws For Exploration And Management Of Marine Biodiversity And Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction, Malaysia
Malaysia should draft laws that allow the country to explore and manage marine biodiversity and resources beyond national jurisdiction. Science Adviser to the Prime Minister and National Professorial Council chairman Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid said so far no country had such laws, and the exploration of international waters was led by developed nations, including the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea. The deep sea areas have huge potential and vast natural resources which can be turned into medicine and industrial products….Read More
Population, corruption must be addressed to halt biodiversity loss, scientists say
We need to focus on limiting human population growth, reducing resource consumption, and cracking down on government corruption, if we’re going to stop the global loss of species known as the sixth great extinction….Read More
The impacts of social forestry on grasslands
Western Ghats or the Sahyadri hills is a scenic holiday retreat for many. But, there is more to it. Being one of the eight ‘world’s hottest biodiversity hotspots’, the natural ecosystem, including forests and grasslands, hosts an incredible number of plant and animal species and plays a significant role in maintaining the Indian monsoon. However, in the recent years, extensive human activities are threatening the survival….Read More
The disappearance of common species
Together with their colleagues from the Senckenberg Nature Research Society, scientists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) were able to show that currently widespread insects are threatened with a serious decline in species diversity in the near future. The research team lists the fragmentation of habitats and the intensification of agriculture as reasons for the decline of these.. Read More
Peru ends era of ‘roadless wilderness’ in its Amazon rain forests
Nowhere on Earth can you find more species of animals and plants than in this corner of the Amazon that rubs up against the feet of the towering Andean mountains. These forests are also home to a culturally diverse human population, many of whom still live in voluntary isolation from the rest of humanity…. Read More
Earthquake triggers spawning in world’s rarest fish a few thousand miles away :
Last month, a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the northwest Pacific, rocking Alaska, U.S.
More than 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) away, the earthquake on Jan. 23 caused waves over 30 centimeters (1 foot) high in Devils Hole, a small water-filled limestone cave in the Death Valley National Park in Nevada. Devils Hole is the only known natural habitat of the incredibly rare Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis)….. Read More
A primer on access and benefit-sharing for DNA barcoders
Molecular biology approaches, such as DNA barcoding, have become part of the standard toolkit for a growing number of biodiversity researchers and practitioners, with an increasing scope of applications in important areas, such as environmental assessment, food inspection, disease control and public education.…. Read More
Managing genetic biodiversity in the Pacific
Biodiversity is a valuable resource. The world benefits from biodiversity and associated local traditional knowledge, so when these are exploited by parties with large financial resources – for example for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals – source countries need to be compensated.
UN Environment and others are working to ensure that benefits from the use of such resources are used to protect environments and the people who rely on them…… Read More
A law to curb bio piracy in Malaysia
LAST week the Dewan Rakyat passed a bill to curb “biopiracy”. This is the stealing of the biological resources of a country without its consent.
Once it becomes law shortly (after the Dewan Negara and the king give their assent), a permit will be required to access our biological resources for research and development; or to access traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples associated with these resources. If it is for a commercial purpose then there must be a benefit-sharing agreement with the resource provider – invariably indigenous and local communities. Or states – who have jurisdiction over state parks and forests. For pure research purposes, for example by universities, there is no need for a benefit sharing agreement….. Read More
Proposed Colombia dam threatens to wipe out endangered plants, disrupt river
PUERTO GARZA, Colombia – A Colombian conglomerate is moving ahead to build a nearly 400-foot-tall hydroelectric dam along the Samaná Norte River in northwestern Colombia, which threatens to extinguish critically endangered plant species found only in the canyon, and block the path of migrating fish.
Shrouded in violent conflict between guerrilla, paramilitaries and the state that displaced local farmers from their land for decades, the Samaná Norte River had been protected from development up until ten years ago, when the violence began to subside……….Read More
Tiger poaching issue reaches Uttarakhand High Court
The issue of tiger poaching in Uttarakhand has been taken up by the state’s high court. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on January 10, the court asked the respondents to file their independent replies on the seizure of five tiger skins in March 2016. The replies have to be filed within six weeks.
The petition was filed by Rajiv Mehta of the non-profit Eye of the Tiger. Mehta is also the former Honorary Wildlife Warden of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. The PIL includes the National Wildlife Board, State Wildlife Board (Uttarakhand), Forest Secretary (Uttarakhand), Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Uttarakhand), Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife (Uttarakhand), Chief Wildlife Warden (Uttarakhand), National Tiger Conservation Authority of India and Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve….. Read More
Extremely rare cobra lily rediscovered in India
Naturalists in India have rediscovered a rare flowering plant — Arisaema translucens — after nearly 80 years.
Botanist Edward Barnes first collected this plant in 1932 from the Nilgiri mountains in southern India. The plant, commonly called a cobra lily and noted for its translucent spathe (a large leaf like plant part that encloses a cluster of flowers), was then scientifically described in 1933. Since then, there have been no confirmed records of this species….. Read More
BOOK RELEASES
The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis Read here
Managing the Wild: Stories of People and Plants and Tropical Forests Read here
Recovering Biodiversity in Indian Forests Read here
Biodiversity: Science and Solutions for Australia Read here
Biodiversity Conservation in Southeast Asia Read here
CASE STUDIES
- The International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) ‘Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Papua New Guinea’ Project..Read here
- The Cook Islands CIMTECH – Koutu Nui Agreement Read here
- The Santo 2006 Global Biodiversity Survey, Vanuatu Read here
- The Hoodia Case Study Read here
- The Sceletium Case Study Read here