Papua New Guinea Country Study On Biological Diversity

Intellectual, biological and cultural property rights are a powerful and debatable topic. They offer the possibility for protection of rights to intangible resources, including the products of knowledge and creativity. The forces of globalisation have made this subject of immediate, international concern. Struggles for ownership of intellectual property occur between and within local and global arenas. This book examines important questions which Papua New Guinea must ask in the development of intellectual property legislation. The chapters are written by specialists in the fields of medicine, law, the environment, music, genetics and traditional cultural knowledge. The wise and creative protection of intellectual, biological and cultural property is important if Papua New Guinea is to successfully define and realise its future.

Biologically, New Ireland is one of the least biologically studied regions of Papua New Guinea—its mountainous southern zone has long been considered both a high priority for biodiversity conservation and a major "scientific unknown." Conservation International agreed to organize a rapid assessment of the forests and wildlife of southern New Ireland. The purpose of the rapid assessment exercise was threefold: to assess the biodiversity of southern New Ireland, to field-test rapid-survey methodology in Papua New Guinea, and to share expertise and methodologies with staff scientists from Papua New Guinea's Department of Environment and Conservation.

DIVEthnography and critique of conservationist efforts in Papua New Guinea, focusing on the misunderstandings, mistranslations, and complexities that arise in the discourse between conservation/biologists and local people./div

Small island developing states (SIDS) are renowned for the rich biodiversity of their marine and terrestrial ecosystems. However, it is also well known that because of their isolation, fragility, and extreme vulnerability to environmental deterioration, their biodiversity is among the most threatened in the world. Identifying and monitoring all the components of biological diversity is a formidable task. This publication therefore proposes to identify those components of biodiversity that are a resource for humanity, primarily focusing upon the biological resources used by people, whether they are floral and faunal species and their genetic variations, or whole ecosystems. It outlines systems for rapid assessment to monitor the status of crucial resources that are in current use or have potential for future use so that those under threat of depletion can be quickly identified. This will in turn facilitate taking informed policy decisions for biodiversity conservation strategies, generate public awareness of important biodiversity issues and build regional and local scientific capacity in this field.

The loss of the earth's biological diversity is widely recognized as a critical environmental problem. That loss is most severe in developing countries, where the conditions of human existence are most difficult. Conserving Biodiversity presents an agenda for research that can provide information to formulate policy and design conservation programs in the Third World. The book includes discussions of research needs in the biological sciences as well as economics and anthropology, areas of critical importance to conservation and sustainable development. Although specifically directed toward development agencies, non-governmental organizations, and decisionmakers in developing nations, this volume should be of interest to all who are involved in the conservation of biological diversity.