SciDev.Net

Local groups must help set biodiversity agendas if donors and scientists are to impact conservation, say Robert J. Smith and colleagues.

Establishing an effective science–policy interface is key to combating biodiversity loss, say Harold Mooney and Georgina Mace.

We must take responsibility for the costs of modifying tropical ecosystems for human consumption, says botanist Scott A. Mori.

Gene banks have a key role to play in the development of climate-proof crops, says agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan.

Essential field trials of GM trees are being hindered by anti-GM activists working through the Convention on Biological Diversity, say Steven H. Strauss and colleagues.

International bodies, governments and indigenous people must all help protect medicinal biodiversity, say Jeffrey A. McNeely and Sue Mainka.

Biodiversity negotiations will greatly impact academics, and scientists must speak up before it is too late, warn Sikina Jinnah and Stefan Jungcurt.

Voluntary collaboration between governments and international organisations can be an effective way to address global scientific issues, says Michael Williams.

Thousands of traditional crop species could help break dependence on a few global food crops, and offer valuable environmental services, says Monty Jones.

Sustainable governance in the Gulf of Mexico calls for joint action by Cuba, Mexico and the United States, argues Jorge Brenner.

Dredging India's Sethusamundram ship channel poses environmental risks, and could even magnify future tsunami damage, says C.P. Rajendran.

With global diversity increasingly at risk, a mechanism like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is required, argues Michel Loreau.

Environmental groups should buy palm oil plantations to fund biodiversity-saving nature reserves, say Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove.

Africa must not let multinational corporations and international donors dictate its biotechnology agenda, says David Fig.

Biodiversity is a complex issue, says Camilla Toulmin, and the G8 report on its economic value faces many challenges.

Guaranteed funding for the world's genebanks is essential to preserve biodiversity and secure food supplies, says Jan Valkoun.

A Malaysian conservation project could help preserve biodiversity alongside the South-East Asian timber industry, says an editorial in Nature.

S. Bala Ravi argues that deficiencies in India's seed and biodiversity policies promote biopiracy.

Tewolde Egziabher and other SciDev.Net readers join the debate on the relevance of the UN biodiversity convention's Cartagena Protocol on genetically modified organisms.

Suman Sahai argues that India's new agricultural biotechnology deal with the United States will take power away from farmers and endanger a rich genetic heritage.