SciDev.Net

The Alliance is an initiative of the Global Forum for Health Research in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and has 310 members in over 70 developing countries. Concerned with the effectiveness of health policy and systems research, the Alliance recognises that health systems currently vary greatly in their performance. It considers that there is an urgent need to improve understanding about how societies organise themselves to achieve health goals, including how they plan, manage and finance activities to improve health, the roles played by different actors in these efforts, and the need to provide scientifically sound, socially relevant and ethically acceptable guidance. The site links to a number of useful resources, including relevant reports, the online international journal for equity in health and online tutorials.

Biodiversity Benefits People is a new, free-access online presentation and exhibition available from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring centre website. Launched on International Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2004 the presentation is aimed at the wider public and takes the form of Microsoft Powerpoint slides accompanied by audio commentary. The presentation highlights examples where world's biodiversity is under threat. It adds that unless current losses are reversed, humans will lose access to what are known as 'environmental services', such as pollination or natural water purification, which themselves depend on the presence of a rich diversity of species and ecosystems.

Bioplan is a public mailing list on biodiversity policy issues set up and maintained by the UN Development Programme and the UN Global Environment Facility. Its users are mostly NGO representatives and government officials involved in implementing biodiversity policies around the world.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) website is very extensive and well-maintained, with a wealth of background information, as well as regularly updated news items which focus on FAO's work and the work of its partners. It also runs a series of electronic conferences that aim to allow a wide range of parties, including governmental and non-governmental organisations, policy makers and the general public, to discuss and exchange views and experiences about specific issues concerning biotechnology in food and agriculture for developing countries.

The CGRFA is a permanent forum of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, where governments discuss and negotiate matters relevant to genetic resources for food and agriculture. Originally established in 1983, the forum aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable utilisation of genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use.

The Conservation Finance Alliance is a network of the major international conservation NGOs, which aims to coordinate their efforts at obtaining funding for biodiversity projects. Their website provides details of news, events and training opportunities in conservation finance. The Alliance was established in 2002 and is based in Washington DC.

Conservation International is a US-based group set up in 1987 to work on habitat conservation and community participation in Bolivia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Later that year it also launched the world’s first debt-for-nature swap. Conservation International is a major player in world biodiversity science and politics and has convinced a number of governments to set aside land as protected areas, and was among the first groups to adopt the ‘hotspots’ concept of protecting areas with large numbers of threatened species. Together with the Ford Foundation, CI has set up the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, which promotes business practices that reduce industry’s ecological footprint and contribute to conservation.

Consumers International is a worldwide, independent, non-profit federation of consumer organisations, dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer interests. It has a membership of more than 260 organisations in almost 120 countries. It strives to promote a fairer society through defending the rights of all consumers, including poor, marginalised and disadvantaged people. The organisation has a head office in London, with regional offices in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This is the official website for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which was signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The convention aims to conserve biodiversity around the world; promote its sustainable use; and share its benefits equitably. The website provides access to all key documents on national and intergovernmental initiatives to slow down the loss of biodiversity. The website also provides information on national biodiversity reports, a useful collection of case studies from around the world, contact information for national biodiversity officials, information/announcements and guidance on upcoming and past meetings. It is also the official website for the Biosafety Protocol.

The most commonly cited source of information on the protection of indigenous knowledge is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It urges all governments to protect IK. This part of the website looks specifically at Article 8 (j) of the CBD which relates to traditional knowledge, innovations and practices.

This site is a useful source of information about CIOMS, which is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation established jointly by the WHO and UNESCO in 1949. CIOMS has contributed to the field of bioethics by issuing international guidelines for the application of ethical principles in various key areas. Copies of CIOMS publications and guidance are available on the website.

CropLife International is a federation of multinational companies and national and regional associations working in plant science. It publishes information on agri-biotechnology, pesticides and sustainable agriculture. This includes regulatory codes and biosafety protocols, as well as position papers, opinion articles and technical monographs.

Their website highlights relevant initiatives around the world and includes a glossary of terms, frequently asked questions and links to industry associations, international and nongovernmental organisations, and online information providers. It also hosts a database on the benefits and safety of biotechnology containing a collection of academic papers reporting on genetically modified crop impacts around the world.

An authoritative and comprehensive newsletter covering meetings of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification – as well as all other meetings of UN environment and development-related conventions. ENB writers have high-level access to all meetings and to UN officials, which makes ENB a must-read by experts in the field. It is the best way to follow a meeting without attending it in person. The site also contains links to newsletters covering the latest developments in water, climate change, forests and multilateral environmental agreements.

The ECA helps African governments develop policies for economic and social development, including enhancing the role of science and technology. It carries out policy research, disseminates information, promotes co-operation and offers policy advice to different stakeholders. It also runs a collaborative policy research network — the ECA Science and Technology Network — promoting the dissemination and exchange of information on science and technology management and policy issues in Africa.

This series of six $30,000 prizes rewards projects that alleviate poverty through biodiversity conservation throughout the world. The initiative is part of a new effort by the United Nations Development Programme to integrate conservation issues more closely into development planning and finance.

This page links to news and research from the European Commission, the executive arm of the 25-country European Union, which is based in Brussels, Belgium. The commission has a large environmental research programme. This includes Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). This Europe-wide project collects, analyses and disseminates data on changes in the natural environment and how these changes may affect EU member states' national security. GMES's own website is at www.gmes.info.

Under its Framework Six funding programme, this new European Union initiative aims to translate medical research results into clinical trials in developing countries, particularly in Africa. The first move is to provide 200 million Euros for the development of new medicines and vaccines for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The website contains a general outline of this scheme and limited information on its links with Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

Family Health International is a non-profit organisation that supports the improvement of international public health through research, education, and other services through a variety of partners worldwide. Its web section on HIV/AIDS contains fact sheets, reports and other documents on a range of issues and programmes, including the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The organisation has a particular interest in microbicides and has been involved in clinical trials in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States. FHI also provides the scientific management for the Microbicide Science Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network, and collaborates with CONRAD's Global Microbicide Project.