Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Free Farm
"They grow tons of food right in the city and then give it away for free
at the Free Farm Stand...no money involved whatsoever. A really amazing
way to help feed people who need it most."
http://thefreefarm.blogspot.com/p/our-vision.html
Their intentions:
-to cultivate the earth by growing fresh organic vegetables
-to cultivate ourselves by tending to the well-being of body and mind, soul, and spirit
-to cultivate society by creating a microcosm of mutuality, simplicity, generosity, and love
What they do:
-grow and give away food, seedlings, and garden supplies to those who are in need
-offer garden, environmental, wellness education
-facilitate diverse spiritual practices
-advocate for environmental, climate, and food justice
-practice hospitality and host community events
http://thefreefarm.blogspot.com/p/our-vision.html
Their intentions:
-to cultivate the earth by growing fresh organic vegetables
-to cultivate ourselves by tending to the well-being of body and mind, soul, and spirit
-to cultivate society by creating a microcosm of mutuality, simplicity, generosity, and love
What they do:
-grow and give away food, seedlings, and garden supplies to those who are in need
-offer garden, environmental, wellness education
-facilitate diverse spiritual practices
-advocate for environmental, climate, and food justice
-practice hospitality and host community events
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Why Urban Farming is the Most Important Movement of our Time
The simple act of planting a garden can shape issues like
economics, health, and politics at the same time because food is an
essential focal point of human activity. As the urban farming movement
grows, here are five ways that it will transform our world.
1. Renewed local economies. Local
neighbor-to-neighbor commerce generally doesn’t happen in our
communities. Residential areas almost never include common spaces where
community exchanges might happen. Likewise, because selling homemade
bread to your neighbors is illegal in most areas, the law discourages
community commerce, and instead encourages you to purchase from the
supermarket chain.
In my own community, the urban farming
movement has reinvigorated local commerce. Instead of buying oranges, I
now trade pumpkin for oranges from my neighbor’s tree. If urban farming
continued to grow, it would cause a massive and positive economic
disruption by introducing local food production that would compete with
the corporate mainstream on price, quality, convenience, and level of
service.
2. Environmental stewardship. Industrial
agriculture is a major source of fossil fuel pollution. Petrochemicals
are used to fertilize, spray, and preserve food. Plastics made from oil
are used to package the food, and gasoline is used to transport food
worldwide. Urban farming unplugs us from oil by minimizing the transport
footprint and using organic cultivation methods.
While
industrial agriculture often maneuvers to avoid paying for environmental
externalities, urban farmers directly bear the ecological costs of
their actions. This makes urban farmers better stewards of their land
because they draw their nutrition from it. Rather than using chemicals
that destroy soil biology, urban farming culture stresses sustainable
organic techniques that enrich the topsoil.
3. A focus on local politics.
Urban farming makes it clearer and easier for people to be involved in
local politics by bringing issues that directly affect neighborhoods to
the fore. Local regulations become far more relevant to the day-to-day
life of a person attempting to cultivate their own food than most issues
normally discussed on CNN. The growth of urban farming has already
resulted in large-scale legal pushes like the California Cottage Food
Act, which will allow people to legally sell certain homemade goods like
jams and breads. Other neighborhood issues such as the raising of
chickens, beekeeping for the production of honey, or the chlorination of
water are already in the sights of urban farmers and environmentalists
alike.
4. A revolution of health and nutrition. Increased
awareness about the negative health effects of food from the industrial
food chain is itself a big reason why urban farmers grow their own
food. When you feed your produce to your family, you’re less likely to
douse it in poisons. Local food has more freshness, flavor, and nutrient retention
because it goes through less transportation and processing. As the
urban farming movement grows, it will mean more accessibility to
nutritious local food and more time spent doing the healthy physical
work of gardening. This could result in less obesity, less chronic
disease, and decreased healthcare spending.
5. A flowering of community interaction. Urban
farming is a lifestyle inherently centered on community. Growing food
is, after all, a cooperative effort. In my own community, I see that the
knowledge of how and what to grow is exchanged, seeds are swapped,
labor is shared, and the harvest is traded. As urban farming grows, a
stronger interdependence within communities is likely to result as local
food systems bring more community interaction into people’s daily
lives.
The most important movement of our time. Although
there are many other notable initiatives today, the influence of urban
farming is uniquely widespread because more people live in cities than
rural areas and food is a central necessity that affects everything at
once. The seeds of change are already being planted in homes like mine
across the world. For these seeds to grow and blossom, we need to demand
more local food so that the market for urban-grown produce expands. We
also need to put pressure on our legal system to allow easier local
trade and more local food production.
Imagine if we grew food
instead of grass. Every community is a local food economy waiting to
come to life. The answer to climate change, the health crisis, and the
recession economy is right outside your door. I’ll meet you at the
garden fence.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Ecological Principles
Creating communities that are compatible with nature's processes for sustaining life requires basic ecological knowledge.
We
need, says Center for Ecoliteracy cofounder Fritjof Capra, to teach our
children — and our political and corporate leaders — fundamental facts
of life:
- Matter cycles continually through the web of life.
- Most of the energy driving the ecological cycles flows from the sun.
- Diversity assures resilience.
- One species' waste is another species' food.
- Life did not take over the planet by combat but by networking.
NATURE'S PATTERNS AND PROCESSES
Understanding
these facts arises from understanding the patterns and processes by
which nature sustains life. In its work with teachers and schools, the
Center for Ecoliteracy has identified several of the most important of
these. It has helped teachers identify places in the curriculum where
students can learn about them.
They include networks, nested systems, cycles, flows, development, and dynamic balance.
NetworksAll living things in an ecosystem are interconnected through networks of relationship. They depend on this web of life to survive. For example: In a garden, a network of pollinators promotes genetic diversity; plants, in turn, provide nectar and pollen to the pollinators.
Nested SystemsNature is made up of systems that are nested within systems. Each individual system is an integrated whole and—at the same time — part of larger systems. Changes within a system can affect the sustainability of the systems that are nested within it as well as the larger systems in which it exists. For example: Cells are nested within organs within organisms within ecosystems.
CyclesMembers of an ecological community depend on the exchange of resources in continual cycles. Cycles within an ecosystem intersect with larger regional and global cycles. For example: Water cycles through a garden and is also part of the global water cycle.
FlowsEach organism needs a continual flow of energy to stay alive. The constant flow of energy from the sun to Earth sustains life and drives most ecological cycles. For example: Energy flows through a food web when a plant converts the sun's energy through photosynthesis, a mouse eats the plant, a snake eats the mouse, and a hawk eats the snake. In each transfer, some energy is lost as heat, requiring an ongoing energy flow into the system.
DevelopmentAll life — from individual organisms to species to ecosystems — changes over time. Individuals develop and learn, species adapt and evolve, and organisms in ecosystems coevolve. For example: Hummingbirds and honeysuckle flowers have developed in ways that benefit each other; the hummingbird's color vision and slender bill coincide with the colors and shapes of the flowers.
Dynamic BalanceEcological communities act as feedback loops, so that the community maintains a relatively steady state that also has continual fluctuations. This dynamic balance provides resiliency in the face of ecosystem change. For example: Ladybugs in a garden eat aphids. When the aphid population falls, some ladybugs die off, which permits the aphid population to rise again, which supports more ladybugs. The populations of the individual species rise and fall, but balance within the system allows them to thrive together.
Putting Smart by Nature Principles into Practices
The four guiding principles of the Center for Ecoliteracy's Smart by Nature™ framework, described in our book Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability, have many implications for educators, as seen in this excerpt.
1. NATURE IS OUR TEACHER
1. NATURE IS OUR TEACHER
To
envision sustainable human communities, we look for lessons derived
from 3.8 billion years of natural research and development. We can model
human societies and institutions, including schools, after the patterns
and processes found in sustainable ecosystems, and learn from the
practices of traditional societies that have sustained themselves for
centuries. (Inviting nature to be our teacher does not mean turning
sentimental or softheaded about the beneficence of kindly Mother Nature;
this mother practices tough love, and teaches limits as well as
possibilities.)
Some consequences of accepting nature as our teacher:
Ecological literacy is at the center. Understanding how nature sustains ecosystems requires basic ecological knowledge. We need, says Fritjof Capra, to teach our children (and our political and corporate leaders) fundamental facts of life. For example:
• Matter cycles continually through the web of life
• The energy driving the ecological cycles flows from the sun
• Diversity assures resilience
• One species' waste is another species' food
• Life did not take over the planet by combat but by networking
Integrating the curriculum. Focusing on ecological principles integrates teaching across disciplines and between grades — an antidote to the fragmentation and narrowing that often result from standardized testing and state mandates. Some teachers fear that teaching sustainability will just add another responsibility onto overfull workloads. In fact, tying subjects together in ways that make sense to students can make teaching more rewarding.
Systems thinking. John Muir famously wrote, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." In education we often try to unhitch everything in order to study the separate parts. In fact, individual "things" (plants, people, schools, watersheds, economies) can't be fully understood apart from their larger systems, which means thinking in terms of relationships, connectedness, and context.
In systems thinking, emphases shift: from the parts to the whole, from objects to relationships, from structures to process, from contents to patterns. For instance, a nutrition lesson that tracks meals from farm to cafeteria can map the relationships between food choices, the health of local agriculture, the environmental costs of shipping food over thousands of miles, and impacts on the livelihoods of farmers halfway around the world.
Solving for pattern. Author/farmer/philosopher Wendell Berry contrasts bad solutions — which solve for single purposes and act destructively on the patterns in which they are contained — with good solutions, which are in harmony with their larger patterns and result in ramifying sets of solutions. Farm-to-school programs, for example, beget other solutions: they improve health, teach about nutrition, support small-scale farmers, and keep money within the local economy. School districts planning new buildings save resources, energy, and money through integrated design processes in which educators, architects, engineers, and contractors collaborate to create facilities whose parts work together as systems.
Healthy by nature. It shouldn't be surprising that nature teaches solutions that fit human bodies, which evolved for million years before industrialization. Natural daylighting improves health and performance. Children surrounded by more nature — even if just a view out a window — experience less anxiety and depression and fewer behavioral conduct disorders. Fresh, seasonal, unprocessed foods are better choices for school meals. Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other problems improve rapidly when artificial coloring and preservatives are removed from their diets.
Some consequences of accepting nature as our teacher:
Ecological literacy is at the center. Understanding how nature sustains ecosystems requires basic ecological knowledge. We need, says Fritjof Capra, to teach our children (and our political and corporate leaders) fundamental facts of life. For example:
• Matter cycles continually through the web of life
• The energy driving the ecological cycles flows from the sun
• Diversity assures resilience
• One species' waste is another species' food
• Life did not take over the planet by combat but by networking
Integrating the curriculum. Focusing on ecological principles integrates teaching across disciplines and between grades — an antidote to the fragmentation and narrowing that often result from standardized testing and state mandates. Some teachers fear that teaching sustainability will just add another responsibility onto overfull workloads. In fact, tying subjects together in ways that make sense to students can make teaching more rewarding.
Systems thinking. John Muir famously wrote, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." In education we often try to unhitch everything in order to study the separate parts. In fact, individual "things" (plants, people, schools, watersheds, economies) can't be fully understood apart from their larger systems, which means thinking in terms of relationships, connectedness, and context.
In systems thinking, emphases shift: from the parts to the whole, from objects to relationships, from structures to process, from contents to patterns. For instance, a nutrition lesson that tracks meals from farm to cafeteria can map the relationships between food choices, the health of local agriculture, the environmental costs of shipping food over thousands of miles, and impacts on the livelihoods of farmers halfway around the world.
Solving for pattern. Author/farmer/philosopher Wendell Berry contrasts bad solutions — which solve for single purposes and act destructively on the patterns in which they are contained — with good solutions, which are in harmony with their larger patterns and result in ramifying sets of solutions. Farm-to-school programs, for example, beget other solutions: they improve health, teach about nutrition, support small-scale farmers, and keep money within the local economy. School districts planning new buildings save resources, energy, and money through integrated design processes in which educators, architects, engineers, and contractors collaborate to create facilities whose parts work together as systems.
Healthy by nature. It shouldn't be surprising that nature teaches solutions that fit human bodies, which evolved for million years before industrialization. Natural daylighting improves health and performance. Children surrounded by more nature — even if just a view out a window — experience less anxiety and depression and fewer behavioral conduct disorders. Fresh, seasonal, unprocessed foods are better choices for school meals. Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other problems improve rapidly when artificial coloring and preservatives are removed from their diets.
2. SUSTAINABILITY IS A COMMUNITY PRACTICE
Many ecological principles are variations on a single fundamental pattern: nature sustains life by creating and nurturing communities. Animals, plants, and microorganisms live in webs of mutual dependence. People require each other for emotional as well as physical succor. Qualities that keep natural ecosystems vibrant and resilient, such as diversity and interdependence, shape healthier schools and other human communities as well.
The community is a teacher. A healthy network of relationships that includes all its members makes a community more sustainable. When teachers, students, parents, trustees, and other community members decide and act collaboratively, students practice skills of leadership and community decision-making that they will need in order to be effective agents of change.
Systems change. Understanding change in living systems informs efforts to reform schools, districts, and other social systems. Large-scale changes that have great impact begin as small, local actions, says systems change theorist Margaret Wheatley. "While they remain separate and apart, they have no influence beyond their locale. However, if they become connected, exchanging information and learning, their separate efforts can suddenly emerge as very powerful changes, able to influence a large system."
Nested systems. Schools nest within local communities, economies, and ecosystems. David W. Orr proposes a standard for designers that could apply to any nested system: Think upstream to the wells, mines, forests, farms, and manufacturers from which materials are drawn. Look downstream to the effects on the climate and health of people and ecosystems. If there is ugliness at either end, you cannot claim success, regardless of the artfulness of what you make.
The "hidden curriculum." The "curriculum" encompasses everywhere at the school that children learn. Schools teach — whether consciously or not — by how they treat their neighbors, invest their money, or provision themselves with food, energy, materials, and transportation. Their actions demonstrate their understanding of their relationship with the rest of the world, their regard for students and their health, and what they really believe about sustainability.
3. THE REAL WORLD IS THE OPTIMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Whether restoring a species' habitat, tending a school garden, or designing a neighborhood recycling program, students learn more when their actions have meaning and matter to someone else. In schooling for sustainability, students connect with the natural world and human communities through project-based learning, which inspires them to learn in order to accomplish something they care about. They also learn that they can make a difference.
Seeing nature firsthand. Children experience, explore, and understand nature's basic patterns — the web of life, the cycles of matter, the flow of energy — through immersion in the natural world. They encounter nature in the rich, messy ways in which it exists, and understand nature's rhythms and the time scales at which natural events occur, when they plant and harvest in the garden or watch a creekside they have restored come back to life. Students who learn nature's principles in gardens score better in science, reading and writing, and independent thinking.
Buildings as teachers. Designed and operated with imagination, a campus can act as both the classroom and the lesson, as a laboratory for exploring solutions to environmental problems, a model of sustainable practice, and an inspiration to the surrounding community and other institutions.
School-community partnerships. Students learn what their communities value by partnering with people who were living there before they arrived and who will be there long after they graduate. By working closely with community members, students learn about community resources and how to use them.
4. SUSTAINABLE LIVING IS ROOTED IN A DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF PLACE
When people acquire a deep knowledge of a particular place, they care about what happens to the landscape, creatures, and people in it. When they understand its ecology and diversity, the web of relationships it supports, and the rhythm of its cycles, they develop appreciation and a sense of kinship with their surroundings. Place-based education is fundamental to schooling for sustainability. Places known deeply are deeply loved, and well-loved places have the best chance to be protected and preserved for future generations.
The world reveals itself in its fullness. "A great deal of what passes for knowledge" in contemporary education, says David Orr, "is little more than abstraction piled on abstraction, disconnected from tangible experience, real problems, and the places where we live and play." These actual places, he continues, "are laboratories of diversity and complexity, mixing social functions and natural processes." Even "common" settings — a schoolyard, a residential neighborhood — can yield rich experiences.
Bridging disciplines and for looking at the world as people experience it. A "Golden Gate" course at Marin Academy in California combines natural and human history and literature, geology, history, and ecology, and helps students discover what it means to be members of a biotic community. Ninth-graders at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey read letters written by Aldo Leopold when he was a student there, and then trace the trails he followed.
Local answers to environmental problems. Whether through buying locally, removing invasive species, or creating decentralized energy systems, relocalization is becoming a powerful strategy for sustainability. "What has served our species well in the past could serve us well in the future if we only relinquish the modern tendency to impose universal solutions upon the infinite variability of both people and the planet. Local diversity lies at the heart of humanity's biological and cultural success," write educators David Gruenewald and Gregory Smith. Students practice this strategy when finding solutions to issues on campus and in local communities.
Getting from here to there. "I'm anxiously awaiting a good explanation why it's important for second graders to know the order of the planets from Mercury to Pluto," writes Antioch New England professor and place-based education researcher David Sobel. "Wouldn't it be more useful to develop a solid understanding of the geography of the town the second grader lives in?" A movement from close and familiar to far and strange, he notes, mirrors the development of children's minds.
— Adapted from Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability, by Michael K. Stone/Center for Ecoliteracy (Watershed Media, 2009)
The Five Ecoliteracy Practices
With a goal of nurturing students to become
ecoliterate, the Center for Ecoliteracy has identified five vital
practices that integrate emotional, social, and ecological intelligence.
They are described at greater length in our book, Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social, and Ecological Intelligence (Jossey-Bass, 2012), from which the excerpt below is taken.
We
work to inspire teachers to use a variety of learning opportunities
that help students consider and apply these practices in a diverse range
of contexts. These practices allow students to strengthen and extend
their capacity to live sustainably.
1. Developing Empathy for All Forms of Life
encourages students to expand their sense of compassion to other forms
of life. By shifting from our society's dominant mindset (which
considers humans to be separate from and superior to the rest of life on
Earth) to a view that recognizes humans as being members of the web of
life, students broaden their care and concern to include a more
inclusive network of relationships.
2. Embracing Sustainability as a Community Practice
emerges from knowing that organisms do not exist in isolation. The
quality of the web of relationships within any living community
determines its collective ability to survive and thrive. By learning
about the wondrous ways that plants, animals, and other living things
are interdependent, students are inspired to consider the role of
interconnectedness within their communities and see the value in
strengthening those relationships by thinking and acting cooperatively.
3. Making the Invisible Visible
assists students in recognizing the myriad effects of human behavior on
other people and the environment. The impacts of human behavior have
expanded exponentially in time, space, and magnitude, making the results
difficult if not impossible to understand fully. Using tools to help
make the invisible visible reveals the far-reaching implications of
human behavior and enables us to act in more life-affirming ways.
4. Anticipating Unintended Consequences
is a twofold challenge of predicting the potential implications of our
behaviors as best we can, while at the same time accepting that we
cannot foresee all possible cause-and-effect associations. Assuming that
the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life, students can adopt
systems thinking and the “precautionary principle” as guidelines for
cultivating a way of living that defends rather than destroys the web of
life. Second, we build resiliency by supporting the capacity of natural
and social communities to rebound from unintended consequences.
5. Understanding How Nature Sustains Life
is imperative for students to cultivate a society that takes into
account future generations and other forms of life. Nature has
successfully supported life on Earth for billions of years. Therefore,
by examining the Earth's processes, we learn strategies that are
applicable to designing human endeavors.
Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint. From Ecoliterate: How Educators Are Cultivating Emotional, Social and Ecological Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, Lisa Bennett, and Zenobia Barlow. Copyright © 2012 by Center for Ecoliteracy.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities: Lessons from Singapore
New Publication Shows How Urban Density Can Be Managed with Innovative Planning, Development and Governance
SINGAPORE (January 24, 2013) – Innovative planning, design and development practices that emphasize a “people-first” focus can help ensure that rapid urbanization does not compromise liveability and sustainability, according to a new publication by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC).
10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities: Lessons from Singapore draws upon Singapore’s successful urbanization experience – despite its population density, the city-state has consistently ranked favorably in various surveys measuring the liveability and sustainability of cities around the globe.
The ten principles in the publication were developed during two workshops hosted in 2012 by the CLC and ULI Asia Pacific, bringing together 62 thought leaders, experts and practitioners from different disciplines related to urban planning and development. Discussions at the first workshop centred around the four case study districts in Singapore that both organizations consider to be both densely populated and highly liveable: the mixed-use downtown district of Marina Bay; the commercial corridor of Orchard Road, and two new public housing developments in Toa Payoh and Tampines. The ideas and principles so generated were further developed, corroborated, and condensed into ten principles.
In
the foreword to the publication, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore’s Minister
for National Development, points to the lasting benefits of building
cities for people. “The inexorable trend of urban population growth in
modern times is not likely to stop. Even for countries with no shortage
of land, the growth of their urban populations has confronted their
cities with constant challenges to the quality of their living
environment…For Singapore, these challenges have been compounded by the
limitations of its size as a small island,” he said. “Maintaining a good
quality, liveable high-density urban landscape in which all
Singaporeans can find and make a home is crucial to the survival of the
Singapore nation.”
“Expansive, rapid urbanization is adding challenges to the business of building cities that are prosperous, liveable, and able to withstand time and change,” notes ULI Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips. “Through our work with the CLC, we are aiming to demonstrate how well-planned design and development is the foundation for a physical environment that is conducive to a competitive economy, sustainable environment and a high quality of life. Ultimately, cities are about what’s best for people, not buildings or cars. The places that are built to reflect this reality will have a competitive edge in our globalized economy.”
“Singapore is seen as a high density, high liveability development model. We saw some relevance of Singapore’s experience to others, particularly emerging cities, many of whom are high density and want to raise the quality of life for their people. We hope this joint publication will contribute in some way towards people having a more optimistic view of living in high density cities,” said Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, CLC.
Each of the 10 principles in the publication reflects Singapore’s integrated model of planning and development, which weaves together the physical, economic, social and environmental aspects of urban living. The ten principles are:
NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: The 10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities: Lessons from Singapore report is now available for download.
SINGAPORE (January 24, 2013) – Innovative planning, design and development practices that emphasize a “people-first” focus can help ensure that rapid urbanization does not compromise liveability and sustainability, according to a new publication by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC).
10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities: Lessons from Singapore draws upon Singapore’s successful urbanization experience – despite its population density, the city-state has consistently ranked favorably in various surveys measuring the liveability and sustainability of cities around the globe.
The ten principles in the publication were developed during two workshops hosted in 2012 by the CLC and ULI Asia Pacific, bringing together 62 thought leaders, experts and practitioners from different disciplines related to urban planning and development. Discussions at the first workshop centred around the four case study districts in Singapore that both organizations consider to be both densely populated and highly liveable: the mixed-use downtown district of Marina Bay; the commercial corridor of Orchard Road, and two new public housing developments in Toa Payoh and Tampines. The ideas and principles so generated were further developed, corroborated, and condensed into ten principles.
Read the report.
“Expansive, rapid urbanization is adding challenges to the business of building cities that are prosperous, liveable, and able to withstand time and change,” notes ULI Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips. “Through our work with the CLC, we are aiming to demonstrate how well-planned design and development is the foundation for a physical environment that is conducive to a competitive economy, sustainable environment and a high quality of life. Ultimately, cities are about what’s best for people, not buildings or cars. The places that are built to reflect this reality will have a competitive edge in our globalized economy.”
“Singapore is seen as a high density, high liveability development model. We saw some relevance of Singapore’s experience to others, particularly emerging cities, many of whom are high density and want to raise the quality of life for their people. We hope this joint publication will contribute in some way towards people having a more optimistic view of living in high density cities,” said Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, CLC.
Each of the 10 principles in the publication reflects Singapore’s integrated model of planning and development, which weaves together the physical, economic, social and environmental aspects of urban living. The ten principles are:
- Plan for long-term growth and renewal
–A highly dense city usually does not have much choice but to make
efficient use of every square inch of its scarce land. Yet city planners
need to do this in a way that does not make the city feel cramped and
unliveable. A combination of long-term planning, responsive land
policies, development control and good design has enabled Singapore to
have dense developments that do not feel overly crowded, and, in fact,
are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
- Embrace diversity, foster inclusiveness
– There is a need to ensure that diversity is not divisive,
particularly in densely populated cities where people live in close
proximity to one another. Density and diversity work in Singapore
because there has always been a concurrent focus on creating a sense of
inclusiveness through encouraging greater interaction.
- Draw nature closer to people
– Blending nature into the city helps soften the hard edges of a highly
built up cityscape and provides the city dwellers pockets of respite
from the bustle of urban life. By adopting a strategy of pervasive
greenery and by transforming its parks and water bodies into lifestyle
spaces for community activities, Singapore integrated nature with its
dense developments. Nearly half of Singapore is now under green cover,
which is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also improves the air
quality and mitigates heat from the tropical sun.
- Develop affordable, mixed-use neighbourhoods
– The ease of living in a compact neighbourhood that is relatively
self-contained can add to the pleasure of city living. With density, it
becomes more cost effective to provide common amenities. Neighbourhoods
in Singapore’s new towns have a mix of public and private developments
which are served with a full range of facilities that are easy to access
and generally affordable.
- Make public spaces work harder
– Often, parcels of land that adjoin or surround the city’s
infrastructure are dormant, empty spaces. Singapore has sought to
maximize the potential of these spaces by unlocking them for commercial
and leisure activities, The idea is to make all space, including
infrastructural spaces, serve multiple uses and users.
- Prioritise green transport and building options
– An overall reduction in energy consumption and dependence adds to
city sustainability. Singapore has adopted a resource-conscious growth
strategy that relies on planning, design and the use of low-energy
environmental systems for its buildings. It has also developed an
efficient public transport system and well-connected walkways to give
city dwellers transport alternatives to driving.
- Relieve density with variety and add green boundaries
– A high-density city need not be all about closely packed high-rise
buildings. Singapore intersperses high-rise with low-rise buildings,
creating a skyline with more character and reducing the sense of being
in a crowded space.
- Activate spaces for greater safety
– Having a sense of safety and security is an important quality-of-life
factor. As Singapore became denser, designs of high-rise public housing
estates were modified to improve the “visual access” to spaces so the
community can collectively be the “eyes on the street,” helping to keep
neighbourhoods safe.
- Promote innovative and non-conventional solutions
– As a city gets more populated and built up, it starts facing
constraints on land and resources, and has to often look at
non-traditional solutions to get around the challenges. To ensure
sufficient water, Singapore developed reclaimed water under the brand
name NEWater-to drinking and industrial standards.
- Forge “3P” (people, public, private) partnerships – With land parcels in close proximity to one another, the effects of development in one area are likely to be felt quickly and acutely in neighbouring sites. The city government and all stakeholders need to work together to ensure they are not taking actions that would reduce the quality of life for others. URA launched the Singapore River ONE partnership to get the various stakeholders to feel a stronger ownership of Singapore River so that social and economic activity in the precinct would be developed in a coordinated and sustainable manner.
NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: The 10 Principles for Liveable High Density Cities: Lessons from Singapore report is now available for download.
Living Green Values
Living Green Values
Activities for Children and Young Adults
A Special Rio+20 Edition
Activities for Children and Young Adults
A Special Rio+20 Edition
This resource is dedicated to the Earth in honor of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012. Rio+20 is a reference to the 20 years that have passed since the first UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992.
LVE leaders around the world are concerned about our Earth and her ocean. We would like to offer educators, parents and youth facilitators around the world these Living Green Values materials with the hope that the stories and activities will be useful to you in educating children and young adults, families and communities to internalize the importance of living sustainable lives and caring for our planet. May we all learn to live in harmony with nature and with respect and care for all.
for Children and Young Adults
Download this cover
These Living Green Values activities are intended to help young people be more aware of the importance of taking care of the Earth and her resources. Part of that process is awakening love for nature and her creatures and learning about specific ways that they can help be a friend to the Earth.
The Activities for Children 3 – 7 include stories, a visualization and activities. The “Rosa, David and a Tern” stories are included as well as “A Tap that Cried”.
In the Activities for Children 8 – 14 and Activities for Young Adults, specific scientific information is included about the harmful affects of human actions on the ocean, rivers, animals, air and ground — and on human beings themselves. This information is first presented through a series of stories called the “Green Values Club”. The nine stories weave in the values of love and respect, camaraderie and helping others, and the understanding that each one of us can make a difference. Cognitive understanding of the effects of one action is amplified through an explanation of systems thinking and students charting effects with flow charts and mind maps. Educators can help empower students to take positive action and do service-learning projects through the activity ideas presented. Please add your own ideas and help them do what is most needed in the local community. A relaxation/focusing exercise is included at the end of many lessons to help the students feel safe and peaceful. Further activities and relaxation/focusing exercises can be found in the Living Values Activities books.
Enjoy doing the activities with the students! If you wish, we will be happy to post your activities and news of your outcome in our newsletter or the international website.
Thank you for helping take care of our Earth.
Living Green Values
A storybook for three- to seven-year olds
For parents and their children
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“Rosa, David and the Tern” contains three chapters about two young children who help free a little Tern. Their happiness at helping turns to amazement, discovery, action and joy as the Tern and a Blue Heron speak to them on behalf of the Earth. A delightful tale which helps children explore how they can help care for and respect the Earth, her ocean and its creatures.
Living Green Values
A book for young people eight to eighteen!
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The “Green Values Club” contains nine chapters. The story begins as Katie and George worry about their father not returning the night before. As they head out in a dinghy with their mother, they find him and his partner trying to free a whale caught in a net. Their adventure unfolds at the beach, school and city council as they learn with their friends more about the Earth, her ocean and how humans have affected the planet. The values of love and respect, camaraderie and helping others are evident in the story as is the message and reality that each one of us can make a difference.
Curriculum & Resources: The Debate on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Source: YES Magazine
GMO Infographics
"The Truth About Biotechnology"
Download the entire "Truth about Biotechnology" infographic here
"What Do You Know About GMOs?"
DOWNLOAD the entire "What Do You Know About GMOs?" infographic here
"What on Earth are GMOs?"
DOWNLOAD the entire "What on Earth are GMOs ?" infographic here.
NOTE TO EDUCATORS:
Your students, no doubt, are familiar with OMG! But what about GMO?
GMOs are genetically modified organisms in which the genetic material or DNA has been altered in a way that doesn’t occur naturally. GMOs seem to be a hotly debated topic around the world. Some people claim GM seeds yield higher agricultural productivity and ensure food security. Others maintain these seeds are unsafe to eat and destroy other seeds and crops. On the November 2012 ballot, a grassroots coalition of California citizens proposed an initiative to require the labeling of foods made from genetically modified organisms. The initiative failed, but proponents are looking to other states to take up their cause.
What do your students know about GMOs? Do they think they’re good or bad? Why do we have them at all?
We found three infographics that represent different points of view on GMOs.
With your students, study the three infographics. For each one, ask:
- Look at the colors used and how the facts are displayed. What is the feeling or tone of the infographics? What else do you notice?
- What is the theme and purpose of the infographic?
- What is the position and perspective on GMOs?
- Who created the infographic? What do you know about this organization? Does knowing this influence how you interpret or view the chart? TIP: Look at the fine print at the bottom of the infographic.
After your students have analyzed this set of infographics, poll them on which infographic they found most influential (or not). Did their views on GMOs change?
- GMOs at the Polls: 7 Things to Tell Your Friends Before Election Day
Americans are the world’s GMO guinea pigs, say Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé. But California’s ballot initiative on labeling GMO foods would give everyone the choice to change that for themselves. - In Kenya, Farmers Grow Their Own Way
Thousands of grassroots, African-led efforts are building locally rooted alternatives to the chemical agriculture promoted by the Gates Foundation and Monsanto. - New (and Old) Ideas for a Better Food System
Solutions for improving the food system: restore seed diversity and native varieties, steward water, build resiliency, process locally and cooperatively, treat everyone fairly, get local foods to local outlets.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
UNU-IAS Reports and Policy Briefs
| 2013 | |
| Governing the Forests: An Institutional Analysis of REDD+ and Community Forest Management in Asia | |
 By Jose Puppim de Oliveira, Tim Cadman, Hwan Ok Ma, Tek Maraseni, Anar Koli, Yogesh D. Jadhav and Dede PrabowoREDD+ has become an important component in the discussions on climate change and forest governance, but there is further need to understand the linkages with local governance and the challenges for its implementation. This joint report will serve as a useful reference for policymakers, professionals and practitioners as they work to promote REDD+ in ways that tackle climate change and biodiversity loss but also respect concerns and listen to the voice of local stakeholders. IBN 978-92-808-4542-6 February 2013, 53 pages Download report as a .pdf file (1.94 MB) | |
| Innovation in Local and Global Learning Systems for Sustainability: Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity – Learning Contributions of the Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development | |
 Edited by Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana and Zinaida Fadeeva Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) were developed as sites for participatory learning and action within the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), opening up more collaborative and inclusive learning spaces towards more just and sustainable ways of life now and in the future. Some of the contours of these emergent education processes of collaborative learning-to-change as they relate to traditional knowledge (TK) and biodiversity are developing in many RCE contexts today. The Education for Sustainable Development Programme at UNU-IAS has worked with RCEs worldwide to create a new publication showcasing a series of case studies in this regard. ISBN 978-92-808-4540-2 2013, 124 pages Download report as a .pdf file (4.59 MB) | |
| 2012 | |
| Towards More Sustainable Consumption and Production Systems and Sustainable Livelihoods | |
 By Zinaida Fadeeva, Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana and Roger Petry To build a socially just economy and a more sustainable society, our consumption and production systems must become more sustainable — not only in terms of market growth and resilience, but also in terms of productive non-market relations, ecosystem health, quality of life and the well-being of all involved. The Education for Sustainable Development programme at UNU-IAS has published a report of case studies, showcasing groundbreaking education for sustainable development (ESD) initiatives that address some of the greatest challenges we face in moving to more sustainable consumption and production systems. They stem from the work of the Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE). ISBN 978-92-808-4538-9 2012, 130 pages Download report as a .pdf file (6.85 MB) | |
| Biofuels in Africa: Impacts on Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Human Well-being | |
 By
Alexandros Gasparatos, Lisa Y. Lee, Graham P. von Maltitz, Manu V.
Mathai, Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira and Katherine J. Willis Biofuel production and use in Africa have been linked to numerous environmental and socio-economic impacts. Whether these impacts are positive or negative depends on a multitude of factors such as the feedstock, the environmental/socio-economic context of biofuel production, and the policy instruments in place during biofuel production, use and trade. This report discusses a wide array of these impacts, as they relate to jatropha biodiesel and sugarcane ethanol in Africa. A major challenge for obtaining a comprehensive picture of biofuel tradeoffs is the fact that the biofuel literature is multidisciplinary and rapidly expanding. This report employs the ecosystem services framework developed during the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), as a means of synthesizing the available evidence about biofuel impacts and identifying the main trade-offs associated with biofuels in Africa. ISBN 978-92-808-4536-5 October 2012, 111 pages Download report as a .pdf file (2.05 MB) | |
| Biodiversity, Traditional Knowledge and Community Health: Strengthening Linkages | |
 Unnikrishnan P.M. and M.S. SuneethaHealthy ecosystems and biodiversity are sources of various services that nurture life and enhance human well-being. While the relevance of biodiversity to mainstream health is clear, as seen in commercial use of biological resources by pharmaceuticals, their relevance to the health care of people in insufficiently connected and economically disadvantaged regions of the world can be considered to be much more profound. These regions are rich in resources, but they lack in sufficient public helth care infrastructure and personnel. While there are several inititatives at the local level that exemplify good practice in achieving both sustainable use of natural resources for traditional medical purposes, as well as accessibility for marginal and local communities. However, such good practices are still restricted to pockets of project activity. ISBN 978-92-808-4528-0 October 2012, 82 pages Download report as a .pdf file (5.89 MB) | |
| Biodiversity and Community Health: connecting and linking nature, knowledge and practices on the ground | |
The interlinkages between biodiversity
and health are well recognized. However, the need and potential of
strengthening traditional understanding and practices related to health
at the community level is an area that has not been sufficiently
addressed in planning processes. Unlike mainstream health interventions,
this involves a comprehensive assessment of various contributing
factors to health, including biological resources, knowledge and human
resources, socio-cultural resources and related policy processes. It
involves attention to medicinal plants and faunal products, dietary and
nutritional aspects, access to these resources, ecosystem integrity,
landscape values, rights to practitioners to practice, opportunities for
livelihood enhancement among others.
2012, 8 pages Download report as a .pdf file (623 KB) | |
| Weathering Uncertainty: Traditional Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation | |
 By Douglas J. Nakashima, Kirsty Galloway Mclean, Hans Thulstrup, Ameyali Ramos Castillo and Jennifer Rubis When considering climate change, indigenous peoples and marginalized populations warrant particular attention. Impacts on their territories and communities are anticipated to be both early and severe due to their location in vulnerable environments. There is therefore a need to understand the specific vulnerabilities, adaptation capacities and longer-term aspirations of indigenous peoples and marginalized communities the world over. This publication draws the attention of Authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report and climate policymakers to the rapidly growing scientific literature on the contributions of indigenous and traditional knowledge to understanding climate change vulnerability, resilience and adaptation. ISBN 978-92-3-001068-3 (UNESCO) ISBN 978-0-9807084-8-6 (UNU) 2012, 120 pages Download report as a .pdf file (1.03 MB) | |
| Monitoring Progress: Time for a Revaluation | |
 Over
the last decade, researchers at UNU have continued to focus on and
identify practical ways of measuring well-being, both at macro-planning
scales and at the community level, with particular focus on the
Capability Approach, given its paradigmatic status. UNU has also
continued to actively support the creation of development assessment
methods that provide a more comprehensive recognition of on-the-ground
realities, and it is keen to strengthen its engagement in this regard.
This position paper revists discourses on well-being and refocuses on
what really matters to well-being. 2012, A4, 2 pages Download brief as a .pdf file (208 KB) | |
| Socio-ecological Production Landscapes: Relevance to the Green Economy Agenda | |
 Hongyan Gu and Suneetha M. Subramanian Socio-ecological production landscapes (SEPLs), if managed effectively, can provide a wide range of ecosystem services that help contribute to the livelihoods and well-being of local communities, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and relevant national development policies. Drawing insights from a variety of case studies, this report examines the historical and political contexts in which SEPLs have evolved as well as the challenges and opportunities in promoting SEPLs for the green economy. ISBN 978-92-808-4534-1 2012, B5, 66 pages Download report as a .pdf file (3.84 MB) | |
| Governance Challenges for Greening the Urban Economy: Understanding and Assessing the Links between Governance and Green Economy in Cities | |
Jose
A. Puppim de Oliveira, Osman Balaban, Aki Suwa, Christopher N.H. Doll,
Ping Jiang, Magali Dreyfus, Raquel Moreno-Peñaranda, Puspita Dirgahayani
and Erin Kennedy
The challenges for creating a greener economy and the institutional framework for sustainable development pass necessarily, or mostly, through cities, as they concentrate a large and growing part of the world’s economy and population, as well as decision-making power. With the processes of urbanization and rural-urban transformation, the economy in cities, especially in cities of developing countries, has been shifting from traditional artisanal crafts and markets to more modern industry and service sectors. The concentration of people, resources, knowledge, political power and economic activities in urban areas, if properly managed, can provide economies of scale and efficiency gains that lower the use of resources and energy, and thereby promote doing more with less, while offering fair outcomes to the most vulnerable people and the environment. In this sense, transitioning from the traditional “brown” economy to a greener economy could be achieved by reducing resource and energy consumption in cities through improving the key components of the urban economic process. ISBN 978-92-808-4530-3 2012, B5, 64 pages Download report as a .pdf file (4.8 MB) | |
| 2011 | |
| Biodiversity in Kanazawa: Through the Four Seasons | |
 Cities
benefit in a myriad of ways from the biodiversity within and outside
their boundaries. Enjoying a variety of tasty foods in our meals or
obtaining spiritual comfort form contemplating a landscape are just some
examples of the benefits urban residents obtain from ecosystems.
However, urbanization is contributing to biodiversity loss worldwide,
and many city dwellers lack access to its benefits. In a world becoming
rapidly urban, cities must address the biodiversity challenge for the
well-being of their residents and the sustainability of the planet. ISBN 978-92-808-4529-7 2011, B5, 72 pages Download report as a .pdf file (3.06 MB) | |
| Transboundary Conservation and Peace-building: Lessons from forest biodiversity conservation projects | |
Saleem H. Ali 
This policy document, jointly published by the
International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the United Nations
University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), sets out the
specific actions that policymakers, forest managers and other
stakeholders should take to improve biodiversity conservation in forests
used for the production of forest goods and services. On the ground,
ITTO has funded the establishment and/or management of a number of
transboundary conservation reserves in its member countries. What
lessons can be learned from those projects on transboundary
conservation? In order to answer this question, ITTO and UNU-IAS started
a partnership to analyze and present lessons from these projects.
UNU-IAS/2011/No. 4 (UNU-IAS and ITTO joint publication) ISBN 978-92-808-4527-3 April 2011, B5, 39 pages Download report as a .pdf file (990 KB) | |
| 2010 | |
Bio-enterprises, Endogenous Development and Well-being
|
While enhancing human well-being is a policy objective, defining
various components that lead to human well-being vary at the macro level
and at the level of local communities. This dichotomy in perspectives,
due to differences in cultural norms and worldviews between the two
levels, leads to poor implementation of policy activities. This policy
brief examines these challenges in the context of establishment of
bio-enterprises to meet development priorities. | Report Summary for Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment Satoyama-Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Socio-ecological Production Landscapes of Japan (Summary for Decision Makers)
|
This report presents a synthesis and integration of the findings from the Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment
(JSSA) as a summary for decision makers. The JSSA is a study of the
interaction between humans and terrestrial-aquatic ecosystems ( satoyama ) and marine-coastal ecosystems ( satoumi )
in Japan. The study analyses changes which have occurred in these
ecosystems over the last 50 years and identifies plausible alternative
futures of those landscapes in the year 2050 taking into account various
drivers such as governmental and economic policy, climate change,
technology, and socio-behavioural responses. Recommendations for
decision makers based on the study’s findings are also included in the
report.
UNU-IAS Policy Report Cities, Biodiversity and Governance: Perspectives and Challenges of the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the City Level
|
UNU-IAS Policy Report Climate and Human-Related Drivers of Biodiversity Decline in Southeast Asia
|
Southeast Asia hosts diverse biological resources and cultural milieus
that are under different degrees of stress from various factors. This
report highlights the key underlying economic, political, and natural
factors that contribute to biodiversity decline in the region, and
provides specific policy directions that could help address the decline.
|
UNU-IAS Policy Report Impacts of Liquid Biofuels on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
|
Ecosystem
services are benefits people obtain from ecosystems. In this report,
the ecosystem services concept is used to rationalise the existing
evidence about biofuels' impact on ecosystems. It is shown that biofuels
can provide a number of ecosystem services (e.g. fuel, climate
regulation) while compromising others (e.g. food, freshwater services).
At the same time, it is also shown why biofuel expansion is currently
being considered as one of the main emerging threats to biodiversity,
particularly in highly biodiverse areas such as in Indonesia and Brazil.
A combination of response options such as designer landscapes, Payment
for Ecosystem Services (PES), Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation
and Degradation (REDD), and biofuel certification will have to be put in
place to minimise the negative impacts of biofuel expansion on
ecosystem services and biodiversity.
Traditional Marine Management Areas of the Pacific in the Context of National and International Law and Policy
|
This report explores the role of traditional marine resources
management in meeting both the goals of communities and those of
national and international conservation strategies. Specifically, it
looks at how traditional practices are applied in various Pacific Island
countries, how concepts such as the ecosystem approach and adaptive
management are incorporated, whether traditional marine managed areas
(MMAs) are recognised by national law, and how and whether they are seen
to contribute to national and international protected areas and
conservation targets. The report also reflects on the issue of marine
genetic resources, and access to and benefit sharing of these resources.
Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment: Experiences and Lessons from Clusters
| |
| 2009 |
Benefit Sharing in ABS: Options and Elaborations
| |
| 2008 |
The third objective of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) to ensure “ the
fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to
genetic resources...” has taken centre stage now with negotiations
in full swing to develop an international regime on Access and Benefit
Sharing (ABS) by the year 2010. While some progress has been achieved on
negotiations related to access regulations, discussions are still
evolving as countries are found to be cautious to implement measures
related to benefit sharing.
Innovation in Responding to Climate Change: Nanotechnology, Ocean Energy and Forestry
|
This report offers three innovative solutions in responding to climate
change, namely nanotechnology, ocean energy and forestry. It goes beyond
the technological, biological and procedural aspects of these solutions
by critically assessing the opportunities and challenges that each type
of innovation presents. This report addresses the question why these
innovations - despite their large potential to reduce emissions, ocean
energy alone could cover the world's electricity needs - have not yet
reached the stage of mass commercialization.
Looking Beyond the International Polar Year
|
Recommendations contained in this report address the following key
issues: climate change; human rights challenges; challenges of new
commercial activities in the Polar Regions; challenges posed by shipping
and newly opening sea lanes; threats to specific species and
assemblages of species; environmental governance in the Polar Regions;
and the inadequate implementation of existing international law and
domestic laws. The report also contains a series of
recommendations on studies that should be undertaken in the immediate
and near term future to better equip governments and policy makers to
respond to these emerging issues.
MDG on Reducing Biodiversity Loss and the CBD’s 2010 Target
|
The Report highlights the links between the CBD 2010 targets and the
MDG target on reducing biodiversity loss; it also identifies the
challenges being faced by countries in responding to these targets from
different perspectives and provides some policy options for
consideration by MDG practitioners. 
Access to Genetic Resources in Africa: Analyzing Development of ABS Policies in Four African Countries
|
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations
University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) with the support of
the Government of Ireland have carried out case studies on access to
genetic resources and benefit‑sharing (ABS) arrangements in four African
countries namely Botswana, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia. These studies
exemplify the implementation of existing ABS arrangements and mechanisms
in the context of the Bonn Guidelines adopted by the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its sixth meeting,
in April 2002. Environment for African Development: A Sustainable Future through Science and Technology
|
Currently, one of the most critical issues for Africa is food security.
At the same time, environmental sustainability is being lost. In
addition, human-induced climate change threatens agricultural
productivity. This report provides an overview of some of the
environmental issues facing Africa and examines the role of science and
technology cooperation in meeting these challenges. An environmental
performance country analysis is used to identify areas of best practice,
as well as areas of action. Certificates
of Clarity or Confusion: The search for a practical, feasible and cost
effective system for certifying compliance with PIC and MAT
|
Proposals have been made for a variety of certification systems to act
as the basis for an international system of documentation to provide
evidence of PIC and MAT relating to access and use of genetic resources
and traditional knowledge. This study provides a comparative analysis of
all four existing proposals and examines the challenges for development
of a practical, feasible and cost effective certificate system. Queensland
Biodiscovery Collaboration: The Griffith University AstraZeneca
Partnership for Natural Product Discovery - An Access & Benefit
Sharing Case Study
|
Bioprospecting in the Arctic
|
The UNU-IAS Report Bioprospecting in the Arctic examines
the extent and nature of bioprospecting in the Arctic. It argues that
there is significant interest in the biotechnology potential of Arctic
biodiversity. In many cases this potential has moved beyond the research
of the academic community to commercialisation by industry. In fact
given the number of companies involved in research on or the actual
exploitation of biotechnology based on Arctic genetic resources (fourty
three companies in total) one clear conclusion is that this industry, in
various forms, is well established. This conclusion is supported by the
existence of more than thirty-one patents or patent applications based
on Arctic genetic resources. Internationally Funded Training in Biosafety and Biotechnology - Is it Bridging the Biotech Divide?
2007 |
The purpose of this Assessment, undertaken by UNU-IAS from 2004 - 2007,
was to provide a neutral, independent and objective assessment of the
various internationally funded training programmes for biosafety and
biotechnology, especially to the extent that it is necessary for
biosafety, in the developing world. This Assessment does not advocate
the use, or avoidance, of modern biotechnology. Rather it seeks to
examine whether capacity building activities are delivering to
developing countries the capacity to make and implement choices about
biosafety and biotechnology. Effective Implementation of NBSAPs: Using a Decentralized Approach
|
A
comprehensive (global review) of NBSAPs' implementation is now timely
given that it has been 15 years since the CBD's obligations came into
force. However, until such a global review is undertaken, regional
reviews and national experiences provide some lessons which can guide
further action. This publication advocates the development of
sub-national biodiversity action plans (BSAPs) as a planning solution to
the weaknesses of a large national planning and implementation process.
| Is Human Reproductive Cloning Inevitable: Future Options for UN Governance |
|
This report was prepared by: Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Darryl Macer, Mihaela Serbulea and Brendan Tobin
 Human Cloning has been one of the most emotive and divisive issue to face UN negotiators and the international community in recent years. This report examines how, that despite a widespread consensus amongs nations that it is desireable to ban reproductive cloning, efforts to negotiate an international convention ground to a halt due to fundamental divisions regarding so-called research or therapeutic cloning. Firm positions on both sides of the debate led to the compromise position of a non-binding UN Declaration on Cloning. Yokohama, UNU-IAS, October 2007, 29 pages Download this report as a .pdf file (1.8 MB) 2006 |
Renewable Energy
|
Ecosystem Approach and the Deep Sea
|
The Precautionary Principle and the WTO
|
Women in Science and Technology
|
Urban development in the Asia Pacific
|
| Water and Sanitation in an Urban Poor Settlement: A Case Study of Bauniabad, Bangladesh This report was prepared based on the results of the case study conducted by the UNU-IAS and the Environment and Population Research Centre (EPRC) in Bangladesh between 2002 and 2004. Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 75 pages View Report as PDF (File size 2.3 MB) |
| Food and Nutrition Biotechnology Albert Sasson
|
| Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology Albert Sasson
|
Mobilizing for Education for Sustainable Development
|
Deep Sea Bioprospecting
|
Enfranchisement for Sustainable Development
|
| Bioprospecting in Antarctica Sam Johnston and Dagmar Lohan
2004 |
Engaging the Disenfranchised
|
Agriculture for Peace
|
The Central Asia and Mongolia Bioresources and Biosecurity Network
|
The Role of Registers and Databases in the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
|
User Measures
|
Biodiversity Access and Benefit-Sharing Policies for Protected Areas
|
The International Regime for Bioprospecting
|
In Search of Biosecurity
|
Defining an Ecosystem Approach to Urban Management and Policy Development
|
Urban Ecosystems Analysis
|
The Sustainable Future of the Global System
|
International Sustainable Development Governance
|
UNU Report | Improving the Management of Sustainable Development
|
UNU Report | International Environmental Governance
|
UNU Report to the Second Preparatory Session for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
|
UNU Report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development Regional PrepCom for Asia and the Pacific
|
| Green GDP Estimates in China, Indonesia, and Japan: An Application of the UN Environmental and Economic Accounting System Takahiro Akita and Yoichi Nakamura (eds)
|
Inter-Linkages: Synergies and Coordination between Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Associated Files ( Interlinkages.pdf ) 1999 |
Global Climate Governance: Inter-Linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
|
Global
Climate Governance: Scenarios and Options on the Inter-Linkages between
the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
|
| China’s Sustainable Development Framework: Summary Report Fu-chen Lo and Yu-qing Xing (eds)
|
Global Climate Governance: A Report on the Inter-linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
|
Global Climate Governance: Inter-linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
|
Brendan F D Barrett and W Bradnee Chambers (eds)
Consultation Draft
Examines the background of the negotiations leading
up to COP3 and identifies the main actors, coalitions and issues, as
well as providing a detailed analysis of the course of the Kyoto
negotiations.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, June 1998, 138 pages.
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