Les negociations sur la diversite biologique se sont tenues a Rio en 1992 selon un agenda encore ... more Les negociations sur la diversite biologique se sont tenues a Rio en 1992 selon un agenda encore tres impregne par le clivage Nord-Sud. Cette convention marquait toutefois une reelle avancee dans la tentative de construction d'une logique de developpement durable en integrant au raisonnement conservationniste un discours economique et social sur l'utilisation durable de la biodiversite, la prise en compte des savoirs naturalistes locaux et le partage equitable des avantages issus de l'utilisation des elements de la biodiversite. Dix ans plus tard, ces objectifs sont encore loin d'etre atteints et les discussions internationales butent en grande partie sur le lien entre biodiversite et innovation. Mais les dynamiques internes des pays emergents riches en biodiversite comme le Bresil, la Chine ou l'Inde deplacent aujourd'hui certains clivages traditionnels qui ont preside a l'elaboration de la Convention sur la diversite biologique, en particulier l'obj...
New international institutions regulating the exchange and use of materials are being established... more New international institutions regulating the exchange and use of materials are being established through agreements like the Nagoya Protocol, the Cartegena Protocol, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. Although these policies respond to important stakeholder demands, they have the potential to significantly alter the ways in which individuals scientists engage in research and innovation by limiting the sharing of biological materials (Jinnah and Jungcurt, 2009; Martinez and Biber-Klemm, 2010; Atlas, 2003; De Greef 2004; Grajal, 1999; Welch et al. 2013). Within this context of contested inputs to research, this paper asks: To what extent are scientists experiencing constraints on access to biological materials? What factors explain the halting of flow of biological materials for scientific research? To what extent can blockages be attributed to national and global regulation as compared to, for example, characteristics of the material, attitudes of scientists ab...
La question de la securite alimentaire apparait, de prime abord, comme une question purement nati... more La question de la securite alimentaire apparait, de prime abord, comme une question purement nationale – celle d’une souverainete souvent revendiquee dans les relations internationales. Les situations d’urgence liees soit a des conflits locaux, soit a des catastrophes naturelles sont, en ce sens, des exceptions pendant lesquelles l’aide de la «communaute internationale» est requise pour pallier une defaillance momentanee d’Etats soumis a des contraintes externes trop fortes et independantes de leur volonte (le cas d’Haiti aujourd’hui). En effet, il est admis dans le debat international contemporain sur la securite alimentaire que le probleme est tres rarement un probleme de disponibilite des biens alimentaires (au sens des anciennes famines historiques 1) mais un probleme d’accessibilite – donc de prix des biens alimentaires ou de revenus des plus pauvres, qui forment ce que l’on appelle parfois le «milliard d’en bas» (bottom billion), pauvres ruraux et urbains confondus. Dit d’une ...
Les negociations sur la diversite biologique se sont tenues a Rio en 1992 selon un agenda encore ... more Les negociations sur la diversite biologique se sont tenues a Rio en 1992 selon un agenda encore tres impregne par le clivage Nord-Sud. Cette convention marquait toutefois une reelle avancee dans la tentative de construction d'une logique de developpement durable en integrant au raisonnement conservationniste un discours economique et social sur l'utilisation durable de la biodiversite, la prise en compte des savoirs naturalistes locaux et le partage equitable des avantages issus de l'utilisation des elements de la biodiversite. Dix ans plus tard, ces objectifs sont encore loin d'etre atteints et les discussions internationales butent en grande partie sur le lien entre biodiversite et innovation. Mais les dynamiques internes des pays emergents riches en biodiversite comme le Bresil, la Chine ou l'Inde deplacent aujourd'hui certains clivages traditionnels qui ont preside a l'elaboration de la Convention sur la diversite biologique, en particulier l'obj...
New international institutions regulating the exchange and use of materials are being established... more New international institutions regulating the exchange and use of materials are being established through agreements like the Nagoya Protocol, the Cartegena Protocol, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. Although these policies respond to important stakeholder demands, they have the potential to significantly alter the ways in which individuals scientists engage in research and innovation by limiting the sharing of biological materials (Jinnah and Jungcurt, 2009; Martinez and Biber-Klemm, 2010; Atlas, 2003; De Greef 2004; Grajal, 1999; Welch et al. 2013). Within this context of contested inputs to research, this paper asks: To what extent are scientists experiencing constraints on access to biological materials? What factors explain the halting of flow of biological materials for scientific research? To what extent can blockages be attributed to national and global regulation as compared to, for example, characteristics of the material, attitudes of scientists ab...
La question de la securite alimentaire apparait, de prime abord, comme une question purement nati... more La question de la securite alimentaire apparait, de prime abord, comme une question purement nationale – celle d’une souverainete souvent revendiquee dans les relations internationales. Les situations d’urgence liees soit a des conflits locaux, soit a des catastrophes naturelles sont, en ce sens, des exceptions pendant lesquelles l’aide de la «communaute internationale» est requise pour pallier une defaillance momentanee d’Etats soumis a des contraintes externes trop fortes et independantes de leur volonte (le cas d’Haiti aujourd’hui). En effet, il est admis dans le debat international contemporain sur la securite alimentaire que le probleme est tres rarement un probleme de disponibilite des biens alimentaires (au sens des anciennes famines historiques 1) mais un probleme d’accessibilite – donc de prix des biens alimentaires ou de revenus des plus pauvres, qui forment ce que l’on appelle parfois le «milliard d’en bas» (bottom billion), pauvres ruraux et urbains confondus. Dit d’une ...
The importance of seed provisioning in food security and nutrition, agricultural development and ... more The importance of seed provisioning in food security and nutrition, agricultural development and rural livelihoods, and agrobiodiversity and germplasm conservation is well accepted by policy makers, practitioners and researchers. The role of farmer seed networks is less well understood and yet is central to debates on current issues ranging from seed sovereignty and rights for farmers to GMOs and the conservation of crop germplasm. In this paper we identify four common misconceptions regarding the nature and importance of farmer seed networks today. (1) Farmer seed networks are inefficient for seed dissemination. (2) Farmer seed networks are closed, conservative systems. (3) Farmer seed networks provide ready, egalitarian access to seed. (4) Farmer seed networks are destined to weaken and disappear. We challenge these misconceptions by drawing upon recent research findings and the authors’ collective field experience in studying farmer seed systems in Africa, Europe, Latin America and Oceania. Priorities for future research are suggested that would advance our understanding of seed networks and better inform agricultural and food policy.
Regime complexes are arrays of institutions with partially overlapping mandates and memberships. ... more Regime complexes are arrays of institutions with partially overlapping mandates and memberships. As tensions frequently arise among these institutions, there is a growing interest geared to finding strategies to reduce them. Insights from regime theory, science and technology studies, and social network analysis support the claim that “boundary organizations” – a type of organization until now overlooked in International Relations – can reduce tensions within regime complexes by generating credible, legitimate and salient knowledge, provided that their internal networks balance multiple knowledge dimensions. Building on this argument, this article offers an ex ante assessment of the recently created International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Results from our network analysis of IPBES point to clear improvements compared with similar organizations, although major deficiencies remain. The contribution of this article is threefold. Methodologically, it introduces new conceptual and technical tools to assess the “social representativeness” of international organizations. Theoretically, it supports the claim that international organizations are penetrated by transnational networks and, consequently, that the proliferation of institutions tends to reproduce structural imbalances. Normatively, it argues that a revision of nomination processes could improve the ability of boundary organizations to generate salient, credible and legitimate knowledge.
This special issue builds on the cross-fertilization that results from (i) the growing conceptual... more This special issue builds on the cross-fertilization that results from (i) the growing conceptualization efforts made by science and technology studies (STS) from the 1980s to 2000s to better understand the science/policy interface and (ii) subsequent applications in international relations (IR), where several international institutions meant to be science/policy interfaces have been established.
Plant genetic resources A review of current research and future needs Vol 1, 2021
Different norms, rules and practices organize the exchange of germplasm to address broader global... more Different norms, rules and practices organize the exchange of germplasm to address broader global challenges such as advancement of science and innovation, food security, sustainable agriculture or global equity. Some of these institutions are now embedded in various treaties and national regulations. This chapter claims that these regulations are not as successful as they could be because they fail to effectively integrate the complexity of the exchange environment. In order to better understand how exchange could be improved, it is important to go beyond a legalistic approach to exchange and look at the broader socio-technical context in which these exchanges take place. By developing an analytical framework that includes several dimensions beyond the regulatory one, this contribution creates the foundation for a more comprehensive approach that acts upon the relationship between germplasm and the diversity of institutional logics, germplasm and its resource system, and germplasm and its social environment.
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