The book focuses on the negotiation process leading up to the creation of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and the domestic implementation of this international agreement. This political science study of the negotiation process applies several perspectives drawn from international relations theories, while also focusing on the implementation of international environmental agreements in a developing country. Moreover, the links between factors at international and domestic levels are examined, with four proposed mechanisms through which an international institution may affect domestic policies. Evidence is found that the CBD has had a beneficial impact on national biodiversity policies in the country studied, but that necessary compatible legislation is absent in developed country parties. Readership: Policy makers, decision makers, political scientists, lawyers and environmentalists engaged in development assistance work, and academics and industrialists involved in the biotechnology industry.

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This work presents a thorough analysis of the biodiversity concept in international law and commentary on the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity which was opened for signature following the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. This Convention is the first international treaty explicitly to address all aspects of biodiversity ranging from the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, to access to biotechnology and the safety of activities related to modified living organisms. The work extends beyond the ambit of the Convention itself to examine the conservation of biodiversity in international law generally, including measures for the protection of the terrestrial, marine and Antarctic environment and particular features relating to sustainable use of biological resources, ex-situ conservation and plant genetic resources. It further analyses the controversial issue of intellectual property rights, the problems of implementation in the European Union and the United States, differences between developing and developed states and the role of indigenous peoples. This major new work has been written by members of the Committee on Environmental Law of the British Branch of the International Law Association following an earlier study on the subject of International Law and Global Climate Change (Graham & Trotman, 1991). It is the first major study of the Convention of the context in which it was negotiated, and of the prospects for its implementation, following the entry into force of the Convention on 29 December 1993.

The implications of biodiversity loss for the global environment have been widely discussed, but only recently has attention been paid to its direct and serious effects on human health. Biodiversity loss affects the spread of human diseases, causes a loss of medical models, diminishes the supplies of raw materials for drug discovery and biotechnology, and threatens food production and water quality. Biodiversity and Human Health brings together leading thinkers on the global environment and biomedicine to explore the human health consequences of the loss of biological diversity. Based on a two-day conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution, the book opens a dialogue among experts from the fields of public health, biology, epidemiology, botany, ecology, demography, and pharmacology on this vital but often neglected concern. Contributors discuss the uses and significance of biodiversity to the practice of medicine today, and develop strategies for conservation of these critical resources. Topics examined include: the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss emerging infectious diseases and the loss of biodiversity the significance and use of both prescription and herbal biodiversity-derived remedies indigenous and local peoples and their health care systems sustainable use of biodiversity for medicine an agenda for the future In addition to the editors, contributors include Anthony Artuso, Byron Bailey, Jensa Bell, Bhaswati Bhattacharya, Michael Boyd, Mary S. Campbell, Eric Chivian, Paul Cox, Gordon Cragg, Andrew Dobson, Kate Duffy-Mazan, Robert Engelman, Paul Epstein, Alexandra S. Fairfield, John Grupenhoff, Daniel Janzen, Catherine A. Laughin, Katy Moran, Robert McCaleb, Thomas Mays, David Newman, Charles Peters, Walter Reid, and John Vandermeer. The book provides a common framework for physicians and biomedical researchers who wish to learn more about environmental concerns, and for members of the environmental community who desire a greater understanding of biomedical issues.

This report sets the economic and business case for urgent and ambitious action on biodiversity. It presents a preliminary assessment of current biodiversity-related finance flows, and discusses the key data and indicator gaps that need to be addressed to underpin effective monitoring of both the pressures on biodiversity and the actions (i.e. responses) being implemented. The report concludes with ten priority areas where G7 and other countries can prioritise their efforts.