The CIESM online Forum is designed to clarify issues that remain obscure and frustrate current international negotiations. It provides stakeholders with a clear, accessible platform to exchange ideas and enrich knowledge. The contributions will be analysed and summarized for transmission to the 22 Governments that are Member States of CIESM of also to the European Commission.
http://www.ciesmseaforum.org
Forum 1 Blue Biotech: HELP research, STOP biopiracy !
There is now much economic and scientific evidence that marine genetic resources (MGRs) can deliver considerable wealth and business opportunities sustainably, to both developing and industrialised countries. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean Sea where extreme ecosystems - hyper-saline environments; deep-sea habitats; methane seeps; hydrothermal vents - and their rich, diverse microbial communities are easily accessible to both research and industry. There lies a good part of our future drugstore and new energy sources.
Who owns marine genetic resources?
The marine research community stands at the frontier of unlocking these opportunities. But serious ethical and legal concerns have arisen in relation to the utilization of MGRs. Thus, in response to cases of biopiracy (misappropriation of MGRs), coastal developing countries have started to create regulatory regimes that govern access to, and benefit sharing from, MGRs, while the private sector, opposed to burdensome regulatory approaches, seeks legal certainty for access to genetic resources. As the international negotiation 'climate' over MGRs continues to worsen, opportunities for all countries re: increased scientific knowledge, value-added products and incentives for biodiversity conservation, risk being lost.
In recent years, CIESM has paid much consideration to MGR-related issues, with particular emphasis on protecting regional and national Mediterranean interests from the large appetite of private interests largely foreign to the region. As noted by Frederic Briand, CIESM Director General, “the challenge is to find a balance between the interests of countries providing MGRs, the needs of the marine research community, and the commercial interests of investors”.
Forum visitors will be able to browse through brief podcasts discussing the global scene; the chain from research to market; ABS issues; national perceptions, etc.
Forum 2 The future of fishing is not a joke – could it be a video game?
The collapse of marine fish stocks is a worldwide phenomenon as evidenced in recent reports of FAO and other international agencies. In the Mediterranean region, a combination of ill-advised national and EU subsidies have compounded the problem rather than bring over-fishing under control. CIESM considers that the expertise and warning signals delivered by fishery scientists are largely ignored by the industry, the policy makers, the public at large and proposes to deliver the message quite differently, using innovative communication tools.
Why not a videogame?
Along with various informative exercises, videogames appeal to large sectors of the population and will help make a large audience aware of, and sensitive to, the complex challenges related to fishery governance. Two distinct video game concepts are presented on the forum web page. If you are a professional, a teacher, a scientist, a game developer/designer or simply crazy for games, we encourage you to participate in this new forum to discuss, improve the videogames’ scenarios presented, or even propose a new one.
For example, the first game offers a combination of strategy and action, as it follows the interactions, somewhere in a busy southern Mediterranean harbour, between three main characters: a young fisherman, a marine researcher and the boss of a successful maritime company. Each will have difficult decisions to make, involving economic realities, ethics, marine protection, job creation, psychology, etc.
Participants from all sectors and from all age groups are invited to join the discussion.
--
Contact Presse:
CIESM - Mediterranean Science Commission
Laura Giuliano
http://www.ciesm.org
Profil du diffuseur :
http://www.categorynet.com/reseaucategorynet/profile?userid=60314
--
Communiqué envoyé le 26.01.2012 16:34:34 via le site Categorynet.com dans la rubrique Environnement
Diffuser votre communiqué de presse : http://www.diffuseruncommuniquedepresse.com
______
586 consultation(s)
| < Précédent | Suivant > |
|---|
