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 Prabowo

REDD+ 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. Suneetha

Healthy 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

Suneetha M. Subramanian, Wim Hiemstra and Bas Verschuuren

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.

UNU-IAS
2010, A4, 4 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (277 KB)

Report Summary for Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment
Satoyama-Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Socio-ecological Production Landscapes of Japan (Summary for Decision Makers)


Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA)

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 ISBN 978-92-808-4513-6
October 2010, A4, 44 pages (English version)
Download report as a .pdf file (3.88 MB)
UNU
ISBN 978-92-808-4524-2
October 2010, 44 pages (Japanese version)

Download report as a .pdf file (4.94 MB)

UNU-IAS Policy Report Cities, Biodiversity and Governance: Perspectives and Challenges of the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the City Level

Jose Antonio Puppim de Oliveira, Osman Balaban, Christopher Doll, Raquel Moreno-Penaranda, Alexandros Gasparatos, Deljana Iossifova, and Aki Suwa

Understanding how cities can create better governance mechanisms to effectively help in the preservation of the biodiversity within and beyond the city boundaries is the key to implement the directives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This report argues the need to study the conceptual underpinnings of the relationships among city, governance, and biodiversity to create the basis for policies at the global, national, and local level, as well as provide some practical insights on the way to move the biodiversity agenda in cities forward.


UNU-IAS/2010/No. 3
ISBN 978-92-808-4517-4
October 2010, B5, 62 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (898 KB)
  
UNU-IAS Policy Report Climate and Human-Related Drivers of Biodiversity Decline in Southeast Asia

Ademola K. Braimoh, Suneetha M. Subramanian, Wendy S. Elliott, and Alexandros Gasparatos

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/2010/No. 2
ISBN 978-92-808-4521-1
October 2010, 50 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (809 KB)

UNU-IAS Policy Report
Impacts of Liquid Biofuels on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity
 

Per M. Stromberg, Alexandros Gasparatos, Janice S.H. Lee, John Garcia-Ulloa, Lian Pin Koh, and Kazuhiko Takeuchi

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.

UNU-IAS/2010/No. 1
ISBN 978-92-808-4519-8
October 2010, 54 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (819 KB)

Traditional Marine Management Areas of the Pacific in the Context of National and International Law and Policy
Marjo Vierros, Alifereti Tawake, Francis Hickey, Ana Tiraa, and Rahera Noa

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.
ISBN 978-0-9807084-7-9
September 2010, A5, 93 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (1.13 MB)
Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment: Experiences and Lessons from Clusters

Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA)
The six reports in Japanese as a series of “Experiences and Lessons from Clusters” present the findings of each cluster and sub-cluster assessment of the Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA). The JSSA, a study of the interaction between humans and terrestrial-aquatic ecosystems ( satoyama ) and marine-coastal ecosystems ( satoumi ) in Japan, was undertaken between 2007-2010 in five major “clusters” throughout Japan, with the goal of encompassing different geographical, climatic, and political characteristics. These clusters include: Hokkaido Cluster, Tohoku Cluster, Hokushinetsu Cluster, Kanto-chubu Cluster, and Western Japan Cluster. The Western Japan Cluster involves a sub-cluster that focuses on Seto Inland Sea as satoumi in addition to the general assessment of the satoyama in the whole region.  

2009


Benefit Sharing in ABS: Options and Elaborations
By MS Suneetha and Balakrishna Pisupati

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.

UNU-IAS,  April 2009, 36 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (1.12 MB)   

2008

Innovation in Responding to Climate Change: Nanotechnology, Ocean Energy and Forestry
By Miguel Esteban, Christian Webersik, David Leary and Dexter Thompson-Pomeroy

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.
UNU-IAS, November 2008, 46 pages Download report as a .pdf file (2.6 MB)
  

Looking Beyond the International Polar Year
Emerging and Re-emerging Issues in International Law and Policy in the Polar Regions

Written and edited by David Leary and draws upon edited material by symposium Rapporteurs Antje Neumann, Alena Ingvarsdóttir, Kári á Rógvi MP and Elisa Burchert

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.

UNU-IAS, October 2008, 68 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (5.4 MB)
  

MDG on Reducing Biodiversity Loss and the CBD’s 2010 Target

By Balakrishna Pisupati and Renata Rubian

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.


UNU-IAS, September 2008, 36 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (3.6 MB)
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   Emissions Trading, Carbon Financing and Indigenous People
By Ingrid Barnsley
This is a short guide for Indigenous land managers and those who work with Indigenous communities to the phenomenon of climate change, and to ‘market ’ and financial mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, often referred to as the ‘carbon market’, ‘emissions trading’ and/or ‘carbon financing ’. This guide is intended as a first edition - it is hoped that future editions will include even more case studies of Indigenous involvement with the carbon market and will focus on particular geographical regions. As such, comments, case studies and more information would be most welcome - please contact ingrid@iisd.org .
UNU-IAS, May 2008, 20 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (1.85 MB)
  
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.

Government of Ireland, UNEP, UNU-IAS, May 2008, 148 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (1.25 MB)
  
Environment for African Development: A Sustainable Future through Science and Technology
Written by Christian Webersik and Clarice Wilson
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.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, May 2008, 25 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (670 KB)
  
  
Certificates of Clarity or Confusion: The search for a practical, feasible and cost effective system for certifying compliance with PIC and MAT
Written by Brendan Tobin, Geoff Burton, and Jose Carlos Fernandez-Ugalde
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.

Yokohama, UNU-IAS, April 2008, 70 pages,
Download report as a .pdf file (2.6 MB)
Queensland Biodiscovery Collaboration: The Griffith University AstraZeneca Partnership for Natural Product Discovery - An Access & Benefit Sharing Case Study
Written by Sarah Laird, Catherine Monagle, and Sam Johnston
This study examines the Natural Product Discovery partnership between Griffith University, an Australian University based in the State of Queensland, and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, April 2008, 58 pages
Download report as a .pdf file (4.4 MB)
  
Bioprospecting in the Arctic
By David Leary

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.

Yokohama, UNU-IAS, April 2008, 45 pages 
Download report as a .pdf file  (2.2 MB)
Internationally Funded Training in Biosafety and Biotechnology - Is it Bridging the Biotech Divide?
By Sam Johnston, Catherine Monagle, Jessica Green with Ruth Mackenzie

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.  

Yokohama, UNU-IAS, April 2008, 233 pages
Download this report as a .pdf file (2.6 KB)
 


2007 
  
Effective Implementation of NBSAPs: Using a Decentralized Approach
This report was prepared by Dr. Balakrishna Pisupati

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.

Yokohama, UNU-IAS, December 2007, 41 pages
Download this report as a .pdf file (330 KB)


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
Renewable Energy Technologies in Developing Countries - Lessons from Mauritius, China and Brazil

This report reviews three renewable energy developments that have taken place in developing countries without significant foreign investment. It shows that renewable energy planning should be approached strategically by developing countries, with specific technological strategies grounded in national industrial capacity and energy resources.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2006, 24 pages
View this report as PDF file (file size 1MB)
Ecosystem Approach and the Deep Sea
Implementing the Ecosystem Approach in Open Ocean and Deep Sea Environments: An Analysis of Stakeholders, their Interests and Existing Approaches
This report provides a first step towards a comprehensive survey and dialogue on mapping stakeholders’ interests in open-ocean and deep sea environments for improved conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from ocean spaces and their resources.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2006, 44 pages
View this report as PDF file (File size 1 MB)

 
2005
  
The Precautionary Principle and the WTO
Trading Precaution: The Precautionary Principle and the WTO
This report examines the debate on the evolution of the precautionary principle in the context of the WTO. It clarifies proposals to enhance the incorporation of this principle in the rules of the multilateral trading system and addresses the tensions between the WTO and multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). The report analyses how the WTO is responding to the challenges posed by its Member States in raising the precautionary principle before dispute panels.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 24 pages
View this report as PDF (File size 499 KB)
 
 
Women in Science and Technology
Revisiting Women's Participation in Science and Technology: Emerging Challenges and Agenda for Reform
Women’s involvement in science and technology encounters bias in regard to disciplines and academic or professional level of responsibility. This report explores how women’s role in advancing and using science and technology for society could be improved, and how science and technology impact women.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 19 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 536 KB)
 
 
Urban development in the Asia Pacific
Time-Space Telescoping and Urban Transitions in the Asia Pacific
This report shows the distinction between environmental conditions among developing cities in the Asia Pacific and those of industrialized countries, using the theory of "time space telescoping". This hypothesis suggests that due to shifts in the driving forces of change, environmental challenges in developing cities are occurring sooner, rising faster, and emerging more simulatneously than in developed cities.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 39 pages
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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
Food and Nutrition Biotechnology: Current Achievements, Prospects and Perceptions
This report on biotechnology, food and nutrition is a consolidation of knowledge in potentials, opportunities and developmental processes in applying biotechnology for improvements in human nutrition.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 36 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 585 KB)
Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology
Albert Sasson
Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology: Current Achievements, Prospects and Perceptions
This report discusses the so-called 'white' biotechnology, or industrial and environmental biotechnology, a broad and expanding field that includes making enzymes with a variety of industrial uses that include the manufacture of bioplastics and biofuels and using micro-organisms and plants for the treatment of wastes and abatement of pollution.
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 28 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 410 KB)
Mobilizing for Education for Sustainable Development
Mobilising for Education for Sustainable Development: Towards a global learning space base on regional centres of expertise
This report compiles concept papers, case studies, conference papers and speeches to convey the challenges of education for sustainable development (ESD) and ambitions of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. It highlights the roles of institutions and higher education in implementing ESD and presents case studies on the concept of Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD (RCE).
Yokohama, UNU-IAS, 2005, 102 pages
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Deep Sea Bioprospecting
Bioprospecting of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed
This report provides a comprehensive review of the scientific, legal and policy issues involved in deep seabed bioprospecting. It examines the current scientific and commercial explorations occurring in the deep seabed, and offers an in-depth analysis of the relevant legal instruments, including the gaps in these laws.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2005, 76 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 746 KB)
Enfranchisement for Sustainable Development
Promoting Enfranchisement: Toward inclusion and influence in sustainable development governance
Jessica Green
This report synthesizes research about disenfranchisement conducted over the past year and a half by the UNU-IAS, together with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). It analyzes the obstacles facing both state and non-state actors from developing nations in their efforts to participate in the policy-making process, and proposes concrete measures to address this problem.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2005, 36 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 430 KB)
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Bioprospecting in Antarctica
Sam Johnston and Dagmar Lohan
This report reviews bioprospecting activities in Antarctica in relation to the relevant legal provisions of the Antarctic Treaty System and other international policies.
Tokyo, UNU-IAS, 2005, 31 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 419 KB)
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2004 
 
Engaging the Disenfranchised
Developing Countries and Civil Society in International Governance for Sustainable Development: An Agenda for Research
This report outlines the research agenda for the Engaging the Disenfranchised Project . It examines the assumption that improving the participation of these actors from civil society and developing nations is essential to promoting the goals of sustainable development, and also considers how individual capacities, rules and norms affect the engagement of these disenfranchised actors.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2004, 26 pages
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Agriculture for Peace
Promoting Agricultural Development in Support of Peace
This report, emerging from the Agriculture for Peace project at UNU/IAS, attempts to examine linkages of important socio-economic concepts of peace and answer the broader question of whether dynamic agricultural development can have an impact on strengthening peace in conflict-prone countries.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2004, 23 pages
View Report as PDF (File size 2.5 MB)
The Central Asia and Mongolia Bioresources and Biosecurity Network
Capacity Development on Access to Genetic Resources, Benefit-Sharing, and Biosafety in Central Asia and Mongolia
An updated version of a previous report presenting regional and national overviews on the state of biodiversity, access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing legislation, and the protection of traditional knowledge in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2004, 44 pages
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The Role of Registers and Databases in the Protection of Traditional Knowledge
A Comparative Analysis
This report provides an analysis of a number of case studies of existing databases and registers that have been developed to document traditional knowledge, identifying their effectiveness, possibilities and limitations for securing the protection of traditional knowledge.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2004, 46 pages
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2003 
User Measures
Options for Developing Measures in User Countries to Implement the Access and Benefit-Sharing Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2nd edition)
The second edition of a previously published report, which contains an entirely new chapter on disclosure or origin requirements in patent applications procedures. It also examines voluntary codes of conduct and certification schemes, import and transport regulation, access to justice, and the case for establishment of international standardised system of documentation for tracing gene flows.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 42 pages with Preface and Executive Summary in Spanish
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Biodiversity Access and Benefit-Sharing Policies for Protected Areas
An Introduction
In the last fifteen years, the legal and policy framework for biodiversity research and prospecting and the way genetic resources are viewed, exchanged and used has been transformed while protected area managers are confronted with access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing issues on top of a multitude of other challenges they are facing. This report aims to assist protected area managers and policy makers in addressing this rapidly evolving area.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 37 pages
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The International Regime for Bioprospecting
Existing Policies and Emerging Issues for Antarctica
This report answers the need for more information on the relation of biological prospecting in Antarctica to various international treaties responsible for governing bioprospecting activities; especially the Antarctic Treaty.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 24 pages
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In Search of Biosecurity
Capacity Development on Access to Genetic Resources, Benefit-Sharing, and Biosafety in Central Asia and Mongolia
A report presenting regional and national overviews of the state of biodiversity, access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing legislation, and the protection of traditional knowledge in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 36 pages
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Defining an Ecosystem Approach to Urban Management and Policy Development
This report outlines an ecosystems vision of city management and policy development and provides the groundwork for future urban ecosystem studies and assessments.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 22 pages
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Urban Ecosystems Analysis
Identifying Tools and Methods
This report examines urban ecosystems analysis, highlighting its merits and suggesting tools and methods in which it can be applied to provide useful information to decision makers.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2003, 16 pages
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2002
The Sustainable Future of the Global System
Endeavours from Rio to Johannesburg Summarises the findings of the UNU/IAS project on the Sustainable Global Future , and addresses the challenges faced by the world in the goal to achieve global sustainability on every level.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2002, 48 pages.
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International Sustainable Development Governance
The Question of Reform: Key Issues and Proposals Final Report
UNU/IAS Report submitted to the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in August 2002.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2002, 48 pages
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UNU Report | Improving the Management of Sustainable Development
Towards a New Framework for Large Developing Countries: China, India, and Indonesia UNU Report submitted to the Fourth Global PrepCom to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Bali in May 2002.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2002, 36 pages.
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UNU Report | International Environmental Governance
The Question of Reform: Key Issues and Proposals Preliminary Findings
UNU Report submitted to the Third Global PrepCom to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in New York in March 2002.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2002, 40 pages
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UNU Report to the Second Preparatory Session for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
28 January – 8 February 2002, New York, USA Effective Pathways to Sustainable Development
UNU Report submitted to the Second Preparatory Committee Meeting in New York in the lead up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), outlining UNU's activities in implementing Agenda 21 as well as recommendations for consideration in WSSD.
Tokyo, UNU and UNU/IAS, 2002, 34 pages
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2001
UNU Report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development Regional PrepCom for Asia and the Pacific
High Level Meeting, 27–29 November 2001, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Breaking Down Barriers to Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific
UNU Report delivered as input into the Regional Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) Meeting for Asia and the Pacific from 27–29 November 2001 as part of the ongoing activities leading up to the Johannesburg Summit .
Tokyo, UNU and UNU/IAS, 2001, 20 pages
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2000
Green GDP Estimates in China, Indonesia, and Japan: An Application of the UN Environmental and Economic Accounting System
Takahiro Akita and Yoichi Nakamura (eds)
Within a framework illustrating interactions betwen the economy and the environment, this report presents estimates for a System for Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) and environmentally adjusted domestic product (Green GDP) for China, Indonesia and Japan.
Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 2000, 109 pages
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Inter-Linkages: Synergies and Coordination between Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Based on the conference of the same title, 14-16 July 1999
This report was produced from over thirty academic papers, the deliberations of the first international conference on Inter–linkages, and from analysis done by a core group of contributors from UNU/IAS and UNU faculty folllowing the conference. It focuses on exploring the potential for a more integrated approach to environmental treaty making and environmental management.
Tokyo, UNU, UNU/IAS, GEIC, 1999, 31 pages.

Associated Files
( Interlinkages.pdf )


1999
Global Climate Governance: Inter-Linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
Final Report
Consolidates the research presented in two previous reports on Global Climate Governance which identified issues related to potential synergies and incompatibilities between the Kyoto Protocol and other multilateral regimes, and explored the practical implications of the key issues.
Tokyo, UNU, GEIC, UNU/IAS, 1999, 76 pages.
Global Climate Governance: Scenarios and Options on the Inter-Linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
Report Part 2 Builds on the Global Climate Governance Report Part 1 by creating fictitious scenarios that highlight some of the difficulties that may be encountered once the Kyoto Protocol flexibility mechanisms become operational, and to explore possible solutions to the problems in implementation.
Tokyo, UNU, GEIC and UNU/IAS, 1999, 42 pages.
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China’s Sustainable Development Framework: Summary Report
Fu-chen Lo and Yu-qing Xing (eds)
A preliminary report on a sustainable development framework for China. Tokyo, UNU/IAS, 1999, 174 pages.
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1998
Global Climate Governance: A Report on the Inter-linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
Report Part 1
Based on nine commissioned papers by academics and experts in the field of Global Climate Governance, this report takes into account the linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other international regimes.
Tokyo, UNU, GEIC and UNU/IAS, 1998, 48 pages.
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Global Climate Governance: Inter-linkages between the Kyoto Protocol and other Multilateral Regimes
Commissioned Essays & Disscussion Papers
Report presented during a Special Session at COP4 in Buenos Aires; discusses inter-linkages between the climate change regime and other relevant multilateral regimes in the context of international law and policy.
Tokyo, UNU, GEIC and UNU/IAS, 1998, 139 pages.
Primer on Scientific Knowledge and Politics in the Evolving Global Climate Regime: COP3 and the Kyoto Protocol
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.