Access and allocation in global biodiversity governance: a review

Access and allocation is one of the five analytical themes of the science plan of the Earth System Governance (ESG) project. Concerns over access and allocation are at the core of struggles and conflicts brought about by the often ineluctable trade-offs related to biodiversity conservation and the global, national and local governance systems that aim to contribute to global biodiversity conservation. Access and benefit-sharing mechanisms, integrated conservation and development projects, payments for ecosystem services or community conservation programmes have all tried balancing environmental objectives with concerns for the allocation of natural resources and associated rights within society, and for access to basic human needs. As a contribution to this special issue on access and allocation, this paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the relevance of questions of access and allocation to ESG by providing an in-depth review of the literature on access and allocation in biodiversity conservation at different scales. We describe how the concepts of access and allocation have been used and conceptualized in the literature produced between 2008 and 2018, and we discuss the two key issues which dominate the literature (1) benefit-sharing; and (2) the role of local institutions. By drawing on the trends and evidence from the literature, we consider the lessons for the next generation of ESG scholars and draw out some key policy implications to be included in the debates on the post-2020 strategic plan for biodiversity

Tabled Labels: Consumers Eat Blind While Congress Feasts on Campaign Cash

As the Senate prepared to vote on its version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) budget, Public Citizen released an investigation to illustrate how big agribusiness used millions of dollars in lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions, and a network of Washington insiders with close connections to the Bush administration and Congress, to thwart a consumer-friendly provision mandating country-of-origin labeling, popularly known as COOL.Mandatory country-of-origin labeling would require beef, pork, lamb, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, fish, and peanuts to be labeled with where they were raised, grown or produced. Although the 2002 Farm Bill stipulated that the new program be implemented by September 2004, mandatory COOL has been postponed by Congress -- where lawmakers are under intense pressure from the meat and grocery industries -- for two years. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to once again delay COOL's implementation for meat until 2007. Industry is strongly lobbying the Senate to either delay the funding for the USDA to work on COOL or turn it into a "voluntary" program.Public Citizen analyzed donations from 19 companies and trade associations, each of which has announced opposition to mandatory country-of-origin labeling and has registered to lobby against COOL. They have contributed a total of $12.6 million to candidates for Congress and in soft money to the Republican and Democratic parties since 2000.These companies have focused their giving on 64 members of Congress who have sponsored a bill to replace the mandatory country-of-origin requirement with a voluntary one, which is considerably weaker and does not empower consumers with the right to know where their food is from. Instead, it offers industry a way to hide critical information from the public. These 64 members, accounting for only 12 percent of Congress, have received 28 percent of contributions to candidates from the COOL foes

Check It Out: Analyzing the Checkout Experience of Small Business E-commerce Websites

There is limited research available aimed at identifying specifically how a small business shopper may experience different pain points during checkout in comparison to well-known retail websites and the layout of their e-commerce websites. Enlightened by the Technology Adoption Model and the concept of consumer trust, the purpose of this research is to determine similar characteristics across small business e-commerce websites to identify common pain points for users, or simply what small businesses lack regarding common elements that ease the checkout experience for consumers. From these insights, elements within the checkout experience can be compared to the pain points of those of larger retail websites. With these comparisons, new recommendations can be made for smaller businesses on how to adjust checkout elements to create a smoother experience for shoppers. This research involved a content analysis on a variety of elements within a checkout experience to compare a sample of 50 small business e-commerce websites. The results showed that a majority of small business websites are not implementing recommended elements that will enhance the online checkout experience. Yet, small businesses need it the most to establish e-commerce credibility

Detection of equine atypical myopathy-associated hypoglycin A in plant material: Optimisation and validation of a novel LC-MS based method without derivatisation

Hypoglycin A (HGA) toxicity, following ingestion of material from certain plants, is linked to an acquired multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency known as atypical myopathy, a commonly fatal form of equine rhabdomyolysis seen worldwide. Whilst some plants are known to contain this toxin, little is known about its function or the mechanisms that lead to varied HGA concentrations between plants. Consequently, reliable tools to detect this amino acid in plant samples are needed. Analytical methods for HGA detection have previously been validated for the food industry, however, these techniques rely on chemical derivatisation to obtain accurate results at low HGA concentrations. In this work, we describe and validate a novel method, without need for chemical derivatisation (accuracy = 84–94%; precision = 3–16%; reproducibility = 3–6%; mean linear range R2 = 0.999). The current limit of quantitation for HGA in plant material was halved (from 1μg/g in previous studies) to 0.5μg/g. The method was tested in Acer pseudoplatanus material and other tree and plant species. We confirm that A. pseudoplatanus is most likely the only source of HGA in trees found within European pastures

Farmacovigilancia de psicofármacos en una farmacia de A Coruña (España)

Objetivos: Realizar una actividad de farmacovigilancia (FV) en una farmacia comunitaria, registrando las reacciones adversas (RAM) y derivando a los pacientes a su médico si fuese necesario.Material y métodos: Estudio observacional transversal. En un cuestionario ad hoc se recogieron datos demográficos de los pacientes sobre la utilización de los medicamentos, percepción sobre efectividad y seguridad de los fármacos a estudiar. Se seleccionaron cuatro principios activos: duloxetina, venlafaxina, quetiapina y olanzapina por ser de dispensación frecuente en la farmacia y de reciente comercialización.Resultados: 47 pacientes utilizaban uno de los antidepresivos estudiados. 34 (72,3%) mujeres y 13 (27,7%) hombres. 21 (55,3%) tomaban venlafaxina y 26 (44,7%) duloxetina. Media de edad 52,9 (DE= 13,7) años (21-80). 36 en tratamiento con los dos antipsicóticos del estudio. 21 (58,3%) utilizaban olanzapina y 15 (41,8%) quetiapina. Edad media 41,6 (DE=13,4) años (27-70).174 RAM en los antidepresivos y 120 en los antipsicóticos. Sequedad de boca, temblores, hipersudoración, flatulencia y ansiedad son las más frecuentes en los dos antidepresivos y sequedad de boca, reducción de la libido y aumento de peso en los dos antipsicóticos.Se notificó 1 caso al Centro Gallego de Farmacovigilancia. Se derivaron dos pacientes al médico por problemas relacionados con la medicación (PRM).Conclusiones: Mediante una actividad de FV en una farmacia comunitaria de A Coruña se ha detectado un elevado número de RAM, contribuyendo a un resultado más seguro de la farmacoterapia de los pacientes

Moving Beyond Co-Construction of Knowledge to Enable Self‑Determination

It is increasingly recognised that co-construction of knowledge which brings together researcher-derived understanding, with local, practitioner or non-researcher understanding is necessary to address current global challenges. Emerging empirical evidence suggests challenges remain in bridging across scales and ensuring inclusion of the marginalised. It is unclear whether espoused approaches are in practice enhancing the wellbeing of those currently on the front lines of ecological, social and political crises, or, whether they are inadvertently increasing inequality. In this article, we explore co-construction from our experience as embedded researcher–practitioners through two case studies: the ecological restoration of fisheries by the Skolt Sámi in Finland, and the conservation of agro-ecological and forest management practices by peasant communities in Paraguay. We challenge the idea that co-construction of knowledge is sufficient to engage with regressive institutional and political dynamics that continue to marginalise, arguing for a focus on self-determination to be the foundation for co-construction