International
A selection of international S&T organizations.
Pesticides Initiative Programme (PIP)
The PIP aims to assist private companies in the ACP export fresh fruit and vegetables to the EU. They are confronted with strengthening of European buyers’ requirements in terms of food safety (pesticide residues) and traceability. PIP is managed by the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee (COLEACP). This decision demonstrates their will to enable the sector itself to define its own expectations and to focus the programme on the private sector.
4/04/2006
Parnet
Founded in the Spring of 1993, PARnet is the oldest action research web site on the Internet. Its non-affiliated institutional status and mission to facilitate a comprehensive community managed knowledge base give PARnet a unique role in the ever expanding assortment of action research sources on the Internet.
4/04/2006
Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) initiative
UNEP, Yale University and leading science and technology publishers launched the Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) initiative on 30 October 2006. For 70 low-income countries, free access is provided to over 1200 environment-related scientific journals, some of which cover applications of biotechnology in food and agriculture. Eligible institutions are: universities and colleges, professional training schools, research institutes, Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources, government offices and agencies, academies of sciences, science libraries and indigenous NGOs. The initiative is built and managed in partnership with the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) and Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA), two similar initiatives launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and FAO for the medical and agricultural sciences, respectively. Contact OARE for more information.
7/02/2007
Nobel Women's Initiative
The Initiative was established in 2006 by six women Nobel Peace Laureates – Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire – to bring together our extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality. And to help strengthen work being done in support of women's rights around the world, work often carried out in the shadows with little recognition. The Nobel Women’s Initiative will work together to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel prize to promote, spotlight, and amplify the work of women's rights activists, researchers, and organizations worldwide addressing the root causes of violence, in a way that strengthens and expands the global movement to advance nonviolence, peace, justice and equality.
18/01/2008
New Directions in Global Learning for Agricultural Development
The Global Open Food and Agriculture University is a CGIAR Program for open distance learning and capacity strengthening that serves traditional and open universities in developing and developed countries. GO-FAU will work collaboratively with partner universities to strengthen their master's degree programs in agriculture through the provision of high-quality course contents for distance and traditional education. GO-FAU learning materials will strengthen existing MSc agriculture programs; short-term MSc-level agriculture courses; and new agricultural MSc distance programs. Initially, the program will focus on strengthening content in agroecology and agricultural economics/ agribusiness. GO-FAU shall train partner faculty in using the course modules, and it will facilitate student thesis research for those enrolled in these M.Sc. programs. GO-FAU partner universities, not GO-FAU itself, will deliver the courses, support learners, provide accreditation, and award degrees.
20/02/2008
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Partnership
The world needs science... Science needs women. L’Oréal and UNESCO joined forces in 1998 to promote women in scientific research. The program is built around three actions: - Consecrating excellence through the L’Oréal -UNESCO Awards to five leading women researchers, one per continent, who can serve as role models for the generations to come. Chosen in recognition of her exceptional achievements, one Award Laureate is named from each of five continents: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. The Laureates receive individual awards of $100,000. Material sciences and life sciences are recognized in alternating years. - Encouraging talent through the international UNESCO-L’Oréal Fellowships, which are granted annually to 15 promising young women scientists, doctorate or post-doctorate, to encourage international scientific cooperation and the development of cross-cultural networks. - Developing diversity through the L’Oréal National Fellowships with the support of the UNESCO National Commissions, which anchor the program in countries around the world. 42 L’Oréal -UNESCO Award Laureates have been recognized for their careers and 90 Fellows have been encouraged to pursue their scientific vocations. The program of National Fellowships, already in place in almost 20 countries, has permitted 130 young women to continue their research.
7/02/2007
Living with Deserts: New South-South: Partnership Launched
A new south-south partnership to combat desertification was launched by the UnitedNationsUniversity (UNU), Tokyo, Japan, and the InternationalCenter for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), at the Eighth International Conference on Dry Lands Development, held 25-28 February in Beijing. The bulk of the dry areas under threat of desertification lie in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) and in neighboring countries, and are home to over 2.1 billion people.
4/04/2006
ITAS
Insitute for Technology Assessesment and Syustems Analysis ( ITAS) creates and communicates knowledge on the impacts of human action and their evaluation in view of the development and use of new technologies. Its work focuses on environmental, economic, social and political-institutional issues. Alternative options for action and design are developed and assessed. In this way ITAS supports politics, science, business and the general public in future decision-making.
4/04/2006
International Project on GMO Environmental Risk Assessment Methodologies
The GMO ERA Project is a pioneering initiative driven by public sector scientists to develop tools to support environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The goal is to give decision makers around the globe tools and training to help them decide what information and data are most important and appropriate for an ERA that is tailored to the GM crop and agricultural system in their country. Their methods enable local scientists and decision makers to reach their own decisions, based on transparent and scientific processes. The methodologies are a set of interlinked modules of questions related to case-specific risk assessment, and corresponding methods and experiments. The scientific scope of the methodology is divided into five sections that address the concerns about environmental risks. The approach and methodologies have been developed using case studies in Kenya, Brazil and Vietnam, which have been or will be published by CABI. The GMO ERA Project is conducted by a network of 260 public sector scientists with funding from two Swiss federal agencies, and is aimed at providing tools and training about what information and data are most appropriate for GM-tailored ERAs.
23/05/2007
International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH)
Developed by FAO, and in association with the organizations responsible for international standard setting in sanitary and phytosanitary matters, this portal provides a single access point for official international and national information across the sectors of food safety, animal and plant health. Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues have traditionally been addressed on a sector-by-sector basis. This has typically meant looking at food safety or animal health or plant health issues separately. With increasing economic inter-dependence, international trade and travel, and with the use of novel production and processing technologies, a new, multi-disciplinary approach is needed. The portal responds to this by providing a single access point for the wide range of official, dispersed information related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
23/05/2007
International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB)
ILTAB was established in 1991 with a mission to develop the techniques and products of tropical plant biotechnology and to transfer knowledge and resources to developing countries. By doing so, it will help these countries improve their agricultural production in a sustainable manner, providing useful research tools and training young scientists from these countries. Three major crops were initially chosen as a core for the research activities: rice, cassava and tomato. Research projects have also been initiated on yam, sweet potato, cotton, sugarcane, and a number of other tropical and sub-tropical crop species, contributing to the wide range of experience within ILTAB.
21/02/2007
International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) is a private sector coalition formed in 1984 to represent the U.S. copyright-based industries in bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve international protection of copyrighted materials. IIPA is comprised of seven trade associations, each representing a significant segment of the U.S. copyright community. These member associations represent 1,900 U.S. companies producing and distributing materials protected by copyright laws throughout the world - all types of computer software including business applications software and entertainment software (such as videogame CDs and cartridges, personal computer CD-ROMs and multimedia products); theatrical films, television programs, home videos and digital representations of audiovisual works; music, records, CDs, and audiocassettes; and textbooks, tradebooks, reference and professional publications and journals (in both electronic and print media). The IIPA website has an extensive news section.
4/04/2006
International Bioenergy Platform (IBEP)
This new platform will serve as a mechanism for organizing and facilitating a multidisciplinary and global approach in the energy, agriculture and environment sectors. IBEP is expected to provide analysis and information for policy and decision-making support; to build and strengthen institutional capacity at all levels; to enhance access to energy services from sustainable bioenergy systems; and to facilitate opportunities for effective international exchange and collaboration. The availability of more bioenergy in its two main forms - wood energy and agro-energy - can help provide cleaner energy services to meet basic energy requirements. This century could see a significant switch, from a fossil-fuel-based to a bioenergy-based economy, with agriculture and forestry as the main sources of biomass for biofuels such as fuelwood, charcoal, wood pellets, bio-ethanol, biodiesel and bio-electricity.
7/02/2007
iKNOW Politics
This new international knowledge network of women in politics is designed to promote gender-sensitive governance and advance the role and number of women in political and public life. Users can access an extensive online library of reports, handbooks and training materials.
5/04/2007
Group on Science and Innovation Policy (GOSIP)
GOSIP is a moderated forum for sharing information on important developments on science and innovation policy worldwide. The information shared includes news items, research papers, website links and updates on the activities of members. The list, which is moderated by TWAS member Calestous Juma, welcomes comments and contributions on contemporary policy issue but encourages members to conduct networking and extended discussions offline. New members are encouraged to introduce themselves. To subscribe, visit the GOSIP website.
24/08/2007
Global Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems (GLOBELICS)
The basic intention behind GLOBELICS is to create a global network of scholars who apply the concept ‘systems of innovation and competence building’ as their analytical framework. The idea is to bring together relevant information about what is going o¬n in different places of the globe and to share experiences worldwide regarding methodological issues, analytical results and policy relevant experiences among senior scholars.
7/02/2007
Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA)
In an unprecedented effort, IUCN, UNDP, UNEP and the Women's Environment Development Organization (WEDO) have come together to create the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA). The goal of the GGCA is to ensure that climate change policies, decision-making, initiatives at the global, regional and national levels are gender responsive. At the launch of the Alliance at the UN conference in Bali in December 2007, IUCN Director General, Julia Marton- Lefevre recognized that the efforts required to address climate change and gender call for collaboration between sectors and institutions.
18/01/2008
Genetic Engineering & Intellectual Property Rights Resource Center (IATP)
The Genetic Engineering and IntellectualPropertyRightsResourceCenter contains resources for all types of information concerning GE and IPRs, as well as biodiversity, biotechnology, patents, and national and international legislation.
4/04/2006
FAO: Soil Carbon Sequestration Programme
This website provides information on the activities of the Land Service of the Land and Water Development Division (AGLL) of FAO on soil carbon sequestration within the framework of its programme on the integrated planning and management of land resources. The objective is to reverse land degradation due to deforestation and inadequate land use/management in the tropics and sub-tropics through the promotion of improved land use systems and land management practices which provide win-win effects in terms of economic gains and environmental benefits, greater agro-bio-diversity, improved conservation and environmental management and increased carbon sequestration. The outputs of the programme include information on soil carbon sequestration potential, in particular in arid and semi-arid areas. The information is intended for use by CDM and funding agencies, planners and administrators in their decisions to undertake research, development and investment programmes in the agricultural/rural land use sector aimed at improving land management, checking land degradation and deforestation. The programme should also contribute to the emerging debates on sustainable land use and climate change mitigation.
7/02/2007
FAO: Climate Change
Climate change is one of FAO’s Priority Areas for Inter-disciplinary Action (PAIAs). This website brings together information on all aspects of the implications of climate change and developing countries. While solar radiation and rainfall are major climatic resources, climate is also the single main factor behind the variability of agricultural production in developing and developed countries alike. Global warming may thus have profound effects on agriculture and food security. Crop agriculture, forestry and livestock are directly involved as sources or sinks of GHG, but they are also among the most vulnerable victims of the foreseen changes. FAO’s integrated climate change programme includes the promotion of practices for climate change mitigation, the adaptation of agricultural systems to climate change, the reduction of emissions from the agricultural sector as far as it is considered within the major objective of ensuring food security, the development of practices aimed at increasing the resilience of agricultural production systems to the vagaries of weather and climate change, national and regional observing systems, as well as data and information collection and dissemination.
7/02/2007
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