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A new mechanism for science-policy transfer and biodiversity governance?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2010

JORGE M. SOBERON  and
JOSE K. SARUKHAN
JORGE M. SOBERON*
Affiliation:
Biodiversity Research Center and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561, USA Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Periférico-Insurgentes 4903, Tlalpan 14010, México
JOSE K. SARUKHAN
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo Postal 70-275, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO), Periférico-Insurgentes 4903, Tlalpan 14010, México
*
*Correspondence: Professor Jorge Soberon e-mail: jsoberon@ku.edu
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Summary

New initiatives are being proposed to create knowledge-transfer mechanisms between biodiversity science and so-called ‘decision makers’ that are apparently ignoring some of the significant differences to which biodiversity governance is subject at different scales. Shifting scales seriously change the rules of knowledge transfer; some implications of this are explored. Appropriate scope and focus are vital for international initiatives. There is no substitute for the full development of local capacities, and the multinational lending agencies interested in the conservation of biodiversity, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and others should support such national efforts and establish regional training facilities to help generate the human and basic institutional capacities needed.

Type
Comment
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 265 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2010

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