The author chose both the titles of this book aptly. It is an exhaustive study of the gestation, birth and life of a significant flag-bearer, of the hopes raised as the 1972 UNCHE in Stockholm. It also presents as in-depth discussion on the future of the UN. The Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) is unusual in the UN system as a technical body with operational attributes. Whereas political scientists and public administrators will be interested in the GEMS archives, the informed reader will be drawn to the latter part of the book. The author speculates on ‘whither the UN’ based on his own experience as well as research in an intelligent and perceptive manner. Since Rio, the debate promises to be rich in all its potential aspects. Although peace-keeping, and how peace-making are mainstays of the UN, the evidence of many imperfections is now facing the Bretton Woods inheritance. In the contemporary arena, we need to look at earlier experiments which can guide us forward. The precedent which UNEP created in the UN family, a healthy and constructive one in the 90s, a much more complex and uncertain period than the seventies, needs to be supported. The maneuverings observable in the UN system in the defense of outdated institutional paradigms, unless revitalized, their erstwhile pre-eminent role is bound to end. To avoid such no-longer-acceptable role models, UNEP, and GEMS, born of the same problematique which now affects the planet, must be seen as windows of opportunity. The author is fully aware of his own arduous task in depicting GEMS’ attempts to develop a meaningful scientific agenda within what is significantly a political arena. Thus the 15-year odyssey must have responded to the 1973 Energy Crisis, the monitoring of G77 development issues and impacts on islands, on quality of life, on energy substitution and the like. A close alliance withy the Infoterra programme could compensate for GEMS’ structural and functional limitations. The book is good reading even for a sceptic because its harvest extends well beyond that of a GEMS archive: the many streams of thought it generates enable us to focus on the UN in the 21st century. The reader becomes part of an informed international polity concerned with a sense of reality and even of urgency. The text is attractive in its detailed reach, and in its intelligent grasp. With an overview of wider UN issues, we are encouraged to think that GEMS may well have a key role to play in the UN of tomorrow. q Reviewed by Christian de Laet
Biodiversity Prospecting by Walter V Reid et al, World Resources Institute, U.S.A; 1993, Price not mentioned Biodiversity prospecting; means the exploration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources. It has attracted the interest of environmentalists and developing countries because it may provide significant incentives and funds for conservation and contribute to economic development in regions rich in genetic and biochemical resources. But this dual potential will not be realized unless new policies are established to steer the evolution of the biodiversity prospecting institutions towards these ends. Although many institutions around the world have done pioneering work in this new field, the WRI report focuses on Costa Rica’s National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) because its arrangement with Merck & Co. Ltd. – the world’s largest pharmaceutical firm – represents new ways to promote conservation as well as manage information and develop an inventory. The report has seven chapters. Chapter I introduces the issues related to biodiversity prospecting and broadly sketches the types of policies needed in ‘source countries’ to ensure biodiversity’s sustainable and equitable use. In chapters II and III INBio’s institutional structure and current biodiversity prospecting programme have been discussed. Chapter IV explores the nature of “collector-company contracts” and shows how they can be shaped to promote conservation, development and equity. In chapter V the ‘contract’ or research agreement between the collector and the state have been examined. Chapter VI explores one of the more contentious issues of biodiversity prospecting evaluating whether or not Intellectual Property Right (IPR) regimes can be structured to support conservation. The last chapter discusses the question of how countries should structure their technology policies to ensure that the use of biodiversity leads to the development of an infrastructure that will yield long-lasting benefits. In this rapidly evolving field, it is not surprising that this report leaves some questions unaddressed. But it should nonetheless help policy-makers to at least become aware of the questions surrounding the potential for biodiversity prospecting. q Reviewed by Amit Kumar Ghosh
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