Ethical and political problems in third world biotechnology

Third World countries are not pursuing scientific and technological policies leading to the development of strong biotechnological industries. Their leaders have been misled into believing that modern biotechnological industries can be built in the absence of strong, intellectually aggressive, and original scientific schools. Hence, they do not strive to reform their universities, which have weak commitments to research, and do not see the importance of having research hospitals able to generate excellent and relevant clinical investigation. These strategic gaps in scientific capability, the lack of governmental and corporate research funding, and the dependent nature of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries of the Third World make the development of competitive biotechnology a highly improbable event. If the present trend continues, underdeveloped countries will continue to be testing grounds for biological materials and agents, sources of valuable germplasm, and markets for high-value-added products and processes invented and manufactured in the First World. This article recommends that the international organizations collaborate in the urgent task of educating the Third World political leaders and administrators in the real problems connected with the generation of high technology.     

Environmental psychology with a Latin American taste

This paper describes and analyzes the actual and potential contributions of Latin American environmental psychology (EP) to the study of environment–behaviour interactions. Latin America is a richly socoi- and bio-diverse region; the multitude of problems caused by threats to its diversity requires especial conceptual and methodological approaches for studying and solving those problems. Latin American environmental psychologists have contributed ideas and studies according to the specificities (indigenous psychologies) of their nations. These specificities include Latin American traditions of collective participation, holistic worldviews, emotional attachment to places and other individuals, biospheric attitudes and preference for diversity, among others, in addition to the cultural traditions inherited from Europe. These traditions are considered in EP studies conducted by Latin American authors, which are described and commented upon. The importance of formative programs for a professionalizing environmental psychology in the area is discussed. Finally, this paper envisions the future of EP in Latin America. Such a forecast includes our vision of how environmental psychologists in the region could contribute to the general development of a universal environmental psychology.     

Impacts of foreign investment on sustainable development in a Chilean mining region

The desert mining region of Antofagasta, Chile, enjoyed spectacular economic growth in the 1990s as a result of foreign direct investment (FDI), mainly in the exploitation of the region's rich copper deposits. In a country considered by international financial institutions to be a good example of economic performance, Antofagasta has been termed a model region,and Chile's economic and social development in the 1990s has been considered a suitable model for other Latin American countries. However, development indices based on statistical data must be examined with caution, as human welfare does not necessarily keep pace with economic growth. This article analyses the Antofagasta Region in terms of problems that may occur in conjunction with accelerated economic growth, and how these can affect the environment, as well as the regional labour market. The article also examines a regional economic strategy for Antofagasta recently proposed by the local government, and suggests new alternatives for the sustainable economic development of the region.     

Is Policy Towards Intellectual Property Rights Addressing the Real Problems? The Case of Unauthorized Appropriation of Genetic Resources

Unauthorized appropriation of geneticresources has been described by the term``biopiracy.' Technological breakthroughsincluding biotechnological applications canincrease considerably the instrumental value ofbiodiversity as new products or products withnew properties can be made. Nevertheless, itappears that, in most cases, the properties inquestion were already known to the indigenouspeople and used for centuries. The analysisdiscusses both from an economic and an ethicalperspective whether it is just that traditionalknowledge is rewarded. As the conflictintensifies over questions of ownership andcontrol of biological materials, IntellectualProperty Rights are at the center ofcontroversies. The current global systemgoverning biotechnology has largely been shapedby Western expectations and valuations andconsequently has drawn severe criticism. Thecritics doubt both the stability andsustainability of the current patent system andargue for restructuring through benefit-sharingsystems in order to address some of theexisting inequalities. With the help of a casestudy (US patent no. 5,751 on ayahuasca) thetheoretical notion of biopiracy is applied toreal problems.     

浅谈另类生活垃圾的处理问题

随着社会文明的高速发展，越来越多的高科技新兴产品渗入人们的生活，带给人们更多的方便和享受，从而也使城市生活垃圾结构发生了很大的改变，废电池、废电冰箱、废电脑等家用电器及其废物的另类生活垃圾成为今天新的环境问题。另类生活垃圾成份复杂，对环境产生的影响大、影响时间长、回收价值高，在发达国家已建立了较完善的管理和处置系统，我国在这方面的工作刚刚起步。本文就国外另类生活垃圾的处理及我省的处理处置情况及规划设想进行了介绍。     

Recent progress in coal bioprocessing research in Europe

European work on the application of biotechnology to processing various coals is reviewed and set within a wider context. Both U.S. and European work are discussed. In connection with work on microbial desulphurisation, European effort, particularly that centred on Delft University in the Netherlands, has concentrated on looking towards practical plant designs based on kinetic reaction data obtained in the laboratory. The question of desulphurisation looks rather different from a European (and world) perspective, compared with the situation in the U.S. There are, for example, several countries with high sulphur, low rank coals, where a higher proportion of the sulphur is present in organic form.While the work on pyrite removal has been well documented and has been replicated by different workers, that on organic sulphur removal is at a much earlier stage. In the U.K., work is going on to enhance the physical separation processes currently used in coal cleaning, using micro-organisms to alter the surface properties of various particles during flotation. This approach has the possibility of relatively short-term application and low capital costSome fundamental studies looking for organisms to attack and degrade the coal molecule, particularly in the F.R.G., have been based on bituminous coal. This contrasts with U.S. work which has met with some success with lignites and weathered lignite in the form of leonardite.The use of biotechnology in connection with coal must be looked at principally as a potential long-term development. The inherent problems associated with the nature of coal must be recognised but research work is already demonstrating possibilities that even 5 or 10 years ago would have been discounted. With advances in analytical techniques, one of the first benefits to be gained may well be a better knowledge and understanding of coal structure from looking at its degradation products.     

Book review

Jan L. Flora is Professor of Agricultural Economics and Sociology at Viriginia Tech, specializing in the areas of community, agricultural, and rural change in the United States and in developing countries. Current research projects include assessing the role of agrarian reform in Latin American development; a study of adequacy of services to small, minority, and female North Carolina farmers; and directing a nationwide study of rural community grassroots development efforts funded by the US Department of Agriculture. He founded and directed the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives at Kansas State University from 1987 to 1989. He was a member of the Latin Amercian Studies Association Commission on compliance with the Central American Peace Accords in 1988. Jointly with Cornelia Flora, he has studied dominant approaches to international development in the post-World War II ear. They served as Program Advisor for Agriculture and Rural Development for the Ford Foundation in Bogota, Colombia, from 1978 through 1980. At Virginia Tech, he recently served as campus coordinator for the SARSA project, a cooperative agreement with USAID for conducting research in Third World countries in the areas of natural resource management, rural-urban linkages, and women’s roles in these processes.     

Regulatory aspects

Summary At this time, there is no US legislation that is specifically aimed at regulating the environmental release of genetically engineered organisms or their modified components, either during the research and development stage or during application. There are some statutes, administered by several federal agencies, whose language is broad enough to allow the extension of intended coverage to include certain aspects of biotechnology. The one possible exception is FIFRA, which has already brought about the registration of several natural microbial pesticides but which also has provision for requiring the registration of strain improved microbial pesticides. Nevertheless, there may be gaps in coverage even if all pertinent statutes were to be actively applied to the control of environmental release of genetically modified substances. The decision to regulate biotechnology under TSCA was justified, in part, on the basis of its intended role as a gap-filling piece of environmental legislation. The advantage of regulating biotechnology under TSCA is that this statute, unlike others, is concerned with all media of exposure (air, water, soil, sediment, biota) that may pose health and environmental hazards. Experience may show that extending existing legislation to regulate biotechnology is a poor compromise compared to the promulgation of new legislation specifically designed for this purpose. It appears that many other countries are ultimately going to take the latter course to regulate biotechnology.     

A cross-national perspective on youth environmental attitudes

The environmental attitudes of young people are a growing topic of interest for social scientists. Most research that aims to explain differences in (youth) environmental attitudes focuses on the individual as the level of measurement. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that illustrates that the context within which that individual operates can contribute to their environmental attitudes. Based on the PISA 2006 data, and while controlling for individual characteristics, we tested Inglehart’s ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. This hypothesis divides the contextual influences on environmental attitudes into (1) objective problems in the individual’s natural environment and (2) subjective values linked to post-materialistic goals in life. We analyzed both the individual and the country level simultaneously, controlling for compositional effects, by performing a multilevel analysis on the 2006 PISA data for youth environmental attitudes (398,750 15 year olds from 56 countries). At the individual level, the results are generally consistent with the literature; at the contextual level, the stage of development of a country (as a proxy for post-materialistic values) is shown to be unrelated to environmental attitudes. Both natural riches of a country and its environmental problems are shown to positively influence the environmental attitudes of that country’s youth. These results are discussed in relation to the ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. The results also point towards the necessity of simultaneously assessing the effect of individual- and contextual-level characteristics on environmental attitudes.     

A biotechnological agenda for the third world

Third World countries should exploit the genetic information stored in their flora and fauna to develop independent and highly competitive biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries. The necessary condition for this policy to succeed is the reshaping of their universities and hospitals—to turn them into high-caliber research institutions dedicated to the creation of original knowledge and biomedical invention. Part of the service of the Third World foreign debt should be co-invested with the lending banks in high technology enterprises. This should be complemented with an active program of investments in First World biotech companies and university research departments which could contribute to the solving of problems connected with the First World. These strategic alliances would allow effective training of molecular biologists, improvement of South American universities, and education of biotechnologists, managers, and lawyers in the complexities of high-technology business. The establishment of real joint ventures between developed and underdeveloped countries might contribute to change the present strained relations between the North and the South, and science and technology could become real forces of social and economic development.     

Farm Animal Welfare Influences on Markets and Consumer Attitudes in Latin America: The Cases of Mexico,Chile and Brazil

In recent years, animal welfare has become an important element of sustainable production that has evolved along with the transformation of animal production systems. Consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare are changing around the world, especially at emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Survey-based research on consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare has increased. However, the geographical coverage of studies on consumer attitudes and perceptions about farm animal welfare has mostly been limited to Europe, and North America. Until now, Latin American consumers’ attitudes towards animal welfare have not been well studied. Despite the fact that Mexico, Chile and Brazil belong to the same region (according to international organizations), there are marked differences between these countries in terms of their economical and geographical characteristics among other factors. Those differences potentially have an impact on consumer attitudes towards animal welfare and livestock production systems in general. Given the evidence from the literature review, it seems advisable that Latin American producers and food industry who engage in animal welfare-enhancing practices should clearly label their products with information on the type of husbandry system to reach those consumers who want to make an informed choice. Therefore, there are some aspects that need to be studied and cannot be worked separately in order to promote and understand consumer attitudes towards dairy and beef systems, such as geography, economic development, and politics.     

Latin American busways: moving people rather than cars

The rapid growth of Latin American urban centres beginning in the 1970s placed a heavy strain upon urban transport service providers. Facing high population growth from a citizenry dependent upon public transport and having limited financial resources to develop car‐based infrastructure, Latin American municipal planners were challenged to create a new transport paradigm. One ingenious response to this dilemma was the busway, a surface metro system that utilizes exclusive right‐of‐way bus lanes. The developers of the Latin American busways astutely observed that the ultimate objective was to swiftly, efficiently and cost‐effectively move people rather than cars. Examples of innovative busway systems are presented from Curitiba, Bogota, Porto Alegre, Quito and Sao Paulo. The low cost, flexibility and speed of the exclusive busways all contribute to extremely high levels of customer satisfaction. Innovative approaches to the design of busway loading stations and simplified ticketing have also helped to reduce operating costs and improve customer flows. Additionally, clear system maps, colour‐coded routing, system safety and cleanliness and superior customer service have helped direct consumer preference towards the busway. The success of busways has also proved that costly subway systems or uncontrolled sprawl are not the only options available to municipal planners. The Latin American busway corridors provide high peak capacities that permit busway corridors to serve the transit requirements of most medium‐ to large‐sized cities. When integrated with progressive land‐use policies, busways can also form the basis of more sustainable urban design by encouraging development corridors with high‐density, mixed‐use land use. The environmental benefits and calming influences afforded cities by busway systems have translated into dramatically improved levels of quality of life indicators, including improvements in health, crime reduction and poverty alleviation. The user‐friendliness and cost‐effectiveness of busway systems have convinced municipal leaders in North America, Europe and Australia to develop similar systems of their own. Latin American busways thus provide a unique example of South to North technology transfer.     

Greening government procurement in developing countries: building capacity in China

With increasing environmental issues and depleting resources, the effective application of green government procurement (GGP) is urgently needed and potentially can have greater impacts in the developing world rather than in the developed world. Such an approach can help promote the general goal of sustainable development and address environmental issues through purchasing and facilitating the use of environmentally friendly services and products. This paper addresses this issue by employing a case study on China. We first trace the development of the GGP concept, its spread to Asian countries, and a number of approaches used to expand GGP adoption. We then review current practices in China on GGP, and analyze and identify some of the current barriers and problems in promoting green procurement in the Chinese governmental sector. We finally seek to identify possible appropriate capacity-building solutions, in order to facilitate the application of GGP in China.     

Stockholm Recommendation 96: Viable in the Dominican Republic

Summary The Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries face serious challenges to their natural resource base. In recent years the government of the Dominican Republic has taken major steps toward the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan for national natural resources management. This plan is called Plan Sierra. An important component of this plan is the outline of actions for carrying out an environmental education programme within the country. This demonstrates a commitment to fulfill Recommendation No. 96 of the Stockholm Conference in a way that could become a model for other Latin American nations. Clinton L. Shepard is Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University. Dr Shepard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Kentucky and graduate degrees from The Ohio State University in Natural Resources/Environmental Education and Education-Foundations and Research. He has worked as an interpreter and Environmental Education Coordinator for the State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, a research associate for ERIC—Science, Math, and Environmental Education Clearinghouse, and College instructor in interpretive methods, environmental education methodology, resident outdoor programming, and natural resources development. He is also involved in international research and development, especially in the Caribbean Basin. Robert E. Roth is Chairman/Professor in the Division of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University. Dr Roth received a Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Management, a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Science Education, a Master's degree in Conservation Education from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Education from The University of Wisconsin. he came to OSU in 1969 and since that time has designed and institutionalized the only academic unit in the US that offers both well developed undergraduate and graduate programmes in Environmental Communications, Education and Interpretation and has published over 40 works in the field. He has been instrumental in implementing a growing international environmental education research and development emphasis in the wider Caribbean, he continues as an Executive Editor of theJournal of Environmental Education.     

Including Public Perspectives in Industrial Biotechnology and the Biobased Economy

Industrial (“white”) biotechnology promises to contribute to a more sustainable future. Compared to current production processes, cases have been identified where industrial biotechnology can decrease the amount of energy and raw materials used to make products and also reduce the amount of emissions and waste produced during production. However, switching from products based on chemical production processes and fossil fuels towards “biobased” products is at present not necessarily economically viable. This is especially true for bulk products, for example ethanol production from biomass. Therefore, scientists are also turning to genetic modification as a means to develop organisms that can produce at lower costs. These include not only micro-organisms, but also organisms used in agriculture for food and feed.The use of genetic modification for “deliberate release” purposes, in particular, has met great opposition in Europe. Many industrial biotechnology applications may, due to their scale, entail deliberate releases of GM organisms. Thus, the biobased economy brings back a familiar question; is it ethically justifiable, and acceptable to citizens, to expose the environment and society to the risks associated with GM, in order to protect that same environment and to sustain our affluent way of life? For a successful innovation towards a biobased economy, its proponents, especially producers, need to take into account (take responsibility for) such issues when developing new products and processes. These issues, and how scientists can interact with citizens about them in a timely way, are further explored in projects at Delft University and Leiden University, also in collaboration with Utrecht University.     

Crop Biotechnology for the Environment?

In public debates, agricultural biotechnology is almost invariably discussed as a potential threat to the environment and to human health. Without downplaying the risks associated with this technology we emphasize that if properly regulated, it can be a forceful tool to solve environmental problems and promote human health. Agricultural biotechnology can reduce environmental problems in at least three ways: it can diminish the need for environmentally damaging agricultural practices such as pesticides, fertilizers, tillage, and irrigation. It can reduce the land area needed for agriculture, thus reducing the CO₂ effect of agriculture and improving biodiversity. It can produce energy in a CO₂-neutral way (especially if new technologies involving the cultivation of microalgae become successful). Furthermore, agricultural biotechnology can have positive effects on human health by decreasing occupational and dietary exposure to pesticides, improving the nutritional value of food, and producing pharmaceuticals more efficiently. We argue that those who wish to give high priority to environmental goals cannot afford any longer to be mere onlookers while others decide the future directions of agricultural biotechnology.     

Case study: Sonoco's materials reclamation improves environmental performance through quality-based management

Multinational corporations are facing increasing pressures and finding stronger incentives to integrate environmental management into their overall business strategies. National and local environmental regulations are becoming more stringent in Europe, Japan, East and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and many developing countries, and international voluntary standards of environmental management are being endorsed by a growing number of governments. Multinational firms are embracing these standards not only to assure the public of their concern for environmental protection, but also to enhance their competitiveness in international markets. The British Standard 7750, the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), and the ISO 14000 series are setting new guidelines for effective corporate environmental management. Beyond complying with local and national laws, corporations now have wider latitude in how they adapt their business practices to these emerging environmental management standards. In order to capitalize on that creative latitude, companies must have corporate cultures and internal management systems that allow them to respond quickly and effectively to changing environmental requirements. Exemplary corporate environmental performance is usually related to strong and progressive leadership, a culture that recognizes the importance of environmental protection, and the willingness to operate by quality-based management principles. This article describes how one international corporation, Sonoco, in responding successfully to changing environmental pressures to reclaim and recycle its products in the wake of the solid waste crisis in the United States and more stringent environmental regulations in Europe, used its management competencies and corporate culture to turn what could have been serious barriers to expansion of its core businesses into new opportunities. By adopting a bold materials reclamation program, Sonoco was able to overcome potential limitations on its operations in the United States and abroad and to develop new business segments that benefited the company and the environment.     

Recent developments in small-scale mining

Artisanal mining is to be viewed not only as an issue requiring mining expertise, but also as a socio-economic issue in the context of poverty, requiring multi-sectoral attention. This article traces global employment estimates in small-scale mining, outlining the extent and economic impact of small-scale mining in selected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. New approaches and developments are analyzed with special focus on the interrelated roles of government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, lending institutions and the local communities. The flow of foreign capital, the creation of joint ventures, and the contribution of women are also discussed, as are strategies that have been implemented as well as recent developments including developments in the areas of health and safety.     

Evaluating Environmental Sustainability: An Integration of Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making and Fuzzy Logic

While pursuing economic development, countries around the world have become aware of the importance of environmental sustainability; therefore, the evaluation of environmental sustainability has become a significant issue. Traditionally, multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) was widely used as a way of evaluating environmental sustainability, Recently, several researchers have attempted to implement this evaluation with fuzzy logic since they recognized the assessment of environmental sustainability as a subjective judgment Intuition. This paper outlines a new evaluation-framework of environmental sustainability, which integrates fuzzy logic into MCDM. This evaluation-framework consists of 36 structured and 5 unstructured decision-points, wherein MCDM is used to handle the former and fuzzy logic serves for the latter, With the integrated evaluation-framework, the evaluations of environmental sustainability in 146 countries are calculated, ranked and clustered, and the evaluation results are very helpful to these countries, as they identify their obstacles towards environmental sustainability.