Recently enacted two international laws – Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing (ABS) and International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) – deal with the access/utilization of and benefit sharing arising out from genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge (TK). Both the instruments lack relevant appropriate provisions guiding the countries to take administrative or legislative measures for covering and addressing the benefit sharing from the ex situ collections of genetic resources that were accessed well before the Nagoya Protocol came into existence. Developed nations show no willingness to share the benefits arising from the biological resources which they accessed from developing countries and retain ex situ. As a result, most affected entity would be the indigenous people and local communities (ILCs) – the custodians of most of the local biological resources – who would receive no benefits. The implications on this crucial issue will be critically reviewed in this article to identify appropriate solutions to this bottleneck using a few case studies.

Genetic resources for food and agriculture are the biological basis for world food and nutrition security that can improve the livelihoods. India is one of the mega biodiversity centres, endowed with wide floristic, microbial, animal, marine and freshwater/estuarine diversity. About 40 mammalian species have been domesticated for food but the major contribution in livestock production is from 14 species. It has been estimated that some 1500 breeds of the domestic animal species in the world are now at high risk of extinction. About 30% of plant species are endemic to India. Global climatic conditions are changing due to indiscriminate anthropogenic activities, leading to loss of biodiversity, ecosystem and natural environment. The genetic erosion of wild and semi-wild relatives of the domesticated crops and animals is alarming due to threats to ecosystems/breeding habitats. Further, they are vulnerable to changing climatic conditions. This germplasm provides raw materials for breeding improvement in terms of higher yields, which in turn enhances food production and nutritional security. Therefore, all the available genetic resources should be conserved for the present and future generations for sustainable development in the years to come.

Although there is a National Ecotourism Policy for India, it has serious flaws that permit “green washing” resulting in the degradation of nature and culture in highly sensitive ecotourism destination areas. National Ecotourism Policy is critically reviewed in this article, indicating the lacuna and shortcomings that throw some light on the gap between rhetoric and reality. Remedial policy interventions for promoting authentic ecotourism in India are suggested in this article based on best practice case studies from Asia that will ensure sustainable management of precious natural and cultural resources through community cooperation and collective action at the local and regional level.

To popularize the concept of access and benefit sharing (ABS) and Nagoya Protocol, mass awareness and education are crucial. The present awareness/educational efforts of concerned government authorities in most of the cases are inadequate. Moreover, an intensive awareness campaign is necessary to educate the Indigenous people and local communities (ILCs) and other concerned stakeholders. An opinion survey of Indigenous organizations and competent national authorities of 12 Asian countries had been conducted to understand the field implications of relevant provisions of Nagoya Protocol. While some countries are found committed, it was found that there is lot to be learnt for all the countries regarding awareness-raising about Nagoya Protocol and ABS. Similarly, the capacity building of different layers of stakeholders is given some priorities by many Parties at national level. Capacity building efforts are being undertaken at regional level as well, e.g. South-East Asia level, Africa level, Western Europe level, etc. It has been noticed that in certain pockets the ILCs are active players in the capacity building efforts, while in other countries they are just passive recipients of such efforts. Still there is a long way to go for the successful implementation of ABS regimes globally.

This article is based on a study that was conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties of water in Gowain river at pre-monsoon (February to May), monsoon (June to September) and post-monsoon (October to January) seasons and to determine the relationships between water quality parameters. The water samples were collected from five different sampling stations of Gowain river and analyzed in the laboratory of Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Bangladesh. The results also showed that most of the water quality parameters were suitable for aquatic organisms as well as fish. However, runoff from upstream and waste generated from anthropogenic sources could be the main causes of degradation of water quality and aquatic organisms.

Biological techniques, especially phytoremediation, have long been recognized as cost-effective and environment friendly to eliminate pollutants from soil. This article is based on a study conducted to assess the capability of alfalfa, ryegrass and white clover to remove total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) from soil. The presence of petroleum contamination significantly decreased germination percentage and rate along with biomass of alfalfa and white clover compared to uncontaminated soil. With regards to ryegrass, there was no significant difference in seed germination percentage and biomass, although the presence of petroleum decreased seed germination rate. The results indicated that these plants had effect on TPHs remediation; and removal of TPH from soil was directly related to density levels and time. Therefore, alfalfa and ryegrass in their highest density levels reduced the maximum concentration of TPHs at the end of the experiment by almost 64.41% and 60.36%, respectively, whereas only slight changes were observed in non-vegetated soil.

Human-wolf conflict has been one of the major issues in the Himalayan region of Nepal. It has obstructed the sustainable management initiatives in Annapurna Conservation Area. The aim of this study is to assess the status of human-wolf conflict, conservation threats to wolf and people’s perception towards this endangered carnivore. Questionnaire survey was conducted in different wards of three rural municipalities (RM) of the Upper Mustang. Similarly, key informants were interviewed followed by several discussions with stakeholders. The results indicate “wolf’s preference for domestic livestock” as the most probable cause of depredation with IRR value 0.91. The number of victims was found highest in Lomanthang RM (ward number 2) where 90% of respondents reported to be victims. However, in terms of the loss in monetary value, Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda RM (ward number 4) ranked highest with the loss of NRs. 55,880 (˜$479.1)/HH/year and Barhagaun Muktichhetra (ward number 3) is the least affected. Similarly, by number, mountain goat casualties (172) were highest in last 5 years, but the maximum economic loss was due to the horse depredation (NRs. 68,00,000 or $57,347.20) among sampled households. The results indicate that the negative perception of local people is the major threat to wolf. Active participation of local people in conservation and awareness program can play a vital role to reduce and mitigate the human-wolf conflict at community level.

The rapid development of the information society is characterized by implementation of the concept of e-governance that faces a problem of forming an appropriate leadership potential. An idea of e-governance is not so much a technology of democratic governance, but is an initiative aimed at improving lives of ordinary citizens; therefore, its implementation is, of course, linked to leadership at all levels of the social system and public administration. The strategic direction of the State policy towards the process of implementing e-governance consists of formation of leadership potential of civil servants and officials, civil society and business. However, this prominent task of State policy remains insufficiently attended. The purpose of this article is determination of key areas of State policy for building the leadership potential of civil society, business sector and the institution of civil servants and officials in the event of the establishment of e-governance. The article recommends key directions for the development of regional management in the context of e-governance system that faces the problem of its leadership potential. Accordingly, strategic approaches to the management of organizational changes in public authorities related to the implementation of modern information and communication technologies of e-governance are defined in this article.