Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions support fewer species.

Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions. One estimate is that less than 1% of the species that have existed on Earth are extant.

Since life began on Earth, five major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity. The Phanerozoic eon (the last 540 million years) marked a rapid growth in biodiversity via the Cambrian explosion—a period during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared. The next 400 million years included repeated, massive biodiversity losses classified as mass extinction events. In the Carboniferous, rainforest collapse led to a great loss of plant and animal life. The Permian–Triassic extinction event, 251 million years ago, was the worst; vertebrate recovery took 30 million years. The most recent, the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, occurred 65 million years ago, and has often attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The period since the emergence of humans has displayed an ongoing biodiversity reduction and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity. Named the Holocene extinction, the reduction is caused primarily by human impacts, particularly habitat destruction. Conversely, biodiversity impacts human health in a number of ways, both positively and negatively.

The United Nations designated 2011-2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.

Etymology

The term biological diversity was used first by wildlife scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann in the 1968 lay book ''A Different Kind of Country'' advocating conservation. The term was widely adopted only after more than a decade, when in the 1980s it came into common usage in science and environmental policy. Thomas Lovejoy, in the foreword to the book ''Conservation Biology'', introduced the term to the scientific community. Until then the term "natural diversity" was common, introduced by The Science Division of The Nature Conservancy in an important 1975 study, "The Preservation of Natural Diversity." By the early 1980s TNC's Science program and its head, Robert E. Jenkins, Lovejoy and other leading conservation scientists at the time in America advocated the use of "biological diversity".

The term's contracted form ''biodiversity'' may have been coined by W.G. Rosen in 1985 while planning the 1986 ''National Forum on Biological Diversity'' organized by the National Research Council (NRC). It first appeared in a publication in 1988 when entomologist E. O. Wilson used it as the title of the proceedings of that forum.

Since this period the term has achieved widespread use among biologists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens.

A similar term in the United States is "natural heritage." It predates the others and is more accepted by the wider audience interested in conservation. Broader than biodiversity, it includes geology and landforms (geodiversity).

Definitions

"Biological diversity" or "biodiversity" can have many interpretations. It is most commonly used to replace the more clearly defined and long established terms, species diversity and species richness. Biologists most often define biodiversity as the "totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region". An advantage of this definition is that it seems to describe most circumstances and presents a unified view of the traditional three levels at which biological variety has been identified:

species diversity

ecosystem diversity

genetic diversity

In 2003 Professor Anthony Campbell at Cardiff University, UK and the Darwin Centre, Pembrokeshire, defined a fourth level: Molecular Diversity.

This multilevel construct is consistent with Dasmann and Lovejoy. An explicit definition consistent with this interpretation was first given in a paper by Bruce A. Wilcox commissioned by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) for the 1982 World National Parks Conference. Wilcox's definition was "Biological diversity is the variety of life forms...at all levels of biological systems (i.e., molecular, organismic, population, species and ecosystem)...". The 1992 United Nations Earth Summit defined "biological diversity" as "the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, 'inter alia', terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems". This definition is used in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

One textbook's definition is "variation of life at all levels of biological organization".

Geneticists define it as the diversity of genes and organisms. They study processes such as mutations, gene transfer, and genome dynamics that generate evolution.

Measuring diversity at one level in a group of organisms may not precisely correspond to diversity at other levels. However, tetrapod (terrestrial vertebrates) taxonomic and ecological diversity shows a very close correlation.

Distribution

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions. Among other factors, the diversity of all living things (biota) depends on temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and the presence of other species. The study of the spatial distribution of organisms, species, and ecosystems, is the science of biogeography.

Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics and in other localized regions such as Cape Floristic Province and lower in polar regions generally. In 2006 many species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction—a total of 16,119.

Generally terrestrial biodiversity is up to 25 times greater than ocean biodiversity.

Latitudinal gradients

Generally, there is an increase in biodiversity from the poles to the tropics. Thus localities at lower latitudes have more species than localities at higher latitudes. This is often referred to as the latitudinal gradient in species diversity. Several ecological mechanisms may contribute to the gradient, but the ultimate factor behind many of them is the greater mean temperature at the equator compared to that of the poles.

Even though terrestrial biodiversity declines from the equator to the poles, some studies claim that this characteristic is unverified in aquatic ecosystems, especially in marine ecosystems. The latitudinal distribution of parasites does not follow this rule. Other instances of great diversity in higher latitudes have also been recorded.

Hotspots

A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species. Hotspots were first named in 1988 by Dr. Norman Myers. Many hotspots have large nearby human populations. While hotspots are spread all over the world, the majority are forest areas and most are located in the tropics.

Brazil's Atlantic Forest is considered one such hotspot, containing roughly 20,000 plant species, 1,350 vertebrates, and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else. The island of Madagascar, particularly the unique Madagascar dry deciduous forests and lowland rainforests, possess a high ratio of endemism. Since the island separated from mainland Africa 65 million years ago, many species and ecosystems have evolved independently. Indonesia's 17,000 islands cover contain 10% of the world's flowering plants, 12% of mammals and 17% of reptiles, amphibians and birds—along with nearly 240 million people. Many regions of high biodiversity and/or endemism arise from specialized habitats which require unusual adaptations, for example alpine environments in high mountains, or Northern European peat bogs.

Accurately measuring differences in biodiversity can be difficult. Selection bias amongst researchers may contribute to biased empirical research for modern estimates of biodiversity. In 1768 Rev. Gilbert White succinctly observed of his Selborne, Hampshire "all nature is so full, that that district produces the most variety which is the most examined."

Evolution

Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. The origin of life has not been definitely established by science, however some evidence suggests that life may already have been well-established only a few hundred million years after the formation of the Earth. Until approximately 600 million years ago, all life consisted of archaea, bacteria, protozoans and similar single-celled organisms.

The history of biodiversity during the Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years), starts with rapid growth during the Cambrian explosion—a period during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared. Over the next 400 million years or so, invertebrate diversity showed little overall trend, and vertebrate diversity shows an overall exponential trend., whereas others consider the fossil record reasonably reflective of the diversification of life. Diversity appears to increase continually in the absence of natural selection.

Evolutionary diversification

The existence of a "global carrying capacity", limiting the amount of life that can live at once, is debated, as is the question of whether such a limit would also cap the number of species. While records of life in the sea shows a logistic pattern of growth, life on land (insects, plants and tetrapods)shows an exponential rise in diversity. As one author states, "Tetrapods have not yet invaded 64 per cent of potentially habitable modes, and it could be that without human influence the ecological and taxonomic diversity of tetrapods would continue to increase in an exponential fashion until most or all of the available ecospace is filled." The hyperbolic character of biodiversity growth can be similarly accounted for by a feedback between diversity and community structure complexity. The similarity between the curves of biodiversity and human population probably comes from the fact that both are derived from the interference of the hyperbolic trend with cyclical and stochastic dynamics.

Most biologists agree however that the period since human emergence is part of a new mass extinction, named the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment. It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years.

New species are regularly discovered (on average between 5–10,000 new species each year, most of them insects) and many, though discovered, are not yet classified (estimates are that nearly 90% of all arthropods are not yet classified). Most of the terrestrial diversity is found in tropical forests.

Human benefits

Biodiversity supports ecosystem services including air quality, climate (e.g., sequestration), water purification, pollination, and prevention of erosion.

Since the stone age, species loss has accelerated above the prior rate, driven by human activity. Estimates of species loss are at a rate 100-10,000 times as fast as is typical in the fossil record.

Non-material benefits include spiritual and aesthetic values, knowledge systems and the value of education.

Agriculture

The reservoir of genetic traits present in wild varieties and traditionally grown landraces is extremely important in improving crop performance. Important crops, such as potato, banana and coffee, are often derived from only a few genetic strains. Improvements in crop species over the last 250 years have been largely due to incorporating genes from wild varieties and species into cultivars. Crop breeding for beneficial traits has helped to more than double crop production in the last 50 years as a result of the Green Revolution. A biodiverse environment preserves the genome from which such productive genes are drawn.

Crop diversity aids recovery when the dominant cultivar is attacked by a disease or predator:

The Irish potato blight of 1846 was a major factor in the deaths of one million people and the emigration of another million. It was the result of planting only two potato varieties, both vulnerable to the blight.

When rice grassy stunt virus struck rice fields from Indonesia to India in the 1970s, 6,273 varieties were tested for resistance. Only one was resistant, an Indian variety, and known to science only since 1966. This variety formed a hybrid with other varieties and is now widely grown. Coffee rust attacked coffee plantations in Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Central America in 1970. A resistant variety was found in Ethiopia. Although the diseases are themselves a form of biodiversity.

Monoculture was a contributing factor to several agricultural disasters, including the European wine industry collapse in the late 19th century, and the US Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic of 1970.

Although about 80 percent of humans' food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants, humans use at least 40,000 species. Many people depend on these species for food, shelter, and clothing. Earth's surviving biodiversity provides resources for increasing the range of food and other products suitable for human use, although the present extinction rate shrinks that potential.

Human health

Biodiversity's relevance to human health is becoming an international political issue, as scientific evidence builds on the global health implications of biodiversity loss. This issue is closely linked with the issue of climate change, as many of the anticipated health risks of climate change are associated with changes in biodiversity (e.g. changes in populations and distribution of disease vectors, scarcity of fresh water, impacts on agricultural biodiversity and food resources etc.) This is because the species most likely to disappear are those that buffer against infectious disease transmission, while surviving species tend to be the ones that increase disease transmission, such as that of West Nile Virus, Lyme disease and Hantavirus, according to a study done co-authored by Felicia Keesing, and ecologist at Bard College, and Drew Harvell, associate director for Environment of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) at Cornell University.

Some of the health issues influenced by biodiversity include dietary health and nutrition security, infectious disease, medical science and medicinal resources, social and psychological health. Biodiversity is also known to have an important role in reducing disaster risk, and in post-disaster relief and recovery efforts.

Biodiversity provides critical support for drug discovery and the availability of medicinal resources. A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources: at least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the US market are derived from plants, animals, and micro-organisms, while about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature (used in either modern or traditional medical practice) for primary healthcare. Only a tiny fraction of wild species has been investigated for medical potential. Biodiversity has been critical to advances throughout the field of bionics. Evidence from market analysis and biodiversity science indicates that the decline in output from the pharmaceutical sector since the mid-1980s can be attributed to a move away from natural product exploration ("bioprospecting") in favor of genomics and synthetic chemistry; meanwhile, natural products have a long history of supporting significant economic and health innovation. Marine ecosystems are particularly important, although inappropriate bioprospecting can increase biodiversity loss, as well as violating the laws of the communities and states from which the resources are taken. Higher biodiversity also limits the spread of infectious diseases as many different species act as buffers to them.

Business and industry

Many industrial materials derive directly from biological sources. These include building materials, fibers, dyes, rubber and oil. Biodiversity is also important to the security of resources such as water, timber, paper, fiber, and food. As a result, biodiversity loss is a significant risk factor in business development and a threat to long term economic sustainability.

Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value

Biodiversity enriches leisure activities such as hiking, birdwatching or natural history study. Biodiversity inspires musicians, painters, sculptors, writers and other artists. Many cultures view themselves as an integral part of the natural world which requires them to respect other living organisms.

Popular activities such as gardening, fishkeeping and specimen collecting strongly depend on biodiversity. The number of species involved in such pursuits is in the tens of thousands, though the majority do not enter commerce.

The relationships between the original natural areas of these often exotic animals and plants and commercial collectors, suppliers, breeders, propagators and those who promote their understanding and enjoyment are complex and poorly understood. The general public responds well to exposure to rare and unusual organisms, reflecting their inherent value.

Philosophically it could be argued that biodiversity has intrinsic aesthetic and spiritual value to mankind ''in and of itself''. This idea can be used as a counterweight to the notion that tropical forests and other ecological realms are only worthy of conservation because of the services they provide.

Ecological services

Biodiversity supports many ecosystem services that are often not readily visible. It plays a part in regulating the chemistry of our atmosphere and water supply. Biodiversity is directly involved in water purification, recycling nutrients and providing fertile soils. Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs; for example insect pollination cannot be mimicked, and that activity alone represents tens of billions of dollars in ecosystem services per year to humankind.

Daisyworld simulations, supported by evidence from scientific studies, has proven the positive co-relation of biodiversity with ecosystem stability, protecting against disruption by extreme weather or human exploitation.

Number of species

According to the Global Taxonomy Initiative and the European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy, the ''total'' number of species for some phyla may be much higher than what was known in 2010: 10–30 million insects; (of some 0.9 million we know today) 5–10 million bacteria; 1.5 million fungi;(of some 0.075 million we know today) 1 million mites The number of microbial species is not reliably known, but the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition dramatically increased the estimates of genetic diversity by identifying an enormous number of new genes from near-surface plankton samples at various marine locations, initially over the 2004-2006 period. The findings may eventually cause a significant change in the way science defines species and other taxonomic categories.

Since the rate of extinction has increased, many extant species may become extinct before they are described.

Species loss rates

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During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. In 2007, German Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel cited estimates that up to 30% of all species will be extinct by 2050. Of these, about one eighth of known plant species are threatened with extinction. Estimates reach as high as 140,000 species per year (based on Species-area theory). This figure indicates unsustainable ecological practices, because few species emerge each year. Almost all scientists acknowledge that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates.

==Threats== Jared Diamond describes an "Evil Quartet" of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced species, and secondary extinctions. Edward O. Wilson prefers the acronym HIPPO, standing for habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, human over population, and over-harvesting. The most authoritative classification in use today is IUCN’s Classification of Direct Threats which has been adopted by major international conservation organizations such as the US Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and Birdlife International.

Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction has played a key role in extinctions, especially related to tropical forest destruction. Factors contributing to habitat loss are: overpopulation, deforestation, pollution (air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination) and global warming or climate change.

Habitat size and numbers of species are systematically related. Physically larger species and those living at lower latitudes or in forests or oceans are more sensitive to reduction in habitat area. Conversion to "trivial" standardized ecosystems (e.g., monoculture following deforestation) effectively destroys habitat for the more diverse species that preceded the conversion. In some countries lack of property rights or lax law/regulatory enforcement necessarily leads to biodiversity loss (degradation costs having to be supported by the community).

A 2007 study conducted by the National Science Foundation found that biodiversity and genetic diversity are codependent—that diversity among species requires diversity within a species, and vice versa. "If any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species." At present, the most threatened ecosystems are found in fresh water, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005, which was confirmed by the "Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment", organised by the biodiversity platform, and the French Institut de recherche pour le développement (MNHNP).

Co-extinctions are a form of habitat destruction. Co-extinction occurs when the extinction or decline in one accompanies the other, such as in plants and beetles.

Introduced and invasive species

Barriers such as large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts encourage diversity by enabling independent evolution on either side of the barrier. Invasive species occur when those barriers are blurred. Without barriers such species occupy new niches, substantially reducing diversity. Repeatedly humans have helped these species circumvent these barriers, introducing them for food and other purposes. This has occurred on a time scale much shorter than the eons that historically have been required for a species to extend its range.

Not all introduced species are invasive, nor all invasive species deliberately introduced. In cases such as the zebra mussel, invasion of US waterways was unintentional. In other cases, such as mongooses in Hawaii, the introduction is deliberate but ineffective (nocturnal rats were not vulnerable to the diurnal mongoose). In other cases, such as oil palms in Indonesia and Malaysia, the introduction produces substantial economic benefits, but the benefits are accompanied by costly unintended consequences.

Finally, an introduced species may unintentionally injure a species that depends on the species it replaces. In Belgium, Prunus spinosa from Eastern Europe leafs much sooner than its West European counterparts, disrupting the feeding habits of the Thecla betulae butterfly (which feeds on the leaves). Introducing new species often leaves endemic and other local species unable to compete with the exotic species and unable to survive. The exotic organisms may be predators, parasites, or may simply outcompete indigenous species for nutrients, water and light.

At present, several countries have already imported so many exotic species, particularly agricultural and ornamental plants, that the own indigenous fauna/flora may be outnumbered.

Genetic pollution

Endemic species can be threatened with extinction through the process of genetic pollution, i.e. uncontrolled hybridization, introgression and genetic swamping. Genetic pollution leads to homogenization or replacement of local genomes as a result of either a numerical and/or fitness advantage of an introduced species. Hybridization and introgression are side-effects of introduction and invasion. These phenomena can be especially detrimental to rare species that come into contact with more abundant ones. The abundant species can interbreed with the rare species, swamping its gene pool. This problem is not always apparent from morphological (outward appearance) observations alone. Some degree of gene flow is normal adaptation, and not all gene and genotype constellations can be preserved. However, hybridization with or without introgression may, nevertheless, threaten a rare species' existence.

Overexploitation

Overexploitation occurs when a resource is consumed at an unsustainable rate. This occurs on land in the form of overhunting, excessive logging, poor soil conservation in agriculture and the illegal wildlife trade. Joe Walston, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Asian programs, called the latter the "single largest threat" to biodiversity in Asia. The international trade of endangered species is second in size only to drug trafficking.

About 25% of world fisheries are now overfished to the point where their current biomass is less than the level that maximizes their sustainable yield.

The overkill hypothesis explains why earlier megafaunal extinctions occurred within a relatively short period of time. This can be connected with human migration.

Hybridization, genetic pollution/erosion and food security

In agriculture and animal husbandry, the Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to increase yield. Often hybridized breeds originated in developed countries and were further hybridized with local varieties in the developing world to create high yield strains resistant to local climate and diseases. Local governments and industry have been pushing hybridization. Formerly huge gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds have collapsed causing widespread genetic erosion and genetic pollution. This has resulted in loss of genetic diversity and biodiversity as a whole.

(GM organisms) have genetic material altered by genetic engineering procedures such as recombinant DNA technology. GM crops have become a common source for genetic pollution, not only of wild varieties but also of domesticated varieties derived from classical hybridization.

Genetic erosion coupled with genetic pollution may be destroying unique genotypes, thereby creating a hidden crisis which could result in a severe threat to our food security. Diverse genetic material could cease to exist which would impact our ability to further hybridize food crops and livestock against more resistant diseases and climatic changes.

Climate Change

Global warming is also considered to be a major threat to global biodiversity. For example coral reefs -which are biodiversity hotspots- will be lost in 20 to 40 years if global warming continues at the current trend.

In 2004, an international collaborative study on four continents estimated that 10 percent of species would become extinct by 2050 because of global warming. "We need to limit climate change or we wind up with a lot of species in trouble, possibly extinct," said Dr. Lee Hannah, a co-author of the paper and chief climate change biologist at the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International.

Overpopulation

From 1950 to 2005, world population increased from 2.5 billion to 6.5 billion and is forecast to reach a plateau of more than 9 billion during the 21st century. Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, told a parliamentary inquiry: "It is self-evident that the massive growth in the human population through the 20th century has had more impact on biodiversity than any other single factor."

The Holocene extinction

Rates of decline in biodiversity in this sixth mass extinction match or exceed rates of loss in the five previous mass extinction events in the fossil record. Loss of biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services. The economic value of 17 ecosystem services for Earth's biosphere (calculated in 1997) has an estimated value of US$ 33 trillion (3.3x10¹³) per year.

Conservation

thumb|A schematic image illustrating the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, and poverty. The illustration shows where conservation action, strategies and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local, regional, to global scales.

Conservation biology matured in the mid-20th century as ecologists, naturalists, and other scientists began to research and address issues pertaining to global biodiversity declines.

The conservation ethic advocates management of natural resources for the purpose of sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary process, and human culture and society.

Conservation biology is reforming around strategic plans to protect biodiversity. Preserving global biodiversity is a priority in strategic conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns affecting local, regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems, and cultures. Action plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being, employing natural capital, market capital, and ecosystem services.

Protection and restoration techniques

Exotic species removal allows less competitive species to recover their ecological niches. Exotic species that have become a pest can be identified taxonomically (e.g. with Digital Automated Identification SYstem (DAISY), using the barcode of life. Removal is practical only given large groups of individuals due to the econimic cost.

Once the preservation of the remaining native species in an area is assured. "missing" species can be identified and reintroduced using databases such as the ''Encyclopedia of Life'' and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Biodiversity banking places a monetary value on biodiversity. One example is the Australian Native Vegetation Management Framework.

Gene banks are collections of specimens and genetic material. Some banks intend to reintroduce banked species to the ecosystem (e.g. via tree nurseries).

Reducing and better targeting of pesticides allows more species to survive in agricultural and urbanized areas.

Location-specific approaches are less useful for protecting migratory species. One approach is to create wildlife corridors that correspond to the animals' movements. National and other boundaries can complicate corridor creation.

Resource allocation

Focusing on limited areas of higher potential biodiversity promises greater immediate return on investment than spreading resources evenly or focusing on areas of little diversity but greater interest in biodiversity.

A second strategy focuses on areas that retain most of their original diversity, which typically require little or no restoration. These are typically non-urbanized, non-agricultural areas. Tropical areas often fit both criteria, given their natively high diversity and relative lack of development.

Legal status

Biodiversity is taken into account in some political and judicial decisions: The relationship between law and ecosystems is very ancient and has consequences for biodiversity. It is related to private and public property rights. It can define protection for threatened ecosystems, but also some rights and duties (for example, fishing and hunting rights).

Law regarding species is more recent. It defines species that must be protected because they may be threatened by extinction. The U.S. Endangered Species Act is an example of an attempt to address the "law and species" issue.

Laws regarding gene pools are only about a century old. Domestication and plant breeding methods are not new, but advances in genetic engineering has led to tighter laws covering distribution of genetically modified organisms, gene patents and process patents. Governments struggle to decide whether to focus on for example, genes, genomes, or organisms and species.

Global agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity), give "sovereign national rights over biological resources" (not property). The agreements commit countries to "conserve biodiversity", "develop resources for sustainability" and "share the benefits" resulting from their use. Biodiverse countries that allow bioprospecting or collection of natural products, expect a share of the benefits rather than allowing the individual or institution that discovers/exploits the resource to capture them privately. Bioprospecting can become a type of biopiracy when such principles are not respected.

Sovereignty principles can rely upon what is better known as Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements (ABAs). The Convention on Biodiversity implies informed consent between the source country and the collector, to establish which resource will be used and for what, and to settle on a fair agreement on benefit sharing.

Uniform approval for use of biodiversity as a legal standard has not been achieved, however. Bosselman argues that biodiversity should not be used as a legal standard, claiming that the remaining areas of scientific uncertainty cause unacceptable administrative waste and increase litigation without promoting preservation goals.

Analytical limits

Taxonomic and size relationships

Less than 1% of all species that have been described have been studied beyond simply noting their existence. The vast majority of Earth's species are microbial. Contemporary biodiversity physics is "firmly fixated on the visible [macroscopic] world". For example, microbial life is metabolically and environmentally more diverse than multicellular life (see e.g., extremophile). "On the tree of life, based on analyses of small-subunit ribosomal RNA, visible life consists of barely noticeable twigs. The inverse relationship of size and population recurs higher on the evolutionary ladder—"to a first approximation, all multicellular species on Earth are insects". Insect extinction rates are high—supporting the Holocene extinction hypothesis.

See also

2011-2020 UN Decade on Biodiversity

2010 Biodiversity Indicators Partnership

2010 International Year of Biodiversity

Adaptation

Agroecological restoration

Agricultural biodiversity

Amazonian forest

Applied ecology

Biocomplexity

Biodiversity banking

Biodiversity hotspot

Biodiversity informatics

Biogeography

Bioinformatics

BIOPAT - Patrons for Biodiversity

Biorisk

BioWeb

Canadian Biodiversity Information Network

Centres of Plant Diversity

Conservation Biology

Conservation Commons

Conservation ethic

Convention on Biological Diversity

Diversity index

Ecological economics

Ecological restoration

Extinction

Ecology

Ecosystem diversity

Ethnic diversity

Ewens sampling formula

Forest farming

Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Gene pool

Genetic erosion

Genetic pollution

Global 200

Global warming

Green Revolution

Habitat conservation

Habitat fragmentation

Holistic management

Holocene extinction event

Insect biodiversity

International Day for Biological Diversity

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

International Union for Conservation of Nature

List of biodiversity databases

List of environmental issues

List of environmental topics

Living Planet Index

Megadiverse countries

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Millennium Seed Bank Project

Monoculture

Mutation

National Biodiversity Network

Natural environment

Natural landscape

Nature

NatureServe

Nutritional biodiversity

Reconciliation ecology

rECOrd (Local Biological Records Centre)

Satoyama

Seedbank

Sustainability

Sustainable development

Sustainable forest management

Unified neutral theory of biodiversity

United States environmental law

Wild Solutions

Wildlife preserve

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

World Conservation Union

World Forestry Congress

World Network of Biosphere Reserves

References

Further reading

Leveque, C. & J. Mounolou (2003) ''Biodiversity''. New York: John Wiley. ISBN 0-470-84957-6

Margulis, L., Dolan, Delisle, K., Lyons, C. ''Diversity of Life: The Illustrated Guide to the Five Kingdoms''. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 0-7637-0862-3

Alexander V. Markov, and Andrey V. Korotayev (2007) "Phanerozoic marine biodiversity follows a hyperbolic trend" ''Palaeoworld'' 16(4): pp. 311–318.

Moustakas, A. & I. Karakassis (in press). A geographic analysis of the published aquatic biodiversity research in relation to the ecological footprint of the country where the work was done. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, Doi: 10.1007/s00477-008-0254-2.

Novacek, M. J. (ed.) (2001) ''The Biodiversity Crisis: Losing What Counts''. New York: American Museum of Natural History Books. ISBN 1-56584-570-6

D+C-Interview with Achim Steiner, UNEP: "Our generation's responsibility

External links

A collection of articles from the David Suzuki Foundation on Protecting Biodiversity

How many species on Earth?

ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation

The WILD Foundation and CEMEX Collaborate on International Wilderness and Biodiversity Conservation in Mexico

COHAB Initiative: The importance of biodiversity to human health and well-being

NatureServe: This site serves as a portal for accessing several types of publicly available biodiversity data

Internet sources about biodiversity (presented for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 by vifabio)

The Canine Diversity Project

Biodiversity research in agriculture, Swiss Agricultural Research Station Agroscope

LiveDiverse project

About Biodiversity, Human Well-being & Botanic Gardens Botanic Gardens Conservation International]

Study: Loss of species is bad for your health

Documents

Biodiversity Synthesis Report (PDF) by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2005)

Convention on Biological Diversity Text of the Convention

Conservation International hotspot map

Biological Diversity and Strategic Environmental Assessment

Waylen, K. 2006. Botanic Gardens: Using biodiversity to improve human well-being Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)

Tools

GLOBIO, an ongoing programme to map the past, current and future impacts of human activities on biodiversity

World Map of Biodiversity an interactive map from the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Training material

Resources

Automatic acoustic Monitoring and Inventorying of BIOdiversity

Biodiversity Heritage Library - Open access digital library of taxonomic literature.

Biodiversity of Altai-Sayan Ecoregion.

Encyclopedia of Life - Documenting all species of life on earth.

Tree of Life - Relationships & characteristics of all life on earth.

National Biodiversity Network - NBN Gateway.

Microdocs, Diversity.

Economics of Species protection & Management NOAA Economics

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Coordinates	56°09′″N40°25′″N
birth date	July 13, 1942
birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
occupation	Actor, producer
years active	1963–present
spouse	Mary Marquardt(1964–1979; divorced)Melissa Mathison(1983–2004; divorced)Calista Flockhart (2010–present)
website	}}

Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and as the title character of the ''Indiana Jones'' film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in ''Blade Runner'', John Book in ''Witness'' and Jack Ryan in ''Patriot Games'' and ''Clear and Present Danger''. His four-decade career also includes roles in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including ''Presumed Innocent'', ''The Fugitive'', ''Air Force One'', and ''What Lies Beneath''. At one point, three of the top five box-office hits of all time included one of his roles. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

In 1997, Ford was ranked No.1 in ''Empire'' "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. , the United States domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total almost US$3.4 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the third highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star. Ford is the husband of actress Calista Flockhart.

Early life

Ford was born July 13, 1942, at Chicago, Illinois' Swedish Covenant Hospital. His mother, Dorothy (née Dora Nidelman), was a homemaker and former radio actress, and his father, Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), was an advertising executive and a former actor. A younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. Ford's paternal grandparents, John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus, were of Irish Catholic and German descent, respectively. Ford's maternal grandparents, Harry Nidelman and Anna Lifschutz, were Jewish immigrants from Minsk, Belarus (at that time a part of the Russian Empire). When asked in which religion he and his brother were raised, Ford has jokingly responded, "Democrat," "to be liberals of every stripe". He has also said that he feels "Irish as a person, but I feel Jewish as an actor."

Ford was active in the Boy Scouts of America, and achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. He worked at a scout camp, Napowan Adventure Base, as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and Eagle Scout director Steven Spielberg later decided to depict the young Indiana Jones as a Life Scout in the film ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. They also jokingly reversed Ford's knowledge of reptiles into Jones' fear of snakes.

In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His was the first student voice broadcast on his high school's new radio station, WMTH, and he was its first sportscaster during his senior year (1959–1960). He attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He took a drama class in his junior year, chiefly as a way to meet women. Ford, a self-described "late bloomer," became fascinated with acting.

Early career

In 1964, Ford traveled to Los Angeles, California to apply for a job in radio voice-overs. He did not get it, but stayed in California and eventually signed a $150 a week contract with Columbia Pictures' ''New Talent'' program, playing bit roles in films. His first known part was an uncredited role as a bellhop in ''Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round'' (1966). There is little record of his non-speaking roles (or "extra" work) in film. Ford was at the bottom of the hiring list, having offended producer Jerry Tokovsky after he played a bellboy in the feature. He was told by Tokovsky that when actor Tony Curtis delivered a bag of groceries, he did it like a star. Ford felt his job was to act like a bellboy. Ford managed to secure other roles in movies, such as ''The Long Ride Home'', starring Glenn Ford, George Hamilton and Inger Stevens.

His speaking roles continued next with ''Luv'' (1967), though he was still uncredited. He was finally credited as "Harrison J. Ford" in the 1967 Western film, ''A Time for Killing'', but the "J" did not stand for anything, since he has no middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with a silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932, and died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier Harrison Ford until he came upon a star with his own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ford soon dropped the "J" and worked for Universal Studios, playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including ''Gunsmoke'', ''Ironside'', ''The Virginian'', ''The F.B.I.'', ''Love, American Style'', and ''Kung Fu''. He appeared in the western ''Journey to Shiloh'' (1968) and had an uncredited, non-speaking role in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film ''Zabriskie Point'', as an arrested student protester. Not happy with the roles being offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter to support his then-wife and two small sons. While working as a carpenter, he became a stagehand for the popular rock band The Doors. He also built a sun deck for actress Sally Kellerman and a recording studio for director Sérgio Mendes.

He was then hired to build cabinets at the home of director George Lucas, who subsequently cast him in a pivotal supporting role for his film ''American Graffiti'' (1973). Ford's relationship with Lucas affected his career later on. After director Francis Ford Coppola's film ''The Godfather'' was a success, he hired Ford to expand his office and gave him small roles in his next two films, ''The Conversation'' (1974) and ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979).

Milestone franchises

''Star Wars''

Ford's carpentry work eventually landed him his first starring film role. In 1975, George Lucas hired him to read lines for actors auditioning for parts in his space opera ''Star Wars'' (1977). Lucas was eventually won over by Ford's portrayal, and cast him as Han Solo. ''Star Wars'' became one of the most successful movies of all time worldwide, and established Ford as a superstar. He went on to star in the similarly-successful ''Star Wars'' sequels, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), as well as ''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978). Ford wanted Lucas to write in the death of the iconic Han Solo at the end of either sequel, saying, "That would have given the whole film a bottom," but Lucas refused.

''Indiana Jones''

Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified when he starred as Indiana Jones in the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collaboration ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981). Though Spielberg was interested in casting Ford in the lead role from the start, Lucas was not, due to having already worked with the actor in ''American Graffiti'' and ''Star Wars'', but he eventually relented after Tom Selleck was unable to accept. Ford reprised the role for the prequel ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) and the sequel ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989). He later returned to his role as Indiana Jones again for a 1993 episode of the television series ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', and for the fourth film, ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008).

Other film work

Ford has been in numerous other films, including ''Heroes'' (1977), ''Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978), and ''Hanover Street'' (1979). Ford also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in the buddy-Western ''The Frisco Kid'' (1979), playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. He then starred as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi classic ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and in a number of dramatic-action films: Peter Weir's ''Witness'' (1985) and ''The Mosquito Coast'' (1986), and Roman Polanski's ''Frantic'' (1988).

The 1990s brought Ford the role of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's ''Patriot Games'' (1992) and ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), as well as leading roles in Alan Pakula's ''Presumed Innocent'' (1990) and ''The Devil's Own'' (1997), Andrew Davis' ''The Fugitive'' (1993), Sydney Pollack's remake of ''Sabrina'' (1995), and Wolfgang Petersen's ''Air Force One'' (1997). Ford also played straight dramatic roles, including an adulterous husband in both ''Presumed Innocent'' (1990) and ''What Lies Beneath'' (2000), and a recovering amnesiac in Mike Nichols' ''Regarding Henry'' (1991).

Many of Ford's major film roles came to him by default through unusual circumstances: he won the role of Han Solo while reading lines for other actors, was cast as Indiana Jones because Tom Selleck was not available, and took the role of Jack Ryan due to Alec Baldwin's fee demands (Baldwin had previously played the role in ''The Hunt for Red October'').

Recent roles

Starting in the late 1990s, Ford appeared in several critically derided and commercially disappointing movies, including ''Six Days Seven Nights'' (1998), ''Random Hearts'' (1999), ''K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''Hollywood Homicide'' (2003), ''Firewall'' (2006), and ''Extraordinary Measures'' (2010). One exception was 2000's ''What Lies Beneath,'' which grossed over $155 million in the United States and $300 million worldwide.

In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller ''Syriana'', later commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake." The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Prior to that, he had passed on a role in another Stephen Gaghan-written role, Robert Wakefield in ''Traffic''. That role went to Michael Douglas.

In 2008, Ford enjoyed success with the release of ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', another collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The film received generally mixed reviews but was the second highest-grossing film worldwide in 2008. He later said he would like to star in another sequel, "...if it didn't take another 20 years to digest."

Other 2008 work included ''Crossing Over'', directed by Wayne Kramer. In the film, he plays an immigrations officer, working alongside Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta. He also narrated a feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled ''Dalai Lama Renaissance''.

Ford filmed the medical drama ''Extraordinary Measures'' in 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Released January 22, 2010, the film also starred Brendan Fraser and Alan Ruck. Also in 2010, he co-starred in the film ''Morning Glory,'' along with Patrick Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Diane Keaton.

He has expressed interest in returning to the ''Jack Ryan'' franchise.

In July 2011, Ford starred alongside Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde in the science fiction Western film ''Cowboys & Aliens''. Ford portrays Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a character who rules the town of Absolution with an iron fist. Ford and executive producer Steven Spielberg did not want to have the character wear a cowboy hat because they were worried that it would remind audiences of the ''Indiana Jones'' films. Ford described his character as a "grumpy old man." To promote the film, Ford made his first appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con International, being led onstage in handcuffs by two security guards, giving the audience the impression that he was being dragged to Comic-Con against his will. However, the actor's arrival involuntarily referred to an actual assault that occurred shortly before the presentation of the film, after which the alleged assailant was taken away in handcuffs. Ford received a long standing ovation as he joined his co-stars, and, apparently surprised by the warm welcome, told the audience, "I just wanted to make a living as an actor. I didn't know about this."

Personal life

Marriages and family

Ford is one of Hollywood's most private actors, guarding his personal life. He has two sons (Benjamin and Willard) with his first wife, Mary Marquardt, as well as two children (Malcolm and Georgia) with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison.

Ford began dating actress Calista Flockhart after meeting at the 2002 Golden Globes, and together they are parents to her adopted son, Liam. Ford proposed to Flockhart over Valentine's Day weekend in 2009. They were married on June 15, 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford was filming ''Cowboys and Aliens''.

Ford has three grandchildren: Eliel (born 1993), Giuliana (born 1997), and Ethan (born 2000). Son Benjamin owns Ford's Filling Station, a gastro pub in Culver City, California. Son Willard is co-owner of Ford & Ching showroom, as well as Ludwig Clothing company.

Chin and back injury

Ford injured his chin at the age of 20 when his car, a Volvo 544, hit a telephone pole in Northern California; the scar is visible in his films. An explanation for it on film is offered in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', when a young Indiana Jones cuts his chin while attempting to crack a whip to ward off a lion. In ''Working Girl'', Ford's character explains that it happened when he passed out and hit his chin on the toilet when a college girlfriend was piercing his ear. In June 1983, at age 40, during the filming of ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' in London, he herniated a disc in his back, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for an operation. He returned six weeks later.

Aviation

Ford is a private pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and owns an ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the behest of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration.

Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Airport in Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour he was unable to continue the training. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in.

On October 23, 1999, Harrison Ford was involved in the crash of a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter (N36R). The NTSB accident report states that Ford was piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California, on a routine training flight. While making his second attempt at an autorotation with powered recovery Ford allowed the aircraft's altitude to drop to 150–200 feet before beginning power up. As a result the aircraft was unable to recover power before hitting the ground. The aircraft landed hard and began skidding forward in the loose gravel before one of its skids struck a partially embedded log and flipped onto its side. Neither Ford nor the instructor pilot suffered any injuries though the helicopter was seriously damaged. When asked about the incident by fellow pilot James Lipton in an interview on the TV show ''Inside the Actor's Studio'' Ford replied, "I broke it."

Ford keeps his aircraft at Santa Monica Airport, though the Bell 407 is often kept and flown in Jackson, Wyoming, and has been used by the actor in two mountain rescues during the actor's assigned duty time assisting the Teton County Search and Rescue. On one of the rescues Ford recovered a hiker who had become lost and disoriented. She boarded Ford's Bell 407 and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps, unaware of who the pilot was until much later; "I can't believe I barfed in Harrison Ford's helicopter!" she said later.

Ford flies his de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) more than any of his other aircraft, and although he dislikes showing favoritism, he has repeatedly stated that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine. Ford first encountered the Beaver while filming ''Six Days Seven Nights'', and soon purchased one. Kenmore Air in Kenmore, Washington, restored Ford's yellow and green Beaver — a junked former U.S. military aircraft — with updated avionics and an upgraded engine. According to Ford, it had been flown in the CIA's Air America operations, and was riddled with bullet holes that had to be patched up. He uses it regularly for impromptu fly-ins at remote airports and bush strips, as well as gatherings with other Beaver owners and pilots.

In March 2004, Ford officially became chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Ford was asked to take the position by Greg Anderson, Senior Vice President of the EAA at the time, to replace General Charles "Chuck" Yeager who was vacating the post that he had held for many years. Ford at first was hesitant, but later accepted the offer and has made appearances with the Young Eagles at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for two years. In July 2005, at the gathering in Oshkosh Ford agreed to accept the position for another two years. Ford has flown over 280 children as part of the Young Eagles program, usually in his DHC-2 Beaver, which can seat the actor and five children. Ford is involved with the EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho, just over the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming.

As of 2009, Ford appears in Web advertisements for General Aviation Serves America, a campaign by advocacy group AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association).

Ford is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.

He has also flown as an invited VIP with the Blue Angels.

Aircraft owned

Current aircraft

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S)

Aviat A-1B Husky (N6HY)

Cessna Citation Sovereign (N5GU)

Beechcraft B36TC Bonanza

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

1929-vintage Waco Taperwing

Bell 407

Previous aircraft

Cessna 525B CitationJet 3

Gulfstream II

Gulfstream IV-SP

Pilatus PC-12

Activism

Environmental causes

Ford sits on the board of directors of Conservation International. He received the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his ongoing work in preservation of the planet.

In 1993, the arachnologist Norman Platnick named a new species of spider ''Calponia harrisonfordi'', and in 2002, the entomologist Edward O. Wilson named a new ant species ''Pheidole harrisonfordi'' (in recognition of Harrison's work as Vice Chairman of Conservation International).

Since 1992, Ford has lent his voice to a series of public service messages promoting environmental involvement for EarthShare, an American federation of environmental and conservation charities.

Political views

Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat, and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.

On September 7, 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet, and was banned thereafter by the Chinese government from entering Tibet and China. In 2008, he narrated the documentary ''Dalai Lama Renaissance''.

In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for "regime change" in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making violent movies, and called for more gun control in the United States. He opposed the recall of Californian Governor Gray Davis, and stated in an interview that replacing Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a mistake.

Archaeology

Following on his success portraying the archaeologist Indiana Jones, Ford also plays a part in supporting the work of professional archaeologists. He serves as a General Trustee on the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. Ford assists them in their mission of increasing public awareness of archaeology and preventing looting and the illegal antiquities trade.

Community work

Ford volunteered as a food server. On November 21, 2007, Ford and other celebrities, including Kirk Douglas, Nia Long and Calista Flockhart, helped serve hot meals to the homeless at the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Los Angeles Mission.

Awards

Ford received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for ''Witness'', for which he also received "Best Actor" BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards and on June 2, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has received three additional "Best Actor" Golden Globe nominations for ''The Mosquito Coast'', ''The Fugitive'' and ''Sabrina''.

In 2006, Ford was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his work in nature and wildlife preservation. The ceremony took place at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

He received the first ever Hero Award for his many iconic roles, including Han Solo and Indiana Jones, at the 2007 Scream Awards, and in 2008, the Spike TV's Guy's Choice Award for Brass Balls.

Harrison Ford received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2000.

Filmography

+ Film and television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1966	''Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round''	Bellhop	uncredited
1966	''The Long Ride Home''		uncredited
1967		Irate Motorist	uncredited
1967	''''	Lt. Shaffer	credited as Harrison J. Ford
1967	''''	Cullen Tindall/Young Rancher	TV series, episodes: "A Bad Place to Die" and "The Modoc Kid"
1967		Tom Stowe	TV series, episode: "The Past is Prologue"
1968	''Journey to Shiloh''	Willie Bill Bearden
1968	''''	Beach Patrol Cop	TV series, episode: "The Teeth of the Barracuda"
1969	''My Friend Tony''		TV series, episode: "The Hazing"
1969	''''	Glen Reverson/Everett Giles	TV series, episodes: "Caesar's Wife" and "Scapegoat"
1969	''Love, American Style''	Roger Crane	TV series, segment "Love and the Former Marriage"
1970		Airport Worker	uncredited
1970	''Getting Straight''	Jake
1970	''''	Carl	TV movie
1971	''Dan August''	Hewett	TV series, episode: "The Manufactured Man"
1972–1973	''Gunsmoke''	Print/Hobey	TV series, episodes: "The Sodbuster" (1972) and "Whelan's Men" (1973)
1973	''American Graffiti''	Bob Falfa
1974		Harrison	TV series, episode: "Crossties"
1974	''''	Martin Stett
1974	''Petrocelli''	Tom Brannigan	TV series, episode: "Edge of Evil"
1975		Frank Crowder	TV movie
1976		Mark Blackwood	TV movie
1977	''''	Paul Winjam	TV movie
1977	''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope''	Han Solo	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1977		Ken Boyd
1978		Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby
1978	''''	Han Solo	TV movie
1979	''Apocalypse Now''	Colonel Lucas
1979		David Halloran
1979	''''	Tommy Lillard
1979	''More American Graffiti''	Bob Falfa	uncredited
1980	''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back''	Han Solo
1981	''Raiders of the Lost Ark''	Indiana Jones	Saturn Award for Best Actor
1982	''Blade Runner''	Rick Deckard
1983	''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''	Han Solo
1984	''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''	Indiana Jones	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1985		Det. Capt. John Book	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1986	''''	Allie Fox	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1988		Dr. Richard Walker
1988	''Working Girl''	Jack Trainer
1989	''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''	Indiana Jones	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1990		Rusty Sabich
1991	''Regarding Henry''	Henry Turner
1992
1993	''''	Indiana Jones — age 50	TV series, episode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues"
1993	''''		Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Male
1994		Jack Ryan
1995		Linus Larabee	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1997	''''	Tom O'Meara
1997		President James Marshall
1998	''Six Days Seven Nights''	Quinn Harris
1999		Sergeant William 'Dutch' Van Den Broeck
2000	''What Lies Beneath''	Dr. Norman Spencer
2002	''K-19: The Widowmaker''	Alexei Vostrikov
2003	''Hollywood Homicide''	Sgt. Joe Gavilan
2004	''Water to Wine''	Jethro the Bus Driver
2006		Jack Stanfield
2008	''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''	Indiana Jones	Nominated—National Movie Awards
2008	''[[Dalai Lama Renaissance''	Narrator	Theatrical documentary
2009		Max Brogan
2009	''Brüno''	Himself	Uncredited cameo
2010	''Extraordinary Measures''	Dr. Robert Stonehill
2010		Mike Pomeroy
2011		Colonel Dolarhyde

See also

Sigma Nu LEADership learning program

References

External links

;Interviews

Category:1942 births Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:American aviators Category:American conservationists Category:American film actors Category:American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American television actors Category:California Democrats Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Personae non gratae

ar:هاريسون فورد an:Harrison Ford be:Харысан Форд be-x-old:Харысан Форд br:Harrison Ford bg:Харисън Форд ca:Harrison Ford cs:Harrison Ford cy:Harrison Ford da:Harrison Ford de:Harrison Ford et:Harrison Ford el:Χάρισον Φορντ es:Harrison Ford eo:Harrison Ford eu:Harrison Ford fa:هریسون فورد fr:Harrison Ford ga:Harrison Ford gd:Harrison Ford gu:હેરિસન ફોર્ડ ko:해리슨 포드 hi:हैरिसन फोर्ड hr:Harrison Ford io:Harrison Ford id:Harrison Ford it:Harrison Ford he:האריסון פורד sw:Harrison Ford la:Harrison Ford lv:Harisons Fords hu:Harrison Ford ml:ഹാരിസൺ ഫോർഡ് nah:Harrison Ford nl:Harrison Ford ja:ハリソン・フォード no:Harrison Ford oc:Harrison Ford pl:Harrison Ford pt:Harrison Ford ro:Harrison Ford ru:Форд, Харрисон sq:Harrison Ford simple:Harrison Ford sk:Harrison Ford sr:Харисон Форд sh:Harrison Ford fi:Harrison Ford sv:Harrison Ford tl:Harrison Ford th:แฮร์ริสัน ฟอร์ด tr:Harrison Ford uk:Гаррісон Форд vi:Harrison Ford zh:哈里森·福特

Coordinates	56°09′″N40°25′″N
Name	Vandana Shiva
Birth date	November 05, 1952
Birth place	Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India
Occupation	Environmentalist, philosopher
Nationality	}}

Vandana Shiva (Hindi: वन्दना शिवा; b. November 5, 1952, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India), is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 1978 with the doctoral dissertation "Hidden variables and locality in quantum theory."

She is one of the leaders and board members of the International Forum on Globalization, (along with Jerry Mander, Edward Goldsmith, Ralph Nader, Jeremy Rifkin, et al.), and a figure of the global solidarity movement known as the alter-globalization movement. She has argued for the wisdom of many traditional practices, as is evident from her interview in the book ''Vedic Ecology'' (by Ranchor Prime) that draws upon India's Vedic heritage. She is a member of the scientific committee of the Fundacion IDEAS, Spain's Socialist Party's think tank.

She was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1993.

Early life and education

Vandana Shiva was born in the valley of Dehradun, to a father who was the conservator of forests and a farmer mother with a love for nature. She was educated at St Mary's School in Nainital, and at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Dehradun. After receiving her bachelors degree in physics, she pursued a M.A. in the philosophy of science at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), with a thesis entitled "Changes in the concept of periodicity of light". In 1979, she completed and received her Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. Her thesis was about the philosophical underpinnings of quantum mechanics was titled "Hidden Variables and locality in Quantum Theory". She later went on to interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.

Career

Vandana Shiva has fought for changes in the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food. Intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics, genetic engineering are among the fields where Shiva has contributed intellectually and through activist campaigns. She has assisted grassroots organizations of the Green movement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ireland, Switzerland, and Austria with campaigns against genetic engineering. In 1982, she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which led to the creation of Navdanya in 1991, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. For last two decades Navdanya has worked with local communities and organizations serving many men and women farmers. Navdanya’s efforts have resulted in conservation of more than 2000 rice varieties from all over the country and have established 34 seed banks in 13 states across the country. More than 70,000 farmers are primary members of Navdanya. In 2004 Dr Shiva started Bija Vidyapeeth, an international college for sustainable living in Doon Valley, in collaboration with Schumacher College, U.K.

In the area of IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) and Biodiversity, Dr. Shiva and her team at the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology successfully challenged the biopiracy of Neem, Basmati and Wheat. Besides her activism, she has also served on expert groups of government on Biodiversity and IPR legislation.

Her first book, "Staying Alive" (1988) helped redefine perceptions of third world women. In 1990 she wrote a report for the FAO on Women and Agriculture entitled, “Most Farmers in India are Women”. She founded the gender unit at the International Centre for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu and was a founding Board Member of the Women Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO)

Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as non governmental organisations, including the International Forum on Globalization, the Women's Environment & Development Organization and the Third World Network. Dr. Shiva chairs the Commission on the Future of Food set up by the Region of Tuscany in Italy and is a member of the Scientific Committee which advises President Zapatero of Spain. Shiva is a member of the Steering Committee of the Indian People’s Campaign against WTO. She is a councillor of the World Future Council. Dr Shiva serves on Government of India Committees on Organic Farming. Vandana Shiva participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.

Time Magazine identified Dr. Shiva as an environmental “hero” in 2003 and Asia Week has called her one of the five most powerful communicators of Asia.

Vandana Shiva is working on a 3 year project with the Government of Bhutan, at the invitation of the Prime Minister Jigme Thinley, advising the Government on how to achieve their objective of becoming an Organic Sovereign country (the first fully 100% organic country).

Film

Vandana Shiva has been interviewed for a number of documentary films including the ''One Water'',, ''Deconstructing Supper: Is Your Food Safe?'', ''The Corporation'', ''Dirt! The Movie'', and ''This is What Democracy Looks Like'' (a documentary about the Seattle WTO protests of 1999).

Shiva's focus on water has seen her appear in a number of related films: "Ganga from the ground up" a documentary on water issues in the river Ganges,, ''Blue Gold: World Water Wars'' by Sam Bozzo, Irena Salina's documentary ''Flow: For Love of Water'' (in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival).

On the topic of genetically modified crops, she is featured in the documentary "Fed up!:Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture and Sustainable Alternatives." Recently, she has been featured in the documentary ''The World According to Monsanto'', a film made by a French independent journalist Marie-Monique Robin.

Vandana is also featured in the feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama, entitled ''Dalai Lama Renaissance''.

Vandana is featured on the PBS NOW documentary entitled ''On Thin Ice''.

In 2010, Vandana was interviewed in the feature documentary about honeybees and colony collapse disorder entitled, "Queen of the Sun".

Recognition

In 1993, Vandana received the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize') "...For placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse." Other awards she has received include the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1993, and the Earth Day International Award of the United Nations (UN) for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of the planet as demonstrated by her actions, leadership and by setting an example for the rest of the world.

Additional awards include:

1993: Order of the Golden Ark, by his Royal Highness Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands for outstanding services to conservation and ecology;

1993: "Global 500 Roll of Honour", by UNEP for outstanding environmental work.

1993: "Earth Day International Award" by Earth Day International for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of he planet as demonstrated by her actions, leadership and the setting of examples for the rest of the world.

1993: "Right Livelihood Award" (Alternative Nobel Prize) for pioneering insights into the social and environmental costs of the dominant development process, and her ability to work with and for local people and communities in the articulation and implementation of alternatives.

1993: "VIDA SANA International Award," Spain for her contribution to Ecology and Food Security.

1995: "Pride of the Doon" Award from Doon Citizen Council, Dehra Dun, India, in recognition of distinguished contributions to the region

1997: The Golden Plant Award (International Award of Ecology), Denmark, for the remarkable contribution for Ecology and Environment;

1997: Alfonso Comin Award, Barcelona, Spain, for important contribution both scientifically and personally to the ecologist and feminist movement in India.

1998: Commemorative Medal by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand on the occasion of the Celebration of the 18th World Food Day, organised by FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok;

1998: Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic from the International Scientific Committee of the Pio Manzu Centre at Rimini, Italy during the XXIV Pio Manzu International Conference on "The Horizons of Hermes"

2000: Pellegrino Artusi Award, Italy for original contribution to reflections on relations between humans and food

2001: HORIZON 3000 Award of Austria in recognition to rendering useful service for defending Human Rights and Preservation of Peace and for the vision of a world wide fair development in the third millennium

2009: received the Save The World Award

2009: inducted into the Public Intellectual Service & Advocacy (PISA) Society administered by Future-ish 2010: received the Sydney Peace Prize 2010: named a "Citizen of the Next Century" by Future-ish 2011: "Calgary Peace Prize" from the Consortium for Peace Studies at the University of Calgary

Also awarded the "John M. Berry Sr. Leadership Award" for dedicated vision and commitment to family farm agriculture; the Special International Literary Prize “Ken Saro Wiwa” awarded by Acquiambiente, Italy for her book Water Wars; the "Reading for the Environment Book Prize" by the German Foundation for the Environment for her book Tomorrow’s Biodiversity

Awarded the Lennon ONO grant for peace by Yoko Ono and Honourable Mayor of Reykjavik. Awarded the Yo Dona Award by Yo Dona Magazine, Spain

Ecofeminism

Vandana Shiva plays a major role in the global Ecofeminist movement. According to her article ''Empowering Women,'' Shiva suggests that a more sustainable and productive approach to agriculture can be achieved through reinstating a system of farming in India that is more centered around engaging women. She advocates against the prevalent "patriarchal logic of exclusion," claiming that a woman-focused system would change the current system in an extremely positive manner.

In this way, Indian and global food security, can only benefit from a focus on empowering women through integrating them into the agricultural system.

Publications

1981, ''Social Economic and Ecological Impact of Social Forestry in Kolar'', Vandana Shiva, H.C. Sharatchandra, J. Banyopadhyay, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

1988, ''Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India'', Zed Press, New Delhi, ISBN 0-86232-823-3

1991, ''Ecology and the Politics of Survival: Conflicts Over Natural Resources in India'', Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, ISBN 0-8039-9672-1

1992, ''The Violence of the Green Revolution: Ecological degradation and political conflict in Punjab'', Zed Press, New Delhi

1992, ''Biodiversity: Social and Ecological Perspectives'' (editor); Zed Press, United Kingdom

1993, ''Women, Ecology and Health: Rebuilding Connections'' (editor), Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and Kali for Women, New Delhi

1993, ''Monocultures of the Mind: Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Agriculture'', Zed Press, New Delhi

1993, ''Ecofeminism'', Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva, Fernwood Publications, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, ISBN 1-895686-28-8

1994, ''Close to Home: Women Reconnect Ecology, Health and Development Worldwide'', Earthscan, London, ISBN 0-86571-264-6

1995, ''Biopolitics'' (with Ingunn Moser), Zed Books, United Kingdom

1997, ''Biopiracy: the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge'', South End Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, I ISBN 1-896357-11-3

2000, ''Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply'', South End Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, ISBN 0-89608-608-9

2000, ''Tomorrow's Biodiversity'', Thames and Hudson, London, ISBN 0-500-28239-0

2001, ''Patents, Myths and Reality'', Penguin India

2002, ''Water Wars; Privatization, Pollution, and Profit'', South End Press, Cambridge Massachusetts

2005, ''India Divided'', Seven Stories Press,

2005, ''Globalization's New Wars: Seed, Water and Life Forms'' Women Unlimited, New Delhi, ISBN 81-88965-17-0

2005, ''Breakfast of Biodiversity: the Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction'', ISBN 0-935028-96-X

2005, ''Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace'', South End Press, ISBN 0-89608-745-X

2007, ''Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed'', editor, South End Press ISBN 978-0-89608-777-4

2007, ''Democratizing Biology: Reinventing Biology from a Feminist, Ecological and Third World Perspective'', author, Paradigm Publishers ISBN 978-1594512049

2008, ''Soil Not Oil'', South End Press ISBN 978-0-89608-782-8

2010, ''Staying Alive'', South End Press ISBN 978-0-89608-793-4

See also

Biopiracy

Green Revolution in India

References

External links

Videos of Vandana Shiva: Traditional Knowledge, Biodiversity and Sustainable Living March 2011 at Navdanya, Dehradun, India

Video of Vandana Shiva with the Dalai Lama from the documentary "Dalai Lama Renaissance"

Video: "Creating Food Democracy" - 2006 Lecture at Emory University's Center for Ethics

On Air chicago public radio -rebroadcast on 3-2-08

Vandana Shiva's South End Press HomePage

Stock Exchange Of Visions: Visions of Vandana Shiva

Interview with Vandana Shiva by Paolo Scopacasa, EcoWorld, March 2004

Vandana Shiva biography, Right Livelihood Award homepage

Vandana Shiva page, Third World Traveler.

Vandana Shiva on McDonald's, Exploitation and the Global Economy, One-Off Productions, 1997.

Whose Freedom? Which Freedom?, Working TV, June 15, 1998.

Vandana Shiva. Corporate Terrorism, Resurgence Magazine, January 2002.

Vandana Shiva. Privatizing water will lead to war, Resurgence Magazine, July 2003.

Amy Goodman. An Hour With Vandana Shiva, Democracy Now, November 27, 2003.

Vandana Shiva. Gift of Food, Resurgence Magazine, January 2005.

Vandana Shiva. Celebrating Food Economies, Resurgence Magazine, March 2005.

Shiva on Coca-Cola's involvement in water depletion and contamination in India, NOW with Bill Moyers. September 5, 2003.

Video of Shiva's lecture at Michigan State University, Internet Archive, April 7, 2005.

Vandana Shiva. Two Myths That Keep The World Poor, Ode Magazine, October 2005. (accessed 19 October 2007)

Feature on Vandana Shiva's work on seed saving by the International Museum of Women.

VIDEO: The Future of Food and Seed, keynote talk by Vandana Shiva at the Organicology Conference in Portland, Oregon, February 28, 2009.

VIDEO: Whole speech "Democracy for the Earth" Basque Country, May, 2009.

Vandana Shiva's speaker booking page on the Evil Twin Booking Agency's website

Internet Archive (archive.org) audio and video

Vandana Shiva: "It Is Time for the US to Stop Seeing Itself as a Donor and Recognizing Itself as a Polluter" by ''Democracy Now!''

"The Earth is female - Interview to Vandana Shiva" by Wilma Massucco for Eugad

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Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and local knowledge generally refer to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge also encompasses the wisdom, knowledge, and teachings of these communities. In many cases, traditional knowledge has been orally passed for generations from person to person. Some forms of traditional knowledge are expressed through stories, legends, folklore, rituals, songs, and even laws. Other forms of traditional knowledge are expressed through different means.

Characteristics

Traditional knowledge typically distinguishes one community from another. For some communities, traditional knowledge takes on a personal and spiritual meaning. Traditional knowledge can also reflect a community's interests. Some communities depend on their traditional knowledge for survival. This is particularly true of traditional environmental knowledge, which refers to a "particular form of place-based knowledge of the diversity and interactions among plant and animal species, landforms, watercourses, and other qualities of the biophysical environment in a given place" (Peña, 2005, p. 198). An example of a society with a wealth of TEK is the South American Kayapo people, who have developed an extensive classification system of ecological zones of the Amazonian tropical savannah (i.e., campo / cerrado) to better manage the land (Posey, 2008, p. 90).

Cosmological connections and differences in worldview distinguish "traditional knowledge" from "local knowledge". Social scientists often place knowledge within a naturalistic framework, and emphasize the gradation of recent knowledge into knowledge acquired over many generations. These accounts use terms like "adaptively acquired knowledge", "socially constructed knowledge," and other terms that emphasize the social aspects of knowledge. Local knowledge and traditional knowledge may be thought of as distinguished by the length of time they have existed - decades to centuries versus millennia. A large number of scholarly studies in the naturalistic tradition demonstrate that traditional knowledge is not a natural category, and may reflect power struggles and relationships for land, resources and social control than adherence to a claimed ancestry or heritage.

Traditional knowledge, on the other hand, may be perceived very differently by indigenous and local communities themselves. The knowledge of indigenous and local communities is often embedded in a cosmology, and the distinction between "intangible" knowledge and physical things is often blurred. Indigenous peoples often say that "our knowledge is holistic, and cannot be separated from our lands and resources". Traditional knowledge in these cosmologies is inextricably bound to ancestors, and ancestral lands. Knowledge may not be acquired by naturalistic trial and error, but through direct revelation through conversations with "the creator", spirits, or ancestors. As Chamberlin (2003) writes of a Gitksan elder from British Columbia confronted by a government land claim: "If this is your land," he asked, "where are your stories?"

Indigenous and local communities often do not have strong traditions of ownership over knowledge that resemble the modern forms of private ownership. Many have clear traditions of custodianship over knowledge, and customary law may guide who may use different kinds of knowledge at particular times and places, and obligations that accompany the use of knowledge. From their perspective, misappropriation and misuse of knowledge may be offensive to traditions, and may have spiritual and physical repercussions in their cosmological systems. Subsequently, indigenous and local communities argue that others' use of their traditional knowledge warrants respect and sensitivity. Critics of "traditional knowledge", however, maintain that such demands for "respect" are really an attempt to prevent unsubstantiated beliefs from being subjected to the same scrutiny as other knowledge claims. This has particular significance for environmental management because the spiritual component of "traditional knowledge" can be used to justify any activity, including the unsustainable harvesting of resources.

Property rights

Recently, international attention has turned to intellectual property laws to preserve, protect, and promote their traditional knowledge. The reasons for this are complex. In 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognized the value of traditional knowledge in protecting species, ecosystems and landscapes, and incorporated language regulating access to it and its use (discussed below). It soon became apparent that implementing these provisions would require that international intellectual property agreements would need to be revised to accommodate them.

This became even more pressing with the adoption of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), which established rules for creating and protecting intellectual property that could be interpreted to contradict the agreements made under the CBD. In response, the states who had ratified the CBD requested the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to investigate the relationship between intellectual property rights, biodiversity and traditional knowledge. WIPO began this work with a fact finding mission in 1999. Considering the issues involved with biodiversity and the broader issues in TRIPs (involving all forms of cultural expressions, not just those associated with biodiversity - including traditional designs, music, songs, stories, etc.), WIPO established the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC-GRTKF).

The period of the early 1990s to the Millennium was also characterized by the rapid rise in global civil society. The high-level Brundtland Report (1987) recommended a change in development policy that allowed for direct community participation and respected local rights and aspirations. Indigenous peoples and others had successfully petitioned the United Nations to establish a Working Group on Indigenous Populations that made two early surveys on treaty rights and land rights. These led to a greater public and governmental recognition of indigenous land and resource rights, and the need to address the issue of collective human rights, as distinct from the individual rights of existing human rights law.

The collective human rights of indigenous and local communities has been increasingly recognized - such as in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169 (1989) and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). The Rio Declaration (1992), endorsed by the presidents and ministers of the majority of the countries of the world, recognized indigenous and local communities as distinct groups with special concerns that should be addressed by states.

Initial concern was over the territorial rights and traditional resource rights of these communities. Indigenous peoples soon showed concern for the misappropriation and misuse of their "intangible" knowledge and cultural heritage. Indigenous peoples and local communities have resisted, among other things: the use of traditional symbols and designs as mascots, derivative arts and crafts; the use or modification of traditional songs; the patenting of traditional uses of medicinal plants; and the copyrighting and distribution of traditional stories.

Indigenous peoples and local communities have sought to prevent the patenting of traditional knowledge and resources where they have not given express consent. They have sought for greater protection and control over traditional knowledge and resources. Certain communities have also sought to ensure that their traditional knowledge is used equitably - according to restrictions set by their traditions, or requiring benefit sharing for its use according to benefits which they define.

Three broad approaches to protect traditional knowledge have been developed. The first emphasizes protecting traditional knowledge as a form of cultural heritage. The second looks at protection of traditional knowledge as a collective human right. The third, taken by the WTO and WIPO, investigates the use of existing or novel ''sui generis'' measures to protect traditional knowledge.

Currently, only a few nations offer explicit ''sui generis'' protection for traditional knowledge. However, a number of countries are still undecided as to whether law should give traditional knowledge deference. Indigenous peoples have shown ambivalence about the intellectual property approach. Some have been willing to investigate how existing intellectual property mechanisms (primarily: patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets) can protect traditional knowledge. Others believe that an intellectual property approach may work, but will require more radical and novel forms of intellectual property law ("sui generis rights"). Others believe that the intellectual property system uses concepts and terms that are incompatible with traditional cultural concepts, and favors the commercialization of their traditions, which they generally resist. Many have argued that the form of protection should refer to collective human rights to protect their distinct identities, religions and cultural heritage.

Public domain

Literary and artistic works based upon, derived from or inspired by traditional culture or folklore may incorporate new elements or expressions. Hence these works may be "new" works with a living and identifiable creator, or creators. Such contemporary works may include a new interpretation, arrangement, adaptation or collection of pre-existing cultural heritage that is in the public domain. Traditional culture or folklore may also be "repackaged" in digital formats, or restoration and colorization. Contemporary and tradition based expressions and works of traditional culture are generally protected under existing copyright law, a form of intellectual property law, as they are sufficiently original to be regarded as "new" upon publication. Once the intellectual property rights afforded to these new works of traditional knowledge expire, they fall into the public domain.

The public domain, as defined in the context of intellectual property rights, is not a concept recognised by indigenous peoples. As much of traditional knowledge has never been protected under intellectual property rights, they can not be said to have entered any public domain. On this point the Tulalip Tribes of Washington state has commented that "...open sharing does not automatically confer a right to use the knowledge (of indigenous people)... traditional cultural expressions are not in the public domain because indigenous peoples have failed to take the steps necessary to protect the knowledge in the Western intellectual property system, but from a failure of governments and citizens to recognise and respect the customary laws regulating their use".

Indigenous intellectual property

Indigenous intellectual property is an umbrella legal term used in national and international forums to identify indigenous peoples' special rights to claim (from within their own laws) all that their indigenous groups know now, have known, or will know. It is a concept that has developed out of a predominantly western legal tradition, and has most recently been promoted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, as part of a more general United Nations push to see the diverse wealth of this world's indigenous, intangible cultural heritage better valued and better protected against probable, ongoing misappropriation and misuse.

In the lead up to and during the United Nations International Year for the World's Indigenous Peoples (1993) then during the following United Nations Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995–2004) a number of conferences of both indigenous and non-indigenous specialists were held in different parts of the world, resulting in a number of declarations and statements identifying, explaining, refining, and defining 'indigenous intellectual property'.

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Article 27. 3(b) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) sets out certain conditions under which certain biological materials or intellectual innovations may be excluded from patenting. The Article also contains a requirement that Article 27 be reviewed. In the TRIPs-related Doha Declaration of 2001, Paragraph 19 expanded the review to a review of Article 27 and the rest of the TRIPs agreement to include the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), signed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, was the first international environmental convention to develop measures for the use and protection of traditional knowledge, related to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. By 2006, 188 had ratified the Convention and agreed to be bound by its provisions, the largest number of nations to accede to any existing treaty (the United States is one of the few countries that has signed, but not ratified, the CBD). Significant provisions include:

''Article 8. In-situ Conservation''

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:

(a)...

(j) Subject to its national legislation, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices

''Article 10. Sustainable Use of Components of Biological Diversity''

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:

(a)...

(c) Protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements

The interpretation of these provisions has been elaborated through decisions by the parties (ratifiers of the Convention) (see the Convention on Biological Diversity Handbook, available free in digital format from the Secretariat).

The parties to the Convention set a 2010 target to negotiate an international legally-binding regime on access and benefit sharing (ABS) at the Eighth meeting (COP8), 20–31 March 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil. The ABS negotiations will address inter-governmental obligations related to genetic resources, and these will involve measures related to the rights of indigenous and local communities to control access to and derive benefits from the use of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

At the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting, in Buenos Aires, in 1996, emphasis is put on local knowledge. Key players, such as local communities and indigenous peoples, must be recognized by States, and given back their sovereignty over the biodiversity of their territories, so that they can continue protecting it.

Commons and intellectual property

Recently, traditional knowledge has been drawn into the debate related to access to medicines, access to food, the need for poverty alleviation, and related issues that affect the livelihoods and welfare of people worldwide. It has been argued that traditional knowledge is an important source of health security, food security and livelihood security for the world's poor. As such, it has been argued that the benefits of sharing and actively disseminating traditional knowledge outweigh the benefits of protection and recognition of ownership.

The Creative Commons, with its roots in the open software movement, the literary arts, the open access movement in science and the humanities, and in the media, arts, entertainment and communications communities, has also proposed that traditional knowledge is an essential and public source of cultural creativity. Part of the debate involves the question of whether or not traditional knowledge is part of the public sphere, national commons, or global commons as part of a "common heritage of mankind". There is no common indigenous and local community position on issues of the "common heritage of mankind" or the "global public good". Indigenous peoples and local communities have shared much of their knowledge and resources with the global community and many have traditions of sharing. Healers, in general, have spiritual obligations to heal the sick and have shared their healing knowledge. Indigenous peoples have strong traditions of reciprocity, that is people's informal exchange of goods and labour. Much of the historical appropriation and use of traditional knowledge has not occurred with reciprocity. Though traditional knowledge and resources have made contributions to the welfare of humankind as the basis of much of the world's food system and naturally-derived medicines.

Government of India efforts

In 2001, Government of India, set up the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as repository of 1200 formulations of various systems of Indian medicine, such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha and 1500 Yoga postures (asanas), translated into five languages — English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. India has also signed agreements with the European Patent Office (EPO), United Kingdom Trademark & Patent Office (UKPTO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office to reduce commercialization of traditional medicines by giving patent examiners at International Patent Offices access to the TKDL database for patent search and examinations purposes.

IPR Policy of Kerala Govt.(India) - Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Policy for Kerala released in 2008 , proposes adoption of the concepts ‘knowledge commons’ and ‘commons licence’ for the protection traditional knowledge. The chief architects of the Policy are Prof. Prabhat Patnaik and Mr. R.S. Praveen Raj. The policy advises to put all the traditional knowledge to the realm of “knowledge commons” and not to public domain. While codification of TK in digital libraries and sharing the same with patent offices is a viable solution to direct misappropriation, it is feared that it may provide an opportunity for capitalists to effect private appropriation by making cosmetic improvements on such traditional knowledge that is not accessible otherwise as confidentiality cannot be maintained by patent Offices when TKDL is treated as prior art - says R.S. Praveen Raj

See also

Biopiracy

Convention on Biological Diversity

Ethnoastronomy

Ethnobiology

Ethnobotany

Ethnoecology

Ethnomathematics

Ethnomedicine

Ethnopharmacy

Ethnoscience

Ethnozoology

Indigenous intellectual property

Indigenous peoples

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Intellectual property

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional knoweledge in Arctic Canada)

Sui generis protection

Traditional medicine

Traditional knowledge GIS

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Yoga piracy

References

External links

UNEP Indigenous Knowledge Website

UNEP Indigenous People's Website

"Traditional Knowledge" on the WIPO web site

CBD Article 8(j): Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Practices

Convention on Biological Diversity Handbook, 3rd ed.

World Bank's Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Program's website

WTO: TRIPs Article 27.3b, traditional knowledge, biodiversity

United Nations University's "Traditional Knowledge Bulletin"

International Workshop on Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Indigenous Peoples

Call of the Earth / Llamado de la Tierra

Statement by the Tulalip Tribes of Washington on Folklore, Indigenous Knowledge, and the Public Domain, July 09, 2003

IPRs Online: Traditional Knowledge

Linking Science and Local Knowledge

Intellectual Property Rights, Open Source Methods and Traditional Knowledge in Developing Countries

Anti-colonial discourse and indigenous knowledges

Traditional ecological knowledge handbook : a training manual and reference guide for designing, conducting, and participating in research projects using traditional ecological knowledge / prepared by Rita A. Miraglia. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.

Research article by Terra Nuova on "Preservation and maintenance of biological diversity related knowledge of indigenous diversity and local communities with traditional lifestyles Bony Forest, Ijara District"

Category:Commercialization of traditional medicines Category:History of science Category:Indigenous peoples Category:Intellectual property law Category:Oral tradition

de:Traditionelles Wissen hi:परम्परागत ज्ञान it:Sapere indigeno se:Árbediehtu uk:Традиційні знання