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Bio-diversity
Definition:
Bio-diversity means the distinction in the life with its forms, levels and components. It doesn’t mean the total of the environmental systems or genetic items but it represents its internal difference. It is one of the life features that differ from the biological resources. The last century (the last quarter of the 20th century) witnessed extinction of %75 of the bio-diversity.
The International Labour Office in Geneva mentioned that the humanity lost about four million hectare because of soil fragmentation. About 47.500 km² (that equals the forests survey in Germany) was destroyed because of the sharp air pollution that result in great material losses estimated with $30.000.000. The world witnesses destruction of 150 kinds every day. The International Fund for Nature asserts that about 25 % of the current kinds threatened with extinction throughout the mid of 21st century.
On May 22, 1992, more than 150 countries undersigned an integrated agreement around the bio-diversity. The agreement would be implemented by 18 months that guarantee the preservation of the bio-diversity and the biological resources in order to promote the continuity of the human beings. The agreement confessed with the unfair distribution of the bio-diversity all over the world. For example, the north is biologically poor because of its unplanned consumption of its resources. Such situation imposes heavy burden over the south especially that the bio-diversity wealth is so essential to the developing countries for the implementation of the developmental plans. Article no. 42 of the mentioned agreement comprised special strategies concerning the bio-diversity and the main tactics for achieving these goals.
This agreement aims to preserve the bio-diversity to use its elements in a sustainable way in addition to the fair distribution of the benefits gained by using the genetic resources through transition of suitable technology and providing adequate fund. This agreement is considered as an important incident in the field of maintenance of the bio-diversity that was the first time to review the topic of bio-diversity in integral way through which an obligatory international treaty for regulating the genetic diversity was issued. Moreover, it was the first time to confess that the bio-diversity is a joint case for the whole humanity.
The agreement discusses four main topics;
1-The national domination and the joint case of the humanity;
The agreement emphasizes on the countries’ rights to dominate its biological resources that is accompanied with confessing that maintaining the bio-diversity is a joint case of the whole humanity that imposes a joint responsibility. It mentions to the countries’ rights to control its natural recourses with more concern with their responsibilities to maintain the bio-diversity of these resources.
2-Maintenance and sustainable consumption;
The agreement comprises series of obligations that have important impacts on the bio-diversity. About planning strategy, the agreement organizes some obligations concerning the development of local strategies and plans. These plans aim to merge both maintenance of the bio-diversity and sustainable consumption in categorical polices and programs comprised in the national decisions making. Each country has to determine the important elements for the bio-diversity in addition to the priorities needed for maintenance procedures. Moreover, it has to monitor the operations and the activities that have negative impacts on the bio-diversity.
The agreement calls for protecting the protectorate areas to preserve the natural resources, get back the groups threatened with extinction and maintain the survived groups of the different natural environments.
Finally, the agreement obliges the undersigned members to adopt policies and programs to increase the public awareness with the importance of the bio-diversity.
3-Crops;
The agreement asserts the principle of free getting of genetic resources confessed by the United Nations for Food and Agriculture through the protocol of the plant-genetic resources issued in 1983. The developing countries ask for monitoring the genetic resources to be regulated by the national legalization. Currently, the industrial countries promote the rights of the intellectual possession comprising the invention innocence concerning groups of organic organisms. Such systems contribute in awarding the human creation but it ignores the nature of the manual work and the materials’ value. Moreover, it isn’t concerned with the informal contribution of the original inhabitants and farmers in maintaining and developing the genetic diversity through their work with agriculture and livestock breeding.
4 -Funding;
The agreement emphasizes on the necessity to providing the south with assistance and resources by the north in addition to establishing financial mechanism funded by the advanced countries that enable the developing countries to implement the agreement items.
The bio-diversity in Egypt;
The Egyptian community witnessed disappearance of many kinds of fruit and vegetables because of absence of the farmer’s role and the forced domination of the ministry of agriculture especially with the current agricultural policies that lift the slogan of (EXPORT FIRST). These policies aim to satisfy the needs of the international market with obvious ignorance for the needs of the local market known by the simple farmer through his long history with the agricultural sector that impacts negatively the bio-diversity.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is concerned with the profits of the big companies and the international capital ignoring the idea pf the international justice and the profits of the developing countries. It contradicts with achieving the development that pushes to organizing international movement against the existence of the WTO with its roles and mechanisms.
On the other hand, the big companies that control the seeds and direct the farmers all over the world in addition to the condensation of land possessions impact negatively the bio-diversity. These big companies contracted with the farmer to provide him with the seeds and fertilizers needed for cultivation, then, he had to export the production. All these circumstances have negative effects on the agricultural crops and the bio-diversity.
We ask for rethinking about such dangerous contracts managed by the giant food companies in order to respect the right of the developing countries to determine its national policies to develop and protect its agricultures.