This publication addresses the need to strengthen the interface between the scientific community, knowledge-holders and policymakers, and build capacity for and strengthen the use of science and knowledge in policymaking on the topic of ecosystem services. With respect to the ecosystem service of pollination, FAO developed a protocol to identify and assess pollination deficits in crops – resulting in a global meta-analysis, with data from eleven countries. Results emerging from this endeavour give strong indication that pollination deficits may exist in a wide variety of farming systems across the world. As a response to this science, researchers and policymakers from the eleven countries considered the range and types of actions that can address pollination deficits, and developed an indicative set of policy responses. This publication is a result of this work, which considers the mainstreaming of ecosystem services at both national and international levels, with a focus on pollination services.

It is only recently that the immense economic value of pollination to agriculture has been appreciated. At the same time, the alarming collapse in populations of bees and other pollinators has highlighted the urgency of addressing this issue. This book focuses on the specific measures and practices that the emerging science of pollination ecology is identifying to conserve and promote animal pollinators in agroecosystems. It reviews the expanding knowledge base on pollination services, providing evidence to document the status, trends and importance of pollinators to sustainable agricultural production. It provides practical and specific measures that land managers can undertake to ensure that agroecosystems are supportive and friendly to pollinators. It draws on the Global Pollination Project, supported by UNEP/GEF and implemented by FAO and seven partner countries (Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa), which serve to provide "lessons from the field".

This report describes the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, the drivers and pressures affecting them, interactions and effects on people and society, and options for governance. The main report consists of two volumes. Volume 1 The general overview (this report) and Volume 2 The geographical case studies. This study has been inspired by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES). It departs from case studies (Volume 2, the geographical case studies) from ten geographical areas in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and the autonomous areas of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The aim was to describe status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region, including the drivers and pressures affecting these ecosystems, the effects on people and society and options for governance. The Nordic study is structured as closely as possible to the framework for the regional assessments currently being finalized within IPBES. The report highlights environmental differences and similarities in the Nordic coastal areas, like the inhabitants´ relation to nature and the environment as well as similarities in social and policy instruments between the Nordic countries. This study provides background material for decision-making and it is shown that Nordic cooperation is of great importance for sustainable coastal management and should be strengthened in future work.

Recognizing the importance of invertebrate pollinators, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Commission) at its Seventeenth Regular Session, in 2019, adopted its Work Plan for the Sustainable Use and Conservation of Microorganism and Invertebrate Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and decided to address pollinators, including honey bees, at its Nineteenth Regular Session. Building on global assessments addressing pollinators published in 2016 and 2019, respectively, by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and FAO, this study provides up-to-date information on the status and trends of invertebrate pollinators, maps relevant regional and international initiatives, and identifies gaps and needs.

A review of approaches (e.g. watershed management) and tools (e.g. web-based platforms), stressing the importance of a holistic vision that reconciles production needs and ecosystem functions and services for more sustainable food and agriculture.

The multiple, related fields encompassed by this Major Reference Work represent a convergence of issues and topics germane to the rapidly changing segments of knowledge and practice in educational communications and technology at all levels and around the globe. There is no other comparable work that is designed not only to gather vital, current, and evolving information and understandings in these knowledge segments but also to be updated on a continuing basis in order to keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in the relevant fields. The Handbook is composed of substantive (5,000 to 15,000 words), peer-reviewed entries that examine and explicate seminal facets of learning theory, research, and practice. It provides a broad range of relevant topics, including significant developments as well as innovative uses of technology that promote learning, performance, and instruction. This work is aimed at researchers, designers, developers, instructors, and other professional practitioners.

The current era of incredible innovations has made science and technology one of the most powerful tools to meet the goals of incremental prosperity for humans and sustainable development. The development of the biotech industry in any given country is shaped by the characteristics of the technology—particularly its close relation to scientific knowledge—and by country-specific factors—the level and nature of the scientific knowledge base, the institutional set-up, and the role assumed by the government—which influence the country's ability to exploit new opportunities and appropriate the respective results. This book presents an integrated approach for sustained innovation in various areas of biotechnology. Focusing mainly on the industrial, socio-economic and legal implications of biotechnological advances, it examines in detail not only the implications of IPR in omics-based research but also the ethical and intellectual standards and how these can be developed for sustained innovation. Integrating science and business, it offers a peek behind the scenes of the biotech industry and provides a comprehensive analysis of the foundations of the present day industry for students and professionals alike. The book is divided into three parts: Food and Agricultural BiotechnologyIndustrial BiotechnologyPharmaceutical Biotechnology