sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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properties of certain plants as well as their history of use in the country has enabled Peru to avoid nontariff
barriers to trade in exotic products, such as the application of the European Union’s regulation on
novel foods to products such as Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) and Lúcuma (Pouteria obovata). This has
also enabled Peru to protect its biological resources against biopiracy by successfully challenging
international applications for patents for products derived from Maca and Sacha Inchi.
The region has initiatives for genetic diversity conservation, such as ex situ seed banks, and
several centres for species diversity are already in operation. The booming market for biodiversitybased
medicinal products could enable the region to position itself as a leader in the sector through
further investment in research and technology <strong>development</strong>. For example, plant-based medicinal
products have an estimated global market of US$ 60 billion (Lasmar, <strong>20</strong>05; UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10a). However,
much of the technological <strong>development</strong> based on the region’s genetic wealth is currently taking place
beyond its borders.
There have also been moves in the region to recover traditional knowledge and use of
biodiversity. In Chile, they include a project by the national association of rural and indigenous women
(ANAMURI), the Aukinko Zomo corporation of Mapuche women and the <strong>sustainable</strong> societies
foundation (Fundación Sociedades Sustentables), which have promoted the concept of women seed
guardians, curators and caretakers, who have kept alive the tradition of saving, growing and exchanging
seeds from ancient crop varieties. The women caretakers also domesticate various species to make them
edible and diversify their use, recognizing this as an effective way to preserve local agricultural
biodiversity and pass on traditional knowledge (Government of Chile, <strong>20</strong>08).
Despite the obvious importance of Latin American and Caribbean biodiversity for both the region
itself and the world as a whole, the region’s enormous biodiversity is being lost or seriously threatened by
human activity at all levels and throughout nearly all of the region (UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10a). As a result, the goal of
reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by <strong>20</strong>10 3 set in the Convention on Biological Diversity has not been met.
Five principal pressures on biodiversity in the region have been identified by the Secretariat of
the Convention on Biological Diversity (<strong>20</strong>10): habitat loss and degradation; over-exploitation and
un<strong>sustainable</strong> use of resources; climate change; invasive alien species; and excessive nutrient load and
other forms of pollution. The greatest risks to biodiversity stem from land-use change, with the resulting
reduction, fragmentation and even disappearance of habitat (UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10a).
The existence of forested areas rich in biodiversity and endemic species, combined with heavy
anthropogenic pressure from economically profitable alternatives, has resulted in many ‘hot spots’ 4 in the
region (see map II.2).
One of the main forces driving this process has been land-use change, resulting from major
growth in recent <strong>years</strong> in commercial crops for export (such as soy beans, biofuel crops, livestock, fruits,
vegetables and flowers) (see chapter I). The construction of roads without proper management of their
surroundings or internalization of their social costs has been another major factor in deforestation
processes, mainly in South America (World Bank, <strong>20</strong>07; UNEP-CATHALAC, <strong>20</strong>10a). All along the
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4
Decision of the sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (April <strong>20</strong>02): “to
achieve by <strong>20</strong>10 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national
level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth”.
Hotspots are the biologically richest and most endangered places on earth. For further information, see [online]
www.conservation.org.