Biodiversity Cooperation Effort in Ibero-America
Peter Mann de Toledo
Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi/MCT, Diretoria, Caixa Postal 399,
66040-170, Belém, Pará, Brazil
E-mail:toledo@museu-goeldi.br
Iberoamerican biodiversity indicators related to species taxonomy and inventory efforts, biological community composition, ecological
functions and representation of natural landscapes are among the highest of the planet. Due to the increasing concerns about
environmental degradation and the role of biological diversity towards sustainable development innitiatives the International
Cooperation Program in Science and Technology of Ibero America (CYTED - Ciência y Tecnologia para el desarrollo) identified as one of
its thematic cooperation components the Subprogram of Biological Diversity, becoming one of the priorities in the environmental area
of scientific collaboration efforts. In this last 10 years of effective collaboration, the Biodiversity Subprogram has focused its
attention to the compilation of iberoamerican biodiversity composition and conservation status in several countries; emphasizing the
characterization of the major ecosystems and estimulating the cooperation in specific areas, such as (i) the understanding of
biodiversity and biogeographical patterns of speciose groups, (ii) information of natural resources for sustainable development
purposes, (iv) application of genetic and ecological diversity of native iberoamerican plants and animals towards livestock and
agricultural systems (v) and the identification of prospective conservation of natural ecosystems/landscapes.
Currently, the focus of projects and networks are on systematics and biogeography of insects and fungi, biological interactions of
animal and plants as mechanisms of biodiversity enrichment, processes of abiotic and biological systems responsible for the origin and
transformation of natural ecosystems, usage of conservation biology information with patterns of land-use in specific geographical
areas, database compilation on the ecological roles of natural and human-induced open-grasslands, genetic diversity and conservation
of native and domesticated animal species.
One of the priorities for the coming years is the establishment of a network of institutions that deal with biodiversity information
based on scientific collections. Natural history museums, herbaria, research institutions and biological departments of universities
are among the centers of reference that will compose such effort. A brazilian organization coined "Memoria Naturalis" has been
recently created with the main objective to support the establishment of a multi-institutional network system based on biological
collections with the purpose to apply zoological and botanical information towards the construction of regional biodiversity policies,
environmental education programs and database on distribution of species and conservation priorities of species that can be used in
socio-economic development programs. A similar effort is currently being discussed among museums and similar institutions among 07
iberoamerican countries.
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