Institute of Biodiversity Conservation

The number of species on the planet that have been documented by scientists has risen to 1.9 million, according to the world’s most comprehensive catalogue of plants and animals.

The new figure has been boosted by 114,000 new species discovered since the catalogue was last compiled by Australian researchers three years ago – a 6.3% increase.

The report was hailed by the naturalist Sir David Attenborough as a “crucial reference point for all those who are acting to protect our planet for future generations”. It estimates there are 11 million species living on the planet.

[ September 28, 2009 to October 2, 2009. September 28, 2009 to October 2, 2009. ] Until today, there is little awareness of what ABS can contribute to development and poverty alleviation in Africa, and skills to harness this potential are insufficiently developed.

For example, many actors at the political administrative level are not aware of the development potential of ABS for Africa. There are barely any functioning national ABS regulations in place, and there are problems implementing them if regulations exist at all. There is minimal dialogue between stakeholders, as a result there is little awareness of their mutual interestes. There is hardly regional harmonization of approaches; inventories and information on the value of genetic resources are not available; and negotiastion skills are not sufficiently developed. These factors are hampering the capacity of the 53 states in the African Group to negotiate an international ABS regime and to implement national regulations to the benefit of the African people.

Five years ago a good news was heard around the world that a naturally caffeine-free coffee plant had been found growing wild in Ethiopia, heralding the prospect of a cup of freshly-ground arabica that will not keep you awake.

Scientists in Brazil have discovered three arabica coffee plants that do not produce caffeine in their leaves or beans among a batch of 6,000 wild specimens originally collected in the late 1980s.

The scientists believe the wild plants could be cultivated to produce their own caffeine-free beans, or could be cross-bred with other varieties of arabica coffee to introduce the natural caffeine-free trait into commercial crops.

African farmers have been warned against abandoning traditional seed varieties because they are more cost effective. Researchers say the seeds are drought and pest resistant as opposed to those developed in laboratories and subsidised by governments.

The researchers are from Kenya, Peru, Panama, India and China and are attached to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

“Where farming communities have been able to maintain their traditional varieties, they are already using them to cope with the impacts of climate change,” says the project leader, Ms Krystyna Swiderska of IIED.

Ethiopian New Year is typically different and unique in the World. Unlike the others, the Ethiopian New Year is closely associated with the nature’s calendar, i.e. phenology of plants.

“Enqutatash”, meaning “gift of jewels”, is celebrated each year on September 11 or “Meskerem” 1 according to the Ethiopian Calendar, that fits well with the flowering season of most herbaceous species. Species diversity (richness) and abundance has a direct link to the Ethiopian New Year celebration. Almost all of the species with high social and cultural value are either endemic or indigenous to Ethiopia. We present here the most widely known cultural practices on the Ethiopian New Year using biological resources such as ornamentals, food, drinks and ecosystem services.