Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microorganisms, Australia and the Convention on Biological Diversity

Biodiversity & Conservation volume 8, pages 1399–1415 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The Convention on Biological Diversity arose as an international agreement for the conservation and continued exploitation of Earth's biological diversity (biodiversity). It directly affects those involved in conservation, exploitation and investigation of biodiversity in all its forms, as well as affecting the viability of all life. Australia is one of more than 170 countries that have ratified the Convention. Its involvement in this Convention will be considered in terms of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Biological Diversity with a focus on the coverage of microorganisms within this strategy. Microorganisms represent a major part of the biodiversity on Earth but, as yet, remain relatively unknown. Among those microorganisms that have been described, many, originating from a range of countries, have been deposited in culture collections worldwide. The Convention contains articles that impact on ex situ collections, although precise protocols are not set out therein. An international code of conduct is now being formulated to ensure ongoing access to and exchange of microorganisms in the interests of sustainable development in industrialised and developing nations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

39,95 €

Price includes VAT (Netherlands)

References

  • Adair JR (1997) The bioprospecting question: should the United States charge biotechnology companies for the commercial use of public wild resources? Ecology Law Quarterly 24: 131–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Anon. (1997) Desertification convention: COP-1. Environmental Policy and Law 27: 462–468

  • Beattie AJ (1995) Biodiversity, Australia's Living Wealth. Reed Books, Chatswood

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundrett M (1996) Fungi and plants bond to survive. Microbiology Australia 17: 12–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull AT (1996) Biotechnology for environmental quality: closing the circles. Biodiversity and Conservation 5: 1–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Claridge MF, Dawah HA and Wilson MR (1997) Species: The Units of Biodiversity. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Community Biodiversity Network (1997) Australian Biodiversity Bulletin Spring, No. 3.2

  • Convention on Biological Diversity. Rio de Janeiro, 5 June 1992

  • Costanza R, d'Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B, Limburg K, Naeem S, O'Neill RV, Paruelo J, Raskin RG, Sutton P and van den Belt M (1997) The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig D (1995) Implementing the convention on biological diversity: indigenous people's issues. In: McNeely JA (ed) Biodiversity Conservation in the Asia and Pacific Region, pp 146–157. ADB and IUCN, Manila

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison AD (1997) Utilising microbial diversity, working examples ICS-UNIDO-PCARRD regional workshop on sustainable utilisation of genetic resources in southeast asia and the pacific. 7–11 July 1997, Davao City, Philippines

  • Davison AD, de Brabandere J and Smith D (1998) Microbes, collections and the MOSAICC approach. Microbiology Australia 19: 36–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison AD and Veal DA (1993) Storage of a mixed microbial consortium capable of growth on biphenyl. Letters in Applied Microbiology 17: 101–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison AD and Veal DA (1997) Synergistic degradation of biphenyl by Alcaligenes faecalis type II BPSI-2 and Sphingomonas paucimobilis BPSI-3. Letters in Applied Microbiology 25: 58–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Davison AD, Karuso PH, Jardine DR and Veal DA (1996) Halopicolinic acids, novel products arising from the degradation of chloro and bromobiphenyl by Sphingomonas paucimobilis BPSI-3. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 42: 66–71

    Google Scholar 

  • de Brabandere J (1992) Focus on the Belgian Coordinated Collections of Microorganisms BCCM: public, safe and patent deposits of (micro)biological material. Biotech Forum Europe 9: 643–645

    Google Scholar 

  • de Brabandere J (1996) Culture collections and the microbial diversity challenge. Proceedings of ICOMID'96 ‘International Conference Microbial Diversity: Current situation, Conservation strategy and Ecological Aspects’: 8–11 October 1996, Perm, Russia

  • de Brabandere J (BCCMÄ¢) (1997) BCCMÄ¢ News, 3rd edn, May 1997

  • de Brabandere J (1997) The Convention on Biological Diversity: a bossa nova for culture collections. Proceedings of the Society For Industrial Microbiology 1997 Annual Meetings: 3–7 August 1997, The Nugget Hotel, Reno, NV

  • de Klemm C and Shine C (1993) Biological Diversity Conservation and the Law. IUCN Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of the Environment, Sports and Territories (1996) The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of the Environment (1998) Reform of commonwealth environment legislation. Consultation paper. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge D (1997) A practical guide to soil lichens and bryophytes of Australia's dry country. Dept. of Land and Water Conservation

  • Frederick RJ and Egan M (1994) Environmentally compatible applications of biotechnology. BioScience 44: 529–535

    Google Scholar 

  • Glowka L (1996) The Convention on Biological Diversity: issues of interest to the microbial scientist and microbial culture collections. In: Samson RA, Stalpers JA, van der Mei D and Stouthamer AH (eds) Culture Collections to Improve the Quality of Life. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures and the World Federation for Culture Collections

  • Glowka L (1997) The next rosy periwinkle won't be free: emerging legislative frameworks to implement Article 15. Environmental Policy and Law 27: 441–458

    Google Scholar 

  • Grgurinovic C and Hyde KD (1993) The status of taxonomic mycology in Australia in 1991. Australasian Plant Pathology 22: 42–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Grgurinovic C and Walker J (1993) Herbaria and their place in science: a mycological and plant pathological perspective. Australasian Plant Pathology 22: 14–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunningham N (1996) Biodiversity: Economic incentives and legal instruments. In: Boer B, Fowler R and Gunningham N (eds) Environmental Outlook No. 2: Law and Policy, pp 219–239. Federation Press, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunningham N and Young MD (1997) Toward optimal environmental policy: The case for biodiversity conservation. Ecology Law Quarterly 24: 243–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Heywood VH (1995) Global Biodiversity Assessment, United Nations Environment Programme, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hugenholtz P, Goebel BM and Pace NR (1998) Impact of culture-independent studies on the emerging phylogenetic view of bacterial diversity. Journal of Bacteriology 180: 4765–4774

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwu MM (1996) Implementing the biodiversity treaty: how to make international cooperative agreements work. Trends in Biotechnology 14: 78–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaraman KS (1997) India drafts law to protect bioresources. Nature 390: 108

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley J (1995) Microorganisms, indigenous property rights and the Convention on Biological Diversity. In: Allsopp D, Colwell RR and Hawksworth DL (eds) Microbial Diversity and Function. pp 415–426, CAB International and UNEP, Wallingford, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly AH and Farrier D (1996) Local government and biodiversity conservation in New South Wales. Environmental & Planning Law Journal 13: 374–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy M (1996) Implementing the national strategy for the conservation of Australia's biological diversity – the Commonwealths move. In: Boer B, Fowler R and Gunningham N (eds) Environmental Outlook No. 2: Law and Policy, pp 186–196. Federation Press, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiner K (1998) Yellowstone's bugs end up in court. New Scientist No. 2125, 24

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1991) Soil conservation and biodiversity. In: Hawksworth DL (ed) The Biodiversity of Microorganisms and Invertebrates: its role in Sustainable Agriculture, pp 89–104. CAB International, Wallingford, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Liles G (1996) Gambling on marine biotechnology. BioScience 46: 250–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Pain S (1998a) Foul medicine. Biologists are closing in on marine pests that fight cancer. New Scientist 7 February (No. 2120), 11

    Google Scholar 

  • Pain S (1998b) The intraterrestrials. New Scientist 7 March (No. 2124), 28–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimm SL (1997) The value of everything. Nature 387: 231–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Prest J (1997) National environment protection measures (Implementation) bill, 1997. Bills Digest No. 113 1997–1998. Department of the Parliamentary Library

  • Sands P (1996) Microbial diversity and the 1992 biodiversity convention. Biodiversity and Conservation 5: 473–491

    Google Scholar 

  • Service RF (1997) Microbiologists explore life's rich, hidden kingdoms. Science 275: 1740–1742

    Google Scholar 

  • Stackebrandt E (1994) The uncertainties of microbial diversity. In: Kirsop B and Hawksworth DL (eds) The Biodiversity of Microorganisms and the Role of Microbial Resource Centres, pp 29–35. World Federation of Culture Collections

  • Skyring GW(1996) Denitrifying bacteria – caretakers of Port Philip bay. Microbiology Australia 17: 26–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Tangley L (1996) Ground rules emerge for marine bioprospectors. BioScience 46: 245–249

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Heijden MGA, Klironomos JN, Ursic M, Moutoglis P, Streitwolf-Engle R, Boller T, Weimken A and Sanders IR (1998) Mycorrhizal fungal diversity determines plant biodiversity, ecosystem variability and productivity. Nature 396: 69–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitman WB, Coleman DC and Wiebe (1998) Prokaryotes: the unseen majority. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 95: 6578–6583

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeates C (1996) Microbial biodiversity. Microbiology Australia 17: 29–32

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Annette D. Davison

    Present address: AWT Environment, Science and Technology, 51 Hermitage Road, West Ryde, Sydney, 2114, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia

    Annette D. Davison, Christine Yeates & Michael R. Gillings

  2. BCCM, Rue de la Science 8, Wetenschapsstraat, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium

    Jan de Brabandere

Authors
  1. Annette D. Davison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christine Yeates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael R. Gillings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jan de Brabandere
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davison, A.D., Yeates, C., Gillings, M.R. et al. Microorganisms, Australia and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 8, 1399–1415 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008986324592

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008986324592

  • Australia
  • microbial diversity
  • MOSAICC
  • the Convention on Biological Diversity

Search

Navigation