Kris’s Archaeology Blog at About.com:Archaeology has a challenging quiz about domestication. I got 15/20. You?
Housekeeping notes: We’re back
Apologies to anyone who tried to look at the site over the past couple of days and saw the enigmatic message “It Works!”. We had not in fact been hacked. It was a hangover from earlier attempts to migrate to a new server. Unfortunately the server administrator was on holiday, so there was nothing we could do about it. The first thing he did on his return was to get everything operational, even if the site isn’t quite as pretty as it might have been. Or is it better? Let us know. About other stuff too.
More tweaks later, if necessary.
3rd Governing Body meeting of the ITPGRFA wrapped up
Following two days of lengthy procedural discussions regarding the establishment of contact groups on the funding strategy and/or compliance, and the eventual agreement to establish both, the Governing Body managed to make good progress going through its heavy agenda. Delegates agreed to: a set of outcomes for implementation of the funding strategy, including a financial target of US$116 million for the period July 2009 to December 2014; a resolution on implementation of the MLS, including setting up an intersessional advisory committee on implementation issues; a resolution on farmers’ rights; and procedures for the Third Party Beneficiary. They also adopted the work programme and budget for the next biennium; agreed to the urgent need to finalize the outstanding financial rules at GB 4; and established intersessional processes to finalize compliance procedures by GB 4 and review the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). 1
LATER: Here’s the Treaty’s promotional video.
Livestock videos on YouTube
FAO’s Animal Genetic Resources Group has a YouTube channel. The latest addition is “Keepers of Genes — India’s pastoralists and their breeds.”
The League of Pastoral People has teamed up with award-winning documentary filmmakers, Moving Images to produce a series of films on pastoralism. Films have proved a very powerful tool for visually transporting policymakers into the situation of pastoralists. The first film in the series, Keepers of Genes, focuses on the role of pastoralists in conserving biodiversity.
Happy Birthday, Prof. Karl Hammer
And sorry for missing it when it actually came, back in February!
He fundamentally contributed to our present knowledge of cultivated plants’ biodiversity in Cuba, Eastern Europe, Italy, Libya, Oman and Korea. As an enthusiastic researcher heading the Gatersleben Genebank and later heading the Agrobiodiversity Department of Kassel University in Witzenhausen, his scientific work covered a tremendously wide field of research in plant genetic resources, ranging from pollination ecology and taxonomy (e.g. of Aegilops, Agrostemma, Brassica, Datura, Secale, Triticum) to questions of plant domestication, genetic erosion and evaluation, maintenance and utilization of the entire spectrum of plant genetic resources, including underutilized and neglected crops.
Many happy returns! Enjoy your retirement!