Policy convergence, defined as the growth in similarity of policies over time, constitutes a central concept in comparative public policy, yet a great deal of ambiguity and contention surrounds it. The article discusses the conceptual and practical meanings of policy convergence in the context of efforts to harmonise biosafety systems across various regions of Africa.

The inclusion of the socio-economic aspects in environmental decision-making has been practiced since the early seventies. The interactions between the environment and society, the growing demand for social responsibility and the pledge towards sustainable development are some of its drivers. However, in multilateral environmental agreements, particularly in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), the integration of socio-economic matters in decision-making has been difficult and contentions.

Socio-economic considerations are important components for careful decision-making to ensure that society enjoys the benefits of modern technology while minimising or avoiding its potential costs. However, in many parts of the world, information and analysis of the social and economic impacts of modern biotechnology are lagging behind. There is little experience in dealing with these issues in actual decision-making processes.

Azospirillum bio-fertilisers as a source of nutrients bring multifarious advantages for the poor farmers including affordability, environmental safety and sustainability of agriculture systems.

This article studies the development of the Non-Pesticidal Management Project (NPM) that emerged in the late 1980s in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district of the semi-arid region Telengana as a response to accumulating agrarian distress, when chemical pesticides did not help to counter massive pest infestations.

Biotechnology offers many benefits, but only nineteen developing countries have commercially approved the planting of genetically engineered crops. Outreach and educational programmes could help prepare stakeholders in developing countries to influence biotechnology policies. Faculty at Michigan State University (MSU) developed a two-week course that was taught 14 times from 2002 to 2010 for 251 participants from 58 countries.

The omnipresent existence of human-nature relationship all over India has been grossly neglected as a tool for conservation management. The sacred groves, patches of forests conserved due to associated religious faith have been described by foresters, travelers, anthropologists, ecologists for more than two hundred years from different parts of the country. The sacred grove institution in the Western Ghats of India which has been nurtured by the local communities has been serving as ecological refugia for a range of species and habitat of the Western Ghats.

Plant genetic resources (PGR) scientists now recognize the importance of shifting from a singular focus on conservation to a focus on both conservation and utilization of germplasm in order to meet future challenges.

Limitations of the national law in remedying biopiracy led to the negotiations on an international regime in Access and Benefi Sharing. The deliberations were stuck for a long time due to the extreme divergent views of the developed countries on the one hand and of the biodiversity rich developing countries on the other.

This paper explores recent episodes in the field of biotechnology research as regards intellectual property rights. It argues that public research institutes develop schizophrenic intellectual property policies.