Biology without borders... one backyard at a time

Just out today in Nature, there are a few of pieces that are highly relevant to last week's discussion.

There is an editorial that highlights the upcoming global summit on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan, which will be focusing on the agendas of the international Convention on Biological Diversity. The piece ends with:

"The global picture is gloomy. But if each country can empower the citizens and international research communities that focus on local threats, using the tools of all the sciences, there could be movement rather than paralysis."

Also, check out this comment written by David E. Schindel. He is the executive secretary of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, an international initiative devoted to developing DNA barcoding as a global standard for the identification of biological species, established in 2004 with 200 Member Organizations from 50 countries. It operates from a Secretariat Office located in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

And, there is a news article "Biodiversity hope faces extinction: Upcoming meeting will set out global conservation targets." which provides more detailed information on the meeting.