The vulnerability of World Heritage seagrass habitats to climate change.

Seagrass is an important natural attribute of 28 World Heritage (WH) properties. These WH seagrass habitats provide a wide range of services to adjacent ecosystems and human communities, and are one of the largest natural carbon sinks on the planet. Climate change is considered the greatest and fastest-growing threat to natural WH properties and evidence of climate-related impacts on seagrass habitats has been growing. The main objective of this study was to assess the vulnerability of WH seagrass habitats to location-specific key climate stressors. Quantitative surveys of seagrass experts and site managers were used to assess exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of WH seagrass habitats to climate stressors, following the Climate Vulnerability Index approach. Over half of WH seagrass habitats have high vulnerability to climate change, mainly from the long-term increase in sea-surface temperature and short-term marine heatwaves. Potential impacts from climate change and certainty scores associated with them were higher than reported by a similar survey-based study from 10 years prior, indicating a shift in stakeholder perspectives during the past decade. Additionally, seagrass experts' opinions on the cumulative impacts of climate and direct-anthropogenic stressors revealed that high temperature in combination with high suspended sediments, eutrophication and hypoxia is likely to provoke a synergistic cumulative (negative) impact (p < .05). A key component contributing to the high vulnerability assessments was the low adaptive capacity; however, discrepancies between adaptive capacity scores and qualitative responses suggest that managers of WH seagrass habitats might not be adequately equipped to respond to climate change impacts. This thematic assessment provides valuable information to help prioritize conservation actions, monitoring activities and research in WH seagrass habitats. It also demonstrates the utility of a systematic framework to evaluate the vulnerability of thematic groups of protected areas that share a specific attribute.

Global geodiversity components are not equally represented in UNESCO Global Geoparks.

The aim of UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGs) is to protect globally significant geoheritage and geodiversity, but quantitative evidence on the global representativeness of geodiversity components (i.e. geology, soils, geomorphology and hydrology) in these geoparks is in short supply. Here, we provide a first assessment by deriving a global map of geodiversity to test whether the presence of geodiversity components in UGGs is representative for the global availability and distribution of geodiversity. Using openly accessible global datasets and a newly developed workflow, we have calculated metrics for each geodiversity component and a global geodiversity index; we then quantified whether UGGs represent global geodiversity and then compared their components to a randomized spatial distribution of geoparks. Our results show that lithological and topographical diversity are more represented in UGGs than outside these sites, while soil type and hydrological diversity are not significantly different. Furthermore, individual soil types and lithological classes are under-represented and unevenly distributed in Asian and European UGGs. This is probably caused by the concentration of geoparks in Asian and European mountains. To better conserve geodiversity, we suggest an initiative to consider the protection and representation of all geodiversity components in their global context. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Geodiversity for science and society'.

Sustainability consciousness among nursing students in Egypt: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Recognizing nurses as pivotal change agents and urgent preparation for the next generation is crucial for addressing sustainability issues and cultivating a sustainable healthcare system. Reports highlight gaps in the integration of sustainable development goals (SDGs) into nursing curricula, prompting the International Council of Nurses to stress the importance of sustainable development in nursing education. The extent to which nursing students are aware of sustainability issues remains to be determined. This study addresses a global and Egyptian research gap by evaluating and comparing Sustainability Consciousness (SC) levels among nursing students at three universities, providing insights into awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to sustainability. METHODS: This descriptive comparative study was conducted across three nursing faculties within three Egyptian public universities. The target population for this study was undergraduate nursing students enrolled in these universities during the academic year 2022-2023. This study used the extended version of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ-L) to measure individuals' knowingness, attitudes, and behaviors related to the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, social, and economic. RESULTS: More than half of the nursing students across the three universities expressed unfamiliarity with the SDGs. Social media was the most common source of information across the three universities. Sohag University recorded the highest median (IQR) scores in sustainability knowingness (72.0, IQR: 70.0-81.0), attitudes (56.0, IQR: 53.0-61.5), and behavior (65.0, IQR: 60.0-69.0) across their respective dimensions, as well as in overall SC (195, IQR: 184.5-208.5). This was followed by Damanhour University, with a median score of 179.0 (IQR: 124.5-194), and then Alexandria University, with a median score of 116.0 (IQR: 85.5-153), all of which were significantly different (all with p values=0.000). Older students from rural areas exhibited higher SC median scores, while students with insufficient family income and no familiarity with the SDGs had lower SC scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted the prevalent reliance on social media for information among nursing students across these universities, emphasizing the pivotal role of academic institutions in integrating sustainability development concepts in nursing education. Sohag University's notable commitment to sustainability practices has contributed to the higher SC of its students compared to Alexandria and Damanhour Universities. The study also identified age, place of residence, family income, and familiarity with the SDGs as consistent predictors of sustainability consciousness.

Decolonizing Botany: Indonesia, UNESCO, and the Making of a Global Science.

Decolonization created new opportunities for international scientific research collaboration. In Indonesia this began in the late 1940s, as Indonesian scientists and officials sought to remake the formerly colonial botanical gardens in the city of Bogor into an international research center. Indonesia sponsored the Flora Malesiana project, a flora of all of island Southeast Asia. This project was formally centered in Bogor, Indonesia, with participation from tropical botanists from around the world. The international orientation of Indonesian science led to the establishment of one of UNESCO's Field Science Co-operation Offices in Jakarta, and to a period of close collaboration between Indonesian botanists and UNESCO. This paper examines the importance of UNESCO's Humid Tropics research program, which initially provided further opportunities for Indonesian botanists to participate in international scientific networks. The paper concludes by showing that the Humid Tropics program led to the slow erosion of Indonesian agency and authority over tropical botany, and the assertion of Western control and management over tropical botany research.

Literacy: A lever for citizenship?

Within citizenship education, literacy is often promoted in a narrow functional sense of skills for civic engagement or is used synonymously with "knowledge" to refer to an awareness-raising process around rights. Through an analysis of evolving models of citizenship, this article moves beyond literacy for citizenship to consider the ways in which literacy learning can emerge through active citizenship. Drawing on published ethnographic studies of literacy in everyday life to analyse both the symbolic and instrumental meanings of literacy in specific contexts, the author introduces a social practice lens on literacy and citizenship. She explores the pedagogical implications for literacy within citizenship education, particularly in relation to informal learning of "real literacies", critical digital literacy to distinguish "fake news" and literature as a way of entering someone else's experiences. UNESCO's current vision for global citizenship education as nurturing empathy and understanding between peoples implies that literacy providers need to recognise participants as not only consumers, but as co-constructors of texts.

L'alphabétisation, un levier de la citoyenneté ? ­ Dans le domaine de l'éducation à la citoyenneté, soit l'alphabétisation fait souvent l'objet d'une promotion dans le sens fonctionnel étroit de l'acquisition de compétences favorisant l'engagement civique, soit elle est employée comme synonyme de « savoir ¼ renvoyant à un processus de sensibilisation lié aux droits. En analysant les modèles de citoyenneté qui évoluent, cet article va au-delà de l'alphabétisation pour la citoyenneté et examine les façons dont l'alphabétisation peut apparaître par le biais de la citoyenneté active. L'autrice s'appuie sur des études ethnographiques sur l'alphabétisation dans la vie quotidienne pour analyser les significations symboliques et instrumentales de l'alphabétisation dans des contextes spécifiques et éclaire l'alphabétisation et la citoyenneté du point de vue des pratiques sociales. Elle examine les implications pédagogiques pour l'alphabétisation dans le cadre de l'éducation à la citoyenneté, notamment en ce qui concerne l'apprentissage informel d'« alphabétisations réelles ¼, l'alphabétisation numérique critique pour distinguer les « infox ¼ et la littérature comme moyen de pénétrer dans l'expérience d'un autre. La vision actuelle de l'UNESCO selon laquelle l'éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale nourrit l'empathie et favorise la compréhension entre les peuples implique que les prestataires d'alphabétisation ne considèrent pas les participants uniquement comme des consommateurs, mais qu'ils voient en eux des co-constructeurs de textes.

Phototrophic and fungal communities inhabiting the Roman cryptoporticus of the national museum Machado de Castro (UNESCO site, Coimbra, Portugal).

Caves are oligotrophic environments, characterized by constant temperatures, high humidity and low natural light. However, microbial shifts can still happen in such environments, especially with the increase in tourist activity and implementation of artificial lights, making caves even more susceptible to environmental changes. As a result, proliferation of phototrophic organisms can increase dramatically, leading to their settlement on stone surfaces, which in turn facilitates the development of heterotrophic organisms, such as fungi and bacteria. The Roman Cryptoporticus of the National Museum Machado de Castro, erected by the Romans in the 1st or second century, is one of the most emblematic buildings in the city of Coimbra. However, the majority of the rooms that constitute this monument show signs of biodeterioration by microalgae and cyanobacteria as well as of fungi. The aim of this study was to characterize the phototrophic and fungal communities at this site, employing culture-dependent and-independent methodologies. Culture-dependent results showed that the phototrophic communities were mainly composed of green microalgae, whereas the culture-independent showed that cyanobacteria were the most dominant. As to the fungal communities, both approaches identified various entomopathogenic fungal species. In addition, the culture-independent analysis also allowed to verify the presence of animal reads, suggesting the hypothesis that animal vectored dispersion can play an important role in the development of fungi at this environment.

Stronger together: understanding and protecting karst resources.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized more than 350 karst areas of global importance through various designations (Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites, and Global Geoparks) with at least one UNESCO protected area with karst in 86 countries (Gunn 2020). In August 2020, Western Kentucky University, the George Wright Society, and the UNESCO Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region hosted Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources: A Virtual Workshop on Sustainability and Community in support of UNESCO science programs. The purpose of this meeting was to enhance communication and the sharing of ideas and resources between major conservation and science programs that protect, study, or manage cave and karst resources, with particular interest to those of international significance. This special issue is published in celebration and support of the UIS International Year of Caves and Karst and as a call-to-action to better explore, understand, and protect the value of cave and karst areas to humanity in both our everyday lives as well as our natural and cultural heritage.

Revisiting the Faure report: Contemporary legacy and challenged legitimacy.

Since its publication in 1972, the Faure report has been regarded as a foundational text on the subject of lifelong learning, offering a plethora of ideas and repertoires. This article contemplates why and how the notions of self-fulfilment and self-learning are interrelated and profoundly important in understanding contemporary lifelong learning discourses, and how both have been appropriated by subsequent policy texts embedded in neoliberal thinking. The author argues that pursuing lifelong learning for self-fulfilment becomes voluntary self-exploitation as the individual's desire to learn unwittingly becomes driven by the instinct to survive and thrive in neoliberal socio-political environments. He also demonstrates that the ideas and repertoires provided in the Faure report function as a fertile ground for lifelong learning discourses, even though the abundant mix of ideas and propositions make it difficult to view the report as an ideologically coherent and conceptually tight-knit blueprint for the future of education. Nonetheless, the author argues that the legacy of the Faure report is still valid beyond its historical specificity. He points out that when read within the context of the unprecedented worldwide experience of COVID-19, the Faure report's proposition and reservations regarding mass media and cybernetics can shed light on the potential for contemporary technologies to strengthen emancipatory experiences of lifelong learning. Reflecting on this, he suggests that it is necessary to think collectively about how we can appreciate and harness technological innovation as an emancipatory tool to liberate ourselves from ignorance and prejudice through borderless and limitless connections to others, and to learn how to live with them.

Réétudier le rapport Faure : un héritage contemporain et une légitimité remise en question ­ Depuis sa publication en 1972, le rapport Faure fait figure de texte fondateur sur l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie au sujet duquel il offre pléthore d'idées et de répertoires. Le présent article examine non seulement pourquoi et comment les notions d'épanouissement personnel et d'autoapprentissage sont interdépendantes et profondément essentielles pour comprendre les discours sur l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie, mais aussi comment les textes politiques ultérieurs ancrés dans la pensée néolibérale se les sont appropriées. L'auteur affirme qu'apprendre tout au long de la vie dans une optique d'épanouissement personnel devient une autoexploitation volontaire étant donné que le souhait de la personne d'apprendre incidemment est mu par l'instinct de survie et de réussite dans des environnements sociopolitiques néolibéraux. Il démontre aussi que les idées et répertoires présentés dans le rapport Faure servent de terreau fertile aux discours sur l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie bien que la profusion d'idées et propositions rendent difficile de le considérer pour l'avenir de l'éducation comme un plan cohérent sur le plan idéologique et rigoureux du point de vue conceptuel. Néanmoins, l'auteur affirme que l'héritage du rapport Faure conserve sa validité au-delà de sa spécificité historique. Il indique que lu dans le contexte de la covid-19, une expérience sans précédent dans le monde entier, la proposition et les réserves du rapport Faure concernant les médias de masse et la cybernétique peuvent fournir un éclairage sur ce que les technologies contemporaines sont susceptibles d'apporter pour renforcer les expériences émancipatrices de l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie. En se penchant sur la question, il indique qu'il est nécessaire de réfléchir collectivement à la façon d'apprécier et d'exploiter les innovations technologiques en tant qu'outils émancipateurs pour nous affranchir de l'ignorance et des préjugés en créant des liens sans frontières et illimités avec les autres, et en apprenant comment vivre avec eux.

Huxleyan utopia or Huxleyan dystopia? "Scientific humanism", Faure's legacy and the ascendancy of neuroliberalism in education.

In addition to the longstanding threat posed by narrow economism, faith in the possibility of peace and progress through democratic politics - central to the humanistic vision of the 1972 Faure report - today faces additional challenges. These challenges include the ascendancy of neurocentrism in the global policyscape. Whereas the effects of neoliberalism on education have been extensively critiqued, the implications of a newer, related ideological framework known as neuroliberalism remain under-theorised. Neuroliberalism combines neoliberal ideas concerning the role of markets in addressing social problems with beliefs about human nature ostensibly grounded in the behavioural, psychological and neurological sciences. This article critically examines a recent initiative of one of UNESCO's Category 1 Institutes - the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) - that seeks to mainstream neuroscience and digital technology within global educational policy. Comparing the visions of the 1972 Faure, the 1996 Delors and the 2021 Futures of Education reports with MGIEP's International Science and Evidence Based Education Assessment (ISEEA), the authors analyse continuity and change in UNESCO's attempts to articulate a vision of "scientific humanism" which advocates the use of science for the betterment of humanity. They argue that ISEEA's overall recommendations - as represented in its Summary for Decision Makers (SDM) - reinforce a reductive, depoliticised vision of education which threatens to exacerbate educational inequality while enhancing the profits and power of Big Tech. These recommendations exemplify a neuroliberal turn in global education policy discourse, marking a stark departure from the central focus on ethics and democratic politics characteristic of UNESCO's landmark education reports. Reanimating, in cruder form, visions of a scientifically-organised utopia of the kind that attracted UNESCO's inaugural Director-General, Julian Huxley, ISEEA's recommendations actually point towards the sort of dystopian "brave new world" of which his brother, Aldous Huxley, warned.

Utopie huxleyenne ou dystopie huxleyenne? « L'humanisme scientifique ¼, l'héritage de Faure et la montée du néolibéralisme dans l'éducation ­ Outre faire face à la menace que pose depuis longtemps l'économisme étroit, la foi dans la possibilité que la politique démocratique peut produire paix et progrès ­ un pilier de la vision humaniste du rapport Faure paru en 1972 ­ se heurte aujourd'hui à d'autres défis, entre autres à la montée du neurocentrisme dans le champ politique mondial. Tandis que les effets du néolibéralisme sur l'éducation ont été abondamment critiqués, peu d'hypothèses ont été formulées au sujet de ce qu'implique une notion plus récente, mais liée à lui sur le plan idéologique et connue sous le nom de neurolibéralisme. Le neurolibéralisme associe des idées néolibérales sur le rôle des marchés pour résoudre des problèmes sociaux avec la conviction que la nature humaine est prétendument ancrée dans les sciences comportementales, psychologiques et neurologiques. Cet article porte un regard critique sur une initiative récente d'un des instituts de catégorie 1 de l'UNESCO, l'Institut Mahatma Gandhi d'éducation pour la paix et le développement durable (MGIEP), qui cherche à intégrer les neurosciences et la technologie du numérique dans la politique mondiale de l'éducation. Les auteurs comparent les visions des rapports Faure en 1972 et Delors en 1996 et du rapport de 2021 sur les futurs de l'éducation avec l'évaluation internationale de l'éducation basée sur la science et des éléments concrets (ISEEA) réalisée par le MGIEP, pour analyser la continuité et les changements dans les tentatives de l'UNESCO d'articuler une vision de « l'humanisme scientifique ¼ prônant d'utiliser la science pour améliorer l'humanité. Ils avancent que les recommandations principales de l'ISEEA, telles que l'évaluation les présente dans son récapitulatif à l'intention des décideurs, renforce une vision réductrice et dépolitisée de l'éducation, qui menace d'exacerber les inégalités en matière d'éducation tout en accroissant les profits et la puissance des big tech. Ces recommandations illustrent un tournant neurolibéral dans le discours mondial sur la politique de l'éducation, qui se démarque absolument de l'intérêt central pour l'éthique et la politique démocratique, caractéristiques des rapports historiques de l'UNESCO sur l'éducation. Ravivant, sous une forme plus rudimentaire, des visions d'une utopie structurée scientifiquement du type de celles qui attiraient le premier directeur général de l'UNESCO, Julian Huxley, les recommandations de l'ISEEA laissent en réalité entrevoir la sorte de « meilleur des mondes ¼ dystopique contre laquelle son frère, Aldous Huxley, mettait en garde.

Finnish UNESCO school educators' understanding of global citizenship education: Analysis through typologies, ecosocial understanding, and human rights.

This article sheds light on the unexplored field of UNESCO schools in Finland, and the results clarify the relationships between curricula, international commitments, and the understanding of educators in the educational field. It examines how teachers and principals of UNESCO's Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) in Finland describe their understanding of the role of global citizenship education (GCE). It draws on the typology proposed by Oxley and Morris in which forms of global education are divided into cosmopolitan types and-more critically-advocacy types and subtypes. The article also draws on concepts connected to GCE in the Finnish curricula (namely, ecosocial understanding and human rights). Findings indicate that educators perceived equality, democracy, and ecological sustainability as part of UNESCO schools and their own work. On the other hand, the need for increasing student-centered approaches was noted, racism was perceived as a difficult topic, and active deconstruction of inequalities was less referenced. When analyzing the results through typologies of global citizenship, the critical, spiritual, and economic aspects of GCE received less attention.

The Double Legacy of Bernalism in Science Diplomacy.

Recent debates in the history of science aimed at reconstructing the history of scientific diplomacy have privileged the analysis of forms of diplomacy coming from above. Instead, the objective of this paper is to raise awareness of these debates by looking at attempts at scientific diplomacy from below. Such a shift in perspective might allow us to observe the impact of marginalized social agents on the construction of international diplomatic choices. This article particularly focuses attention on how the legacy of Bernalism has fostered the emergence of two different types of science diplomacy. On the one hand, Bernalism has influenced the goals of organizations such as UNESCO and the World Peace Council, which are forms of science diplomacy I would term from above. On the other hand, Bernalism has also been at the origin of radical scientific movements that I propose to interpret as forms of scientific diplomacy from below. These have, in fact, played a cardinal role not only in raising public awareness of the social and political roles of science, but also in the more direct participation of scientists in defining the political objectives of their research activity. From this point of view, I analyze how an association like the World Federation of Scientific Workers proposed (at least in the beginning) greater democratic participation than the top-down structures of other forms of scientific internationalism.

Trends in seabird breeding populations across the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is an iconic ecosystem, known globally for its rich marine biodiversity that includes many thousands of tropical breeding seabirds. Despite indications of localized declines in some seabird species from as early as the mid-1990s, trends in seabird populations across the reef have never been quantified. With a long history of human impact and ongoing environmental change, seabirds are likely sentinels in this important ecosystem. Using 4 decades of monitoring data, we estimated site-specific trends for 9 seabird species from 32 islands and cays across the reef. Trends varied markedly among species and sites, but probable declines occurred at 45% of the 86 species-by-site combinations analyzed compared with increases at 14%. For 5 species, we combined site-specific trends into a multisite trend in scaled abundance, which revealed probable declines of Common Noddy (Anous stolidus), Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus), and Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), but no long-term changes in the 2 most widely distributed species, Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) and Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster). For Brown Booby, long-term stability largely resulted from increases at a single large colony on East Fairfax Island that offset declines at most other sites. Although growth of the Brown Booby population on East Fairfax points to the likely success of habitat restoration on the island, it also highlights a general vulnerability wherein large numbers of some species are concentrated at a small number of key sites. Identifying drivers of variation in population change across species and sites while ensuring long-term protection of key sites will be essential to securing the future of seabirds on the reef.

Tendencias en las Poblaciones de Aves Marinas Reproductoras a lo largo de la Gran Barrera de Arrecifes Resumen La Gran Barrera de Arrecife es un ecosistema icónico, conocido mundialmente por la riqueza de biodiversidad marina que incluye a miles de aves marinas tropicales en reproducción. A pesar de las indicaciones de la declinación localizada de algunas especies de aves marinas que datan desde tan temprano como mediados de la década de 1990, nunca se han cuantificado las tendencias de las poblaciones de aves marinas a lo largo del arrecife. Con una larga historia de impacto antropogénico y el cambio climático en curso, las aves marinas son los probables centinelas de este importante ecosistema. Usamos cuatro décadas de datos de monitoreo para estimar las tendencias específicas de sitio para nueve especies de aves marinas en 32 islas y cayos en todo el arrecife. Las tendencias variaron notablemente entre especies y sitios, aunque las declinaciones probables ocurrieron en 45% de las 86 combinaciones de especie por sitio analizadas en comparación con los incrementos al 14%. Combinamos las tendencias específicas de sitio para cinco especies con una tendencia multisitio con abundancia escalada. Lo anterior reveló declinaciones probables para las siguientes especies: Anous stolidus, Onychoprion fuscatus y Sula dactylatra, pero ningún cambio a largo plazo para las dos especies con mayor distribución: Thalasseus bergii y Sula leucogaster. Para Sula leucogaster, la estabilidad a largo plazo resultó principalmente de los incrementos en una gran colonia única en la isla Fairfax del Este, la cual compensó las declinaciones en casi todos los demás sitios. Aunque el crecimiento de la población de Sula leucogaster en la isla Fairfax del Este apunta hacia el éxito probable de la restauración del hábitat en la isla, también resalta una vulnerabilidad general en la que los grandes números de algunas especies están concentrados en un número reducido de sitios importantes. La identificación de los causantes de la variación en los cambios poblacionales en las especies y en los sitios mientras se asegura la protección a largo plazo de los sitios importantes será esencial para asegurar el futuro de las aves marinas del arrecife.

Mediterranean diet as intangible heritage of humanity: 10 years on.

Ten years ago the Mediterranean diet was inscribed into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This official recognition of the Mediterranean diet as intangible cultural heritage, and awareness of its significance, has provided us with a measure with which to monitor our path in the field. Indeed, the last ten years has seen several undertakings with varying implications in the years to come. Emphasis on safeguarding the intangible heritage of the Mediterranean diet and activities to avoid possible erosions which may affect it at a national, regional and local level have taken centre stage. Preserving our heritage also recognized the importance of further research and we ask what needs to be focused on over the next ten years. Gradually, several myths and misconceptions associated with the traditional Mediterranean diet have emerged and should be clearly addressed and dispelled, particularly those that label as "Mediterranean" an eating pattern that is not in line with the traditional diet. Going beyond physical health benefits, the Mediterranean diet naturally infuses any reference to 'Sustainability' by pure definition as ideally, sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically affordable, nutritionally adequate, and safe and healthy. As our 'Regional' Mediterranean diet becomes the base for a global reference diet with all the acknowledged benefits, we agree that 'humanity as a whole' will benefit from its preservation and scientific-based evidence. A true 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity'.

Protecting the Health of Future Generations as a Global Bioethical Principle: A Broad Protestant Perspective.

In the development of the Universal Declarations of Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR) of UNESCO, the Protestant tradition did not participate in the conversation. This treatise is a humble contribution. The global community is convinced that the present generation can have a positive and negative impact on future generations. Article 16 of the UDBHR expresses serious concern about the negative impact of technology in the context of the human, animal and plant genome in particular, as well as the environment in general. The Protestant concept of the covenant provides a solid theological grounding for article 16 of the UDBHR. In light of this reasoning, article 16 of the UDBHR, which has the purpose of promoting the health of future generations, can fully be defended by Protestant ethics and included in the prophetic message of the Protestant faith tradition.

Neotropical Melyroidea group cockroaches reveal various degrees of (eu)sociality.

Eusociality in its various degrees represents an animal social system characterised by cooperative brood care, differentiation into castes and generational overlap. The fossil record indicates that eusociality is likely to have originated in hymenopterans and blattodeans during the Cretaceous. In this study, we present findings from surveys in Peruvian (Villa Carmen) and Ecuadorian (Rio Bigal, El Reventador) cloud forests revealing the first extant cockroach species living in complex, structured groups (n = 90-200 individuals, ˃ 20 adults). We observed and described behaviours that suggest the existence of cooperative care, nest guarding, nest chamber preparation within hardwood Casearia sp. (Salicaceae) and bamboo (Bambusoideae), multiple overlapping generations ('different stages of' instars), colony translocation, possibly a sole reproductive female (1.25 times larger white 'queen', but no potential 'king' observed), and morphologically diversified immature stages. In order to define the lineage where this type of sociality originated and occurs, the forms of Melyroidea magnifica Shelford, 1912, M. ecuadoriana sp. n., M. mimetica Shelford, 1912 and an undescribed species from Peru are also described in a separate section of this study. Blattoid morphological characteristics such as typical styli suggest categorisation within distinct Oulopterygidae (Rehn, 1951), outside Corydiidae Saussure 1864. Transitional advanced sociality or semisociality in related Aclavoidea socialis gen. et sp. n. is documented in a rotting stump (n = 80 individuals, few adults). Close phylogenetic relation between the genera, conserved morphology of numerous characters and their diverse feeding strategies generally lacking specialisation suggests a rather recent origin of a social way of life in this group. Eusociality in invertebrates and vertebrates can thus originate in various phylogenetical and ecological trajectories including predation, parasitism, care for herbs and the new one, documented through diet shift from detritivory to fungivory and algaevory. Interdisciplinary approaches reveal the low degree of knowledge of rainforest ecosystems, with fundamental groups remaining still systematically and also behaviourally undescribed.

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement as a threat to iconic protected areas.

Protected areas (PAs) are expected to conserve nature and provide ecosystem services in perpetuity, yet widespread protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) may compromise these objectives. Even iconic protected areas are vulnerable to PADDD, although these PADDD events are often unrecognized. We identified 23 enacted and proposed PADDD events within World Natural Heritage Sites and examined the history, context, and consequences of PADDD events in 4 iconic PAs (Yosemite National Park, Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, Yasuní National Park, and Virunga National Park). Based on insights from published research and international workshops, these 4 cases revealed the diverse pressures brought on by competing interests to develop or exploit natural landscapes and the variety of mechanisms that enables PADDD. Knowledge gaps exist in understanding of the conditions through which development pressures translate to PADDD events and their impacts, partially due to a lack of comprehensive PADDD records. Future research priorities should include comprehensive regional and country-level profiles and analysis of risks, impacts, and contextual factors related to PADDD. Policy options to better govern PADDD include improving tracking and reporting of PADDD events, establishing transparent PADDD policy processes, coordinating among legal frameworks, and mitigating negative impacts of PADDD. To support PADDD research and policy reforms, enhanced human and financial capacities are needed to train local researchers and to host publicly accessible data. As the conservation community considers the achievements of Aichi Target 11 and moves toward new biodiversity targets beyond 2020, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to work together to better track, assess, and govern PADDD globally.

Cambios de Categoría, Reducción del Tamaño y Eliminación de las Listas de Protección como Amenazas para las Áreas Protegidas Icónicas Resumen Se espera que las áreas protegidas (PAs, en inglés) conserven la naturaleza y proporcionen servicios ambientales a perpetuidad, sin embargo las extensas prácticas de reducción del tamaño, eliminación de las listas de protección y cambios de categoría de las áreas protegidas (PADDD, en inglés) pueden poner en riesgo a estos objetivos. Incluso las áreas protegidas icónicas son vulnerables a los PADDD, aunque estos eventos de PADDD comúnmente no se reconocen. Identificamos 23 eventos de PADDDD promulgados y propuestos dentro de sitios de Patrimonio Natural Mundial y examinamos la historia, el contexto y las consecuencias de los eventos PADDD en cuatro PAs icónicas (el Parque Nacional Yosemite, el Santuario del Oryx Árabe, el Parque Nacional Yasuní y el Parque Nacional Virunga). Con base en el conocimiento obtenido de investigaciones publicadas y talleres internacionales, estos cuatro casos revelaron las diferentes presiones que traen consigo los intereses en competencia por desarrollar o explotar los paisajes naturales y la variedad de mecanismos que faciliten las PADDD. Existen vacíos de conocimiento en el entendimiento de las condiciones a través de las cuales las presiones del desarrollo se transforman en eventos PADDD y los impactos que tienen, parcialmente debido a la falta de registros completos de los eventos PADDD. Las prioridades de las próximas investigaciones deberían incluir perfiles completos a nivel regional y nacional y un análisis de riesgo, impactos y factores contextuales relacionados con los PADDD. Las opciones políticas para gobernar de mejor manera los PADDD incluyen la mejora del rastreo y del reporte de eventos PADDD, el establecimiento de procesos políticos transparentes para los PADDD, la coordinación entre los marcos de trabajo legales y la mitigación de los impactos negativos de los PADDD. Para apoyar la investigación de los PADDD y las reformas políticas se requiere de una mayor capacidad humana y financiera para entrenar a los investigadores locales y para acoger datos accesibles para el público. Conforme la comunidad de la conservación considera los logros del Objetivo 11 de Aichi y se posiciona hacia nuevos objetivos para la biodiversidad más allá del 2020, los investigadores, los practicantes y los legisladores necesitan trabajar en conjunto para rastrear, evaluar y gobernar de mejor manera los PADDD a nivel mundial.

An Investigation of the Critical Events and Influential Factors to the Evolution of the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program.

The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program has operated for 45 years as an international program that started in the 1970s to conserve biotic communities and provide areas for research, education, and training. The program later evolved in the 1990s to address social and environmental issues in a sustainable manner across a landscape. This program was one of the first efforts that recognized the importance of working beyond park and protected area boundaries and the need to sustain livelihoods as much as the resources. In the MAB program's infancy, the United States (U.S.) was a major advocate and leader with more than 45 biosphere reserves, most of them established in or around 1976. Yet, many political, economic, and other external factors influenced the U.S. MAB involvement in subsequent years. Consequently, the U.S. has remained largely inactive in the international MAB network for the past fifteen years until a recent push to revive the program under the leadership of the State Department and the National Park Service. Through in-depth research on two longterm U.S. biosphere reserves, this paper provides a description of the key events impacting the U.S. MAB program over the past several decades and discusses the influential role of politics, a public image, and the perceptions of international designations. Through the lessons presented in this paper, recommendations are provided to support the revival of the MAB program in the U.S.

Analysis of the Governance Structures in Japan's Biosphere Reserves: Perspectives from Bottom-Up and Multilevel Characteristics.

This paper analyzes the governance structures of Biosphere Reserves (BRs) in Japan by focusing on six criteria that elucidate the main characteristics therein: general information (nomination process, year of designation, size, and population), legal frameworks, stakeholder identification, and decision-making processes (number of municipalities and role of consociation), administrative institutions (human resources, budgetary situation, and expense distribution), executed BR implementation activities, and participatory/collaborative frameworks. This research consists of a literature review, a questionnaire administered to the secretariats of seven existing BRs and follow-up interviews. Three main characteristics of BRs were identified. First, a responsible local government(s) is nominated to manage the BR rather than the central government. Consequently, BR implementation in Japan is led by those municipalities that have strong motivations for regional development using the BR concept. Second, two types of BR governance structures exist in Japan: the single municipality type and the multi-municipality type. All BRs have so called Kyougikai, a consociation for decision-making, consultation and/or collaboration among stakeholders. In the single municipality structure, the consociation includes diverse actors from private and community sectors, while in the multi-municipality structure, consociations are based in more diplomatic settings and only include members of the public sector. Third, gaps between pre/post-Seville BR implementation sites were identified. The motivations for the formation of pre-Seville BRs, which were designated in 1980 in a top-down fashion prior to an awareness of BRs, varied greatly from those BRs nominated by municipalities after 2010. The authors identified fewer administrative resources and activities associated with the pre-Seville sites.

Detection of rabbit Haemorrhagic disease virus 2 during the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) eradication from the Berlengas archipelago, Portugal.

BACKGROUND: In the regular wildlife monitoring action carried out in the summer of the past few years at the Berlenga Island, wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) have been repeatedly found dead. However, the origin of those deaths was never investigated. Our aim was to investigate the cause of death of 11 rabbits collected between April and May 2016. RESULTS: While screening samples from rabbit carcasses for the major viral rabbit pathogens, five tested positive to RHDV2 but all were negative for RHDV and myxoma virus (MYXV). For six RHDV2-negative specimens, emaciation and parasitism were considered the most probable cause of death. Lesions identified in the RHDV2-positive rabbits included non-suppurative diffuse hepatic necrosis and pulmonary lesions varying from congestion and oedema of the lungs to interstitial pneumonia. Sequencing analysis of the vp60 gene obtained from two specimens showed identical vp60 sequences. Comparison with other known RHDV2 strains from public databases through BLAST analysis revealed a closer similarity with strains from Alentejo collected during 2013. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis showed that the 2016 strains from the archipelago have a higher resemblance with a group of strains mostly collected in the South of Portugal between 2013 and 2014. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that RHDV2 may have been introduced on the Berlenga Island a few years ago, having evolved separately from mainland strains due to insularity.

A socio-environmental monitoring system for a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

To identify potentially critical changes in an area's ongoing ability to produce multiple ecosystem services, a monitoring system was designed and implemented for the Mornington Peninsula and Westernport Biosphere Reserve in southeast Australia. The system is underpinned by an "environmental vital signs" (EVS) approach that was adopted to provide early warning of critical changes in human and natural characteristics of the area. The six themes monitored are non-coastal water, land including vegetation, biodiversity, natural heritage, built environment (including human population and economic activity), and coasts. These are monitored for the entire area, and each of its five constituent town council areas. After a critical change in any of these is identified, further investigation is required to identify causal factors and, if required, determine an appropriate response. The system relies on data available from external (third-party) organisations to monitor the natural and human characteristics of the area that were important in its designation as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Strengths and weaknesses associated with the use of third-party data are discussed. These include adoption of baseline years and data reporting periods for different factors, costs, and data quality.