[List of Publications]

[Annual Report 97:
Table of Contents]

Many genetic resources data collected in developing countries remain under-utilised because of limited accessibility to user-friendly analytical software.
In 1994 CIFOR developed a Windows-driven user-friendly population genetics analysis package, in collaboration with the University of Alberta. During this past year, the package, called POPGENE, has become increasingly popular, and is now used in many institutions around the world for analysis of data on trees, agricultural crops, fish and wildlife. In 1997 the package was made available on the internet thereby greatly improving its accessibility.

What is a carbon market?

Forests are the largest repositories of carbon on the terrestrial earth. The element, which is the key to the carbon cycle is life’s foundation, is stored in plants and trees of the forest, both above and below ground. Global interest is increasing in the idea of financial markets in carbon sequestration. Governments or corporations in places of great carbon use (such as Europe or USA) would balance their high emission rate by purchasing ‘pollution rights’ to lands elsewhere (such as in the tropics) and paying people to grow or re-grow forests on them, thereby conserving carbon and providing a planet-wide environmental service. Theoretically, one action would offset the other, and money could change hands in the transaction.

Project 6