This article examines the opportunities for using several forms of modern biotechnology to improve orphan crops in developing countries. These crops, including tef, millets, cowpea, and indigenous vegetables, fruits, roots, and tubers, tend to be locally important, but receive little public or private investment. Recent advances in the fields of genetics and genomics provide a more unified understanding of the biology of plants. We summarize some important ways in which genetic technologies can be harnessed for orphan crops and provide examples of potential genetic and genomics research that is likely to benefit poor regions. Finally, we suggest policies that could help create incentives for application of advanced science to orphan crops.

Global environmental change and sustainability science increasingly recognize the need to address the consequences of changes taking place in the structure and function of the biosphere. These changes raise questions such as: Who and what are vulnerable to the multiple environmental changes underday, and where? Research demonstrates that vulnerability is registered not by exposure to hazards (perturbations and stresses) along but also resides in the sensitivity and resilience of the system experiencing such hazards. This recognition requires revisions and enlargements in the basic design of vulnerability assessments, including the capacity to treat coupled human-environment systems and those linkages within and without the systems that affect their vulnerability. A vulnerability framework for the assessment of coupled human-environment systems is presented.

Solutions to the problem of how the developing world will meet its future food needs are broader than producing more food, although the successes of the 'Green Revolution' demonstrate the importance of technology in generating the growth in food output in the past. Despite these successes, the world still faces continuing vulnerability to food shortages. Given the necessary funding, it seems likely that conventional crop breeding, as well as emerging technologies based on molecular biology, genetic engineering and natural resource management, will continue to improve productivity in the coming decades.

A survey of China's plant biotechnologies shows that China is developing the largest plant biotechnology capacity outside of North America. The list of genetically modified plant technologies in trials, including rice, wheat, potatoes, and peanuts, is impressive and differs from those being worked on in other countries. Poor farmers in China are cultivating more area of genetically modified plants than are small farmers in any other developing country. A survey of agricultural producers in China demonstrates that Bacillus thuringiensis cotton adoption increases production efficiency and improves farmer health.

This book includes keynote invited papers from the Third International Crop Science Congress held in Hamburg, Germany, in August 2000. All papers have been prepared within strict editorial guidelines to ensure that the work is a balanced review text that provides an overview of the major issues confronting crop science today and in the future. It represents a suitable advanced textbook for students, as well as offering research workers concise overviews of topics adjacent to their areas of research. Contributors include leading authorities from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Aquaculture is a fast-growing segment of the world food economy and a leading vector of aquatic invasive species in the United States and abroad. Surprisingly, little national or international oversight exists even for deliberate introductions of exotic species in aquaculture. The authors of this Policy Forum propose a policy agenda on exotic introductions as aquaculture expands that includes scientific risk assessment for all nonnative introductions and single-agency oversight for the prevention, containment, and monitoring of ecologically harmful species.

Prior to the 2000 election The Aspen Institute convened a distinguished group of science, business, and environment leaders as a hypothetical committee to advise the new President on global environmental policy. Experts prepared this set of policy memos to tell the President, concisely and in understandable language, "what he should know" and "what he should do" about climate change, biodiversity, population, oceans, water, food and agriculture, and other problems. A thematic summary of the groups conclusions, written by Co-chairs Donald Kennedy of Stanford University and Roger Sant of the AES Corporation, communicates the urgency of the challenges, the complexity of the interrelated issues, and the optimism necessary to tackle them.

(excerpt) The group of science, environment, and business leaders who produced and discussed these memoranda share a strong conviction that you and your administration face an array ofhistoric and urgent challenges—the kind that, with bold leadership, can be turned into exceptional opportunities.

Many of the recommendations for specific areas involve policies and tools that will not slow the nation’s economy and may even provide economic opportunities and help resolve real humanitarian concerns. This article presents a sketch ofthe broad outlines ofthe environmental problems confronting humanity and suggests some paths toward their resolution.

The first two challenges, emerging into the public consciousness only in recent decades,are rooted in the unprecedented pace ofglobal change. The global economy is linking nations and people in new and different ways. But people  are only beginning to realize the extent to which human actions are radically reshaping the global environment. Without awareness of the consequences of these actions, people have taken control ofthe planet.

During each of the past several U.S. presidential elections, Science has posed questions about science policy to the major-party candidates. The editors have tried to ask hard questions that challenge the candidates and their staffs to develop thoughtful answers--responses that will not only help Science's readership evaluate their positions before the election but might clarify important science and technology issues for a much larger number of thoughtful Americans.

This year, as in the past, the candidates have been good enough to cooperate fully with Science, and the results provide some significant insights about how the next president might deal with the multiple aspects of U.S. national interest that have scientific and technical roots. We won't insult your intelligence by rehashing or evaluating the responses, the full texts of which are available in a side-by-side outlay beginning on page 262 as well as on Science Online. But here are a few areas that, in the view of the editors, are worth highlighting.