Monday 3 June
Training session “Keys for Harlan III”
A training day is proposed just before the conference :There will be 30 places - if you are interested, please send us an e-mail at contact@harlan3symposium.org, subject : Training day.
Population Genomics Modelling Approaches To Study Domestication History
Recent advances in genomic sequencing technologies and development of statistical methods adapted to large set of genomic data opens up a new way of studying domestication. In a 2014 paper, Gerbault et al called for a shift from so-called « story telling » to « story testing » regarding the study of domestication history. In this small course, we will introduce some example of model- based methods to statistically test hypotheses on domestication. We will first present some tools to describe genetic diversity and structure of a set of genotypes, and then introduce coalescent-based approaches to infer domestication history. Lastly we will give a brief overview of advanced model- based approaches such as Approximate Bayesian Computation to test hypotheses about domestication history. The course will be organized in brief introduction of methods and concept supplemented by practical sessions on personal computers. To complete the practicals, you will require a laptop with at least 2Gb of Ram and 20 Gb of free disk space. We will provide a virtual machine with all the softwares and data needed for the completion of the tutorials.
Speakers: Philippe Cubry (IRD), Claire Billot (CIRAD), Anne-Céline Thuillet (IRD)
Legal and policy issues in genetic resources
This training session will provide the participants with knowledge on basic policy and legal issues on genetic resources and recent developments in this area. The access to genetic resources, as for most resources, is subject to tensions. First, we will present an historical view of the international governance of genetic resources. The shift from genetic resources as a common heritage of humankind to the sovereignty of states on their genetic resources was an important step in this history. We will review the past and current role of international organisations such the FAO and the CGIAR. Then, we will focus on legal issues on access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing of advantages arising from their utilisation (e.g., the Nagoya Protocol and International Treaty). Whether Digital Sequence Information (e.g., genetic sequences) should be subject to ABS regulations is a burning issue in this area. It will be presented in the light of Intellectual Property Rights on living organisms. Finally, we will go beyond regulations, and discuss the ethical dimension of research on genetic resources.
Speakers: Sélim Louafi (CIRAD), Jean-Louis Pham (IRD)
Ecosystem services
This session will summarize what we know about the benefits humans receive freely from the natural environment and from well-functioning ecosystems, benefits collectively known as « ecosystem services ». After presenting the different categories of services (provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural), we will explore how services can be assessed and quantified, in economic terms but also from other valuation perspectives. We will introduce participants to the work of the IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), which aims to put biodiversity issues more firmly in the public space and inform policy-makers, in the same way that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has done for climate change. We will examine current conceptual debates such as that around the two terms « ecosystem services » and « nature’s contributions to people ».
Speaker: Doyle McKey (CNRS)