Improving collaboration in the implementation of global biodiversity conventions.

Eight conventions make up the biodiversity cluster of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) that provide the critical international legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of nature. However, concerns about the rate of implementation of the conventions at the national level have triggered discussions about the effectiveness of these MEAs in halting the loss of biodiversity. Two main concerns have emerged: lack of capacity and resources and lack of coherence in implementing multiple conventions.

Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil of Origanum syriacum L.

The volatile oil of the Lebanese Za'atar ( Origanum syriacum L.) was characterized for its thymol and carvacrol content using gas-liquid chromatography. These two compounds constituted the major components of the oil and were present in equal proportions of 30% in the volatile oil extracted from the leaves and shoot tips of the Origanum plant during the preflowering stage.