6 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



INTERVENTIONS TO MAINTAIN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 



There are two general approaches to main- 

 taining biological diversity. It may be main- 

 tained where it is found naturally (onsite), or 

 it may be removed from the site and kept else- 

 where (offsite). Onsite maintenance can focus 

 on a particular species or population or, alter- 

 natively, on an entire ecosystem. Offsite main- 

 tenance can focus on organisms preserved as 

 germplasm or on organisms preserved as liv- 

 ing collections. Table 1-1 lists examples of man- 

 agement systems. These management systems 

 have somewhat different objectives, but all four 

 are necessary components of an overall strat- 

 egy to conserve diversity. Conservation objec- 

 tives can be enhanced by investing in any com- 



bination of the four systems and by improving 

 links to take advantage of their potential com- 

 plementariness. The objectives of the manage- 

 ment systems are summarized in table 1-2. 



Maintaining plants, animals, and microbes 

 onsite — in their natural environments — is the 

 most effective way to conserve a broad range 

 of diversity. Onsite technologies primarily fo- 

 cus on establishing an area to protect ecosys- 

 tems or species and on regulating species har- 

 vest. To date, the guidelines for optimal design 

 of protected areas are limited, however. 



Offsite maintenance technologies are applied 

 to conserving a small but often critical part of 



Table 1-1.— Examples of Management Systems To Maintain Biological Diversity 



Onsite 



Offsite 



Ecosystem maintenance 



Species management 



Living collections 



Germplasm storage 



National parks 



Research natural areas 



Marine sanctuaries 



Resource development 

 planning 



Agroecosystems 

 Wildlife refuges 

 In-situ genebanks 

 Game parks and reserves 



Zoological parks 

 Botanic gardens 

 Field collections 



Seed and pollen banks 

 Semen, ova, and embryo banks 

 Microbial culture collections 



Captive breeding programs Tissue culture collections 



Increasing hiuman intervention- 

 ■ Increasing emphasis on natural processes 



SOURCE: Office of Tecfinology Assessment, 1986. 



Table 1-2.— Management Systems and Conservation Objectives 



Onsite 



Offsite 



Ecosystem maintenance 



Species maintenance 



Living collections 



Germplasm storage 



Maintain: 



• a reservoir or "library" of 

 genetic resources 



• evolutionary potential 



• functioning of various 

 ecological processes 



' vast majority of known 

 and unknov\/n species 



representatives of unique 

 natural ecosystems 



Maintain: 



• genetic interaction be- 

 tween semidomesticated 

 species and wild relatives 



• wild populations for sus- 

 tainable exploitation 



• viable populations of 

 threatened species 



• species that provide im- 

 portant indirect benefits 

 (for pollination or pest 

 control) 



• "keystone" species with 

 important ecosystem sup- 

 port or regulating function 



Maintain: 



• breeding material that can- 

 not be stored in 

 genebanks 



• field research and develop- 

 ment on new varieties and 

 breeds 



• offsite cultivation and 

 propagation 



• captive breeding stock of 

 populations threatened in 

 the wild 



• ready access to wild spe- 

 cies for research, educa- 

 tion, and display 



Maintain: 



• convenient source of 

 germplasm for breeding 

 programs 



• collections of germplasm 

 from uncertain or threat- 

 ened sources 



• reference or type collections 

 as standard for research 

 and patenting purposes 



• access to germplasm from 

 wide geographic areas 



' genetic materials from criti- 

 cally endangered species 



SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment, 1986 



