130 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



As yet, the National Science Foundation and 

 other research funding organizations have not 

 recognized the status of conservation biology 

 as a discipline by according it a separate fund- 

 ing category. Its impact on resource manage- 

 ment should increase as it gradually becomes 

 recognized, encouraged, supported, and broa- 

 dened to include professional social scientists. 



Personnel Development 



A major constraint to maintaining diversity 

 onsite is the shortage of personnel— taxono- 

 mists, social scientists, resource managers, and 

 technicians with adequate training, motivation, 

 and work experience. These individuals are 

 needed to plan, manage, and explain the need 

 to maintain biological diversity to decision- 

 makers. Training and institutional development 

 to provide employment opportunities for these 

 kinds of experts are sorely needed, particularly 

 in developing countries. 



The number of plant taxonomists working in 

 the world today is estimated at 3,000, for ex- 

 ample; but twice as many would probably be 

 needed for an adequate study of the world's 

 flora (12J. Moreover, most taxonomists reside 

 in the temperate zone and only study species 

 there. 



Even if money were available to train new 

 taxonomists, job opportunities would have to 

 be provided to attract people to the field. The 

 number of taxonomic positions in museums, 

 herbaria, universities, and resource-managing 

 agencies currently is low and may be falling, 

 as research funds are directed at more popu- 

 lar disciplines (e.g., molecular biology). It may 

 be time for the museums and botanic gardens 

 to explore innovative ways to promote the field 

 of systematic biology. These institutions could 

 help by defining systematic biology's role in the 

 maintenance of biological diversity as a way 

 of making the discipline more appealing to po- 

 tential specialists. 



Data To Facilitate Onsite Protection 



Decisions on where and how to apply vari- 

 ous methods for onsite maintenance of diver- 



sity need to be based on accurate data and cor- 

 rect theories on the interactions among 

 numerous biological and human factors. Abun- 

 dant data exist, especially for the temperate 

 zone regions of the world. The data are being 

 used both to develop and improve theories re- 

 garding biological diversity and to make spe- 

 cific decisions regarding resource manage- 

 ment. However, use of the existing information 

 is inefficient when data are not collected into 

 readily accessible databases at the scale on 

 which decisionmakers operate. 



Thus, a significant opportunity to improve 

 onsite maintenance of diversity, both within 

 and outside protected areas, is to support ac- 

 celerated development of comprehensive data- 

 bases, which would include, for example, 

 TNC's State Natural Heritage Programs and its 

 international conservation data center pro- 

 gram. It could also include development of a 

 nationwide description and evaluation of all 

 flora and fauna species in the United States, 

 possibly under the auspices of TNC. 



Large gaps in knowledge of tropical species 

 and ecosystems constrain the effectiveness of 

 diversity maintenance efforts in developing 

 countries. Opportunities include increased de- 

 velopment assistance support to build institu- 

 tions and train scientists capable of accelerat- 

 ing progress in the fundamental sciences of 

 taxonomy, natural history, and ecology. 



Possibly the most severe information defi- 

 ciencies relate to the poor understanding of 

 how social, political, and economic factors in- 

 teract with biological diversity. A great need 

 exists for social scientists trained and employed 

 to develop information on how social and eco- 

 nomic conditions can be made conducive to 

 onsite maintenance of biological diversity. Un- 

 fortunately, this is a need difficult for biologists 

 and natural resource managers to address. It 

 requires new levels of interest and commitment 

 from social science institutions. 



