Ch. 10— Maintaining Biological Diversity Internationally • 277 



programs. The modern interpretation of pro- 

 tected areas includes the full range of conser- 

 vation uses, from strict protection to multiple 

 use (44). The question of alternatives and sup- 

 portive measures outside protected areas has 

 also become a growing concern. The 1984 State 

 of the Environment Report of the Organisation 

 for Economic Cooperation and Development 

 (OECD), for example, urges that protected areas 

 are not enough. Environmentally sensitive pol- 

 icies for nondesignated lands are also needed 

 (60). This conclusion is reinforced by lUCN's 

 Commission on Ecology: 



The idea of basing conservation on the fate 

 of particular species or even on the maintenance 

 of a natural diversity of species will become 

 even less tenable as the number of threatened 

 species increases and their refuges disappear. 

 Natural areas will have to be designed in con- 

 juction with the goals of regional development 

 and justified on the basis of ecological proc- 

 esses operating within the entire developed re- 

 gion and not just within natural areas. 



Land-use planning may help integrate envi- 

 ronmentally sensitive policies in nondesignated 

 areas. Control options to safeguard genetic 

 diversity outside protected areas could also be 

 explored (21,22). Where private land is involved, 

 general controls could be enforced by impos- 

 ing restrictions on land use or by instituting 

 a permit system. These practices are commonly 

 used for nature conservation and environmental 

 protection in many western countries, particu- 

 larly Europe. Permits could be required for all 

 activities likely to harm certain natural habitats 

 or ecosystems. This approach requires legisla- 

 tion to authorize the requirement, procedures, 

 decisions on the conditions to be imposed, and 

 activities excluded from the permit requirement. 



Nonstatutory protection of specific sites 

 could be achieved through voluntary agree- 

 ments between the landowner and conserva- 

 tion authorities. Such agreements are more at- 

 tractive when the landowner is offered certain 

 incentives, such as tax subsidies or deductions, 

 for preserving sites. In the United States, such 

 "conservation easements" are valuable mech- 

 anisms for conserving private lands [77). 



Zoning ordinances could become a power- 

 ful conservation tool if extended not only to 

 construction but to all changes in land use, in- 

 cluding agriculture. Programs to preserve areas 

 where only small natural or seminatural sites 

 remain within cultivated fields, for example, 

 are also important. Such efforts can help main- 

 tain at least a minimum amount of natural vege- 

 tation in hedgerows, tree groves, riparian, and 

 other areas. Giving conservation advice to 

 farmers about the value of protected lands 

 would be an important component of such 

 controls. 



In many countries, however, land manage- 

 ment agencies have little or no authority to over- 

 see activities of other agencies or to veto ac- 

 tions that would be detrimental to maintaining 

 the land's natural condition. Although a vari- 

 ety of land-use planning tools are being con- 

 sidered, two prerequisites exist for using them: 



1. to strengthen the technical capacity to 

 identify, inventory, and monitor valuable 

 natural areas; and 



2. to provide the legal authority to protect 

 such areas. 



Offsite Activities 



Offsite maintenance of biological diversity 

 is assuming increased prominence due to con- 

 cern over loss of genetic resources. Its promi- 

 nence is also the result of a greater appreciation 

 of the important role that offsite maintenance 

 of wild species can play in conserving species 

 diversity, especially when linked to onsite pro- 

 grams. However, a number of major resources 

 remain unprotected in the existing framework. 

 These include medicinal plants; some indus- 

 trial plants, such as rubber; a number of ani- 

 mals, including wild and domesticated varieties 

 and possibly some marine species, for which 

 commercial breeding techniques are evolving 

 (58). 



To cover existing gaps in maintaining plant 

 genetic resources, efforts could be made to ex- 

 tend IBPGR's mandate to assume responsibili- 

 ties for medicinal plants, industrial plants, and 



