298 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



Malayan Nature Society, the Friends of the 

 Earth, and the Consumers' Association of 

 Penang, conduct information programs to de- 

 velop public understanding (1). 



In a number of campaigns, flagship species 

 are identified. These are species with high es- 

 thetic appeal that are often endemic to a coun- 

 try, and consequently capable of generating 

 public interest and pride in the nation's biota. 

 For instance, the yellow-tailed woolly monkey 

 — Peru's largest and most endangered primate — 

 is the centerpiece of a campaign to protect its 

 cloud forest habitat in a project begun in 1984 

 by the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. in conjunc- 

 tion with the Natural History Museum of Lima 

 and the Peruvian Conservation Foundation (69). 

 Although this approach has been criticized for 

 focusing inordinate attention on large mam- 

 mals at the expense of other endangered taxa, 

 it has been effective in rallying public support 

 around certain species, promoting public 

 awareness and in the process protecting other 

 endangered species through habitat preser- 

 vation. 



Support for indigenous private and voluntary 

 organizations has also been identified as an im- 

 portant component of building public support. 

 Bolstering such organizations can create relia- 

 ble recipients and managers of conservation 

 funding with the potential of becoming self- 

 supporting, a national constituency for exert- 

 ing pressure on decisionmakers, public aware- 

 ness for biological diversity, and a grassroots 

 capacity to respond quickly and flexibly where 

 governments cannot or will not (13,59LMoni- 

 toring development projects for undesirable 

 environmental impacts is another important 

 role for these groups. 



Experience has shown, however, that this ap- 

 proach has certain constraints (18,59,60). These 

 include saturating particular groups with fund- 

 ing and distorting the natural growth of these 

 small organizations. AID, as a large agency usu- 

 ally dealing with large amounts of money, may 

 be reluctant to initiate contact with many small 

 organizations to promote small-scale projects. 

 These concerns can be addressed by working 

 more closely with umbrella nongovernmental 



organizations (e.g., the Environmental Liaison 

 Centre in Nairobi) or through American groups 

 that have local counterparts or affiliates in de- 

 veloping countries. Another option is to have 

 agencies with more experience working at the 

 grassroots level (e.g., the Peace Corps or the 

 Inter-American Foundation) take a lead in this 



area. 



Establishing 



tU 



Conducting an inventory and monitoring the 

 biota are two key steps that facilitate correc- 

 tive action in situations where human activity 

 threatens diversity (5). An inventory can com- 

 bine a traditional biological survey with the 

 most modern technology such as remote sens- 

 ing. It might also simply involve pulling to- 

 gether information on the status, distribution, 

 and threats to major ecosystems and species 

 to determine conservation priorities and affect 

 land-use decisions. 



Monitoring biological diversity refers to sur- 

 veillance of the distribution and abundance of 

 flora and fauna. The purpose is to detect ad- 

 verse impacts on species or habitats, assess the 

 extent to which human activities are responsi- 

 ble, and then promote corrective measures 

 wherever possible (5). 



Although nationally instituted programs to 

 conduct inventories and monitor biological 

 diversity are rare, a few examples do serve as 

 models. The Mexican National Research Insti- 

 tute for Biological Resources (INIREB, from the 

 full title in Spanish), for instance, prepares an 

 inventory of plant and animal resources, studies 

 threatened and endangered species, establishes 

 reserves and protects habitats of ecological im- 

 portance, develops alternative land-use strate- 

 gies, and trains professionals in conservation- 

 oriented fields. The range of activities under- 

 taken by INIREB indicates the balanced ap- 

 proach of this organization. 



Promoting national or regional databases to 

 monitor biological diversity is an effective way 

 to synthesize information and help define re- 

 search and conservation priorities. A number 

 of international organizations have developed 



