300 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



setting— concerns most developing country 

 governments felt were industrial country prob- 

 lems (23). Since then, environmental concerns 

 have broadened to emphasize conservation of 

 natural resources. Developing countries are on 

 average six times more dependent on a produc- 

 tive resource base— soils, fisheries, and 

 forests — which provides rationale for greater 

 developing country concerns in this area (43). 



Discussions on environmental issues are now 

 being initiated by developing countries. The 

 number of environmental agencies has in- 

 creased since 1972 from about one dozen to 110 

 (43). However, most agencies have been ineffec- 

 tive in addressing environmental concerns. 

 This ineffectiveness is due to the constraints 

 discussed earlier, including a lack of person- 

 nel, training, and resources; an inability to com- 

 pete with established interests; and a lack of 

 legal authority. 



Encouraging the development of institutional 

 capacity is not easy, but U.S. development assis- 

 tance agencies have the experience and the le- 

 gal mandate to help in the process. Initiatives 

 to enhance the stature, effectiveness, and re- 

 sources of agencies responsible for conserva- 

 tion have been identified (10). These initiatives 

 include requiring developing country officials 

 to submit comments on environmental and nat- 

 ural resource aspects of U.S. development assis- 

 tance projects and soliciting greater input from 

 ministries in AID's development of country 

 environmental profiles and natural resource 

 assessments (10). 



The process of infusing an awareness of bio- 

 logical resources in overall development plan- 

 ning was an objective in an AID-supported nat- 

 ural resources profile undertaken by the Thai 

 Development Research Institute— a national 

 policy analysis group (22). The process is im- 

 portant because it involves identification of 

 needs and responsibilities of the 24 agencies 

 in Thailand responsible for natural resources. 

 Ultimately, the profile should be incorporated 

 into the country's 5-year development plan. 



An environmental profile of Paraguay illus- 

 trates the importance of the process, as much 

 as the product, for infusing awareness of bio- 



logical diversity throughout a country's insti- 

 tutions (66). This AID-supported project, car- 

 ried out by the National Planning Secretariat 

 of the Presidency, involved some two dozen 

 Paraguayan scientists, technicians, and other 

 specialists. The emphases on increasing reli- 

 ance on national scientists and policymakers, 

 on a broad intersectoral approach, and on sup- 

 port from the highest levels of government are 

 keys to meeting the objectives of building in- 

 stitutions. 



Promoting Planning and 

 Management 



As pressures on natural resources in devel- 

 oping countries increase, the need to integrate 

 conservation and development interests will be- 

 come more critical. Planning and management 

 strategies should be included in resource de- 

 velopment initiatives— from habitat protection 

 onsite to germplasm storage offsite— and these 

 initiatives should consider wild species as well 

 as domesticates. 



Developing a national strategy to conserve 

 biological diversity should account for the 

 mixed objectives for maintaining the array of 

 species, and the mixed status of these groups 

 (29). A biological continuum of ecosystems, spe- 

 cies, populations, and varieties fills various 

 needs, and various management programs and 

 techniques are appropriate. Consequently, 

 management objectives and technologies and 

 the links between them should be taken into 

 account, as well as the most urgent problems 

 to address (29). 



One activity that addresses this problem is 

 the development of national conservation strat- 

 egies (NCSs), which are general policy state- 

 ments on the role of conservation in develop- 

 ment planning (19). AID began support of an 

 NCS for Nepal in fiscal year 1985 through the 

 International Union for the Conservation of Na- 

 ture and Natural Resources (lUCN), and it is 

 continuing to assist in the preparation or im- 

 plementation of similar strategies for Sri Lanka, 

 the Philippines, and Zimbabwe (52). Although 

 the general nature of these documents may limit 

 their usefulness in implementing specific proj- 



