Article 8. In-Situ Conservation
8 (a)-(e)
Rationale
A comprehensive and representative system of protected areas is critical to conserve biodiversity, but such a system will inevitably represent only a small proportion of land or ocean areas (9% for terrestrial areas). The largest fraction of the Earth's surface is subject to the impacts of low to medium human intervention, while a moderate but increasing fraction is heavily impacted by intensive agriculture, urbanisation and pollution. Areas where human intervention is present but at a low enough level to maintain a high level of diversity are likely to play an increasing role in the conservation and management of biodiversity on the world scale. Here new approaches for in-situ conservation combined with sustainable use practices should be developed.
At the core of such a new approach, national protected area systems should be established with the aim of:
Recommendations
General criteria should be defined for establishing protected areas. These criteria should take into account the extent to which the major biomes are represented, diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels, and uniqueness of species and ecosystems.
The special needs of extreme environments such as hot springs, soda and salt lakes, for microbial diversity should be recognised.
The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme, with its World Network of Biosphere Reserves should be utilised, as it provides an important framework for experimentation in the field of protected areas and sustainable use of land- and seascapes. The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and UNESCO World Heritage Convention are specifically involved in protected area work. Co-operation with the CBD and SBSTTA should be encouraged, and particularly the use and evaluation of the IUCN Protected Area categories.
Criteria should be sought that favour the development of regional networks of protected areas, especially in the open-sea and deep-sea marine environments.
Protected areas should, whenever possible, be established across latitudinal or altitudinal gradients to conserve and manage biodiversity in the face of future climate changes. More research is needed to develop the best scientific basis for the design and implementation of such networks.
New policies and measures should be developed that complement protected areas, particularly the reduction of negative human impacts in areas that are important for biodiversity. Favouring low-impact ecosystems, in particular those exploited using traditional practices (see 8(j)), may be an efficient and cost-effective way of preserving biodiversity.
Article 8(f)
Rationale
Ecosystems -
The rehabilitation and restoration of degraded ecosystems are interventions into an ecological process which constantly varies due to internal and external factors, including human intervention, and which may have different successional paths leading to different states of equilibrium. A key question in restoration efforts is: to which state does one want to restore a given degraded natural system? Much of restoration ecology is based on empirical, locally derived experience, and a scientific background, that permits extrapolation of results and prediction of responses, still needs to be developed. There has been little evaluation of the success or failure of restoration programmes, and in particular there has been a failure to establish whether restoration has resulted in the successful establishment or re-establishment of specific ecosystem functions and values.
Species -
Recent experience suggests that the reintroduction and translocation of species is only likely to be a viable option for a small proportion of macroorganisms and some invertebrates. Very few successful examples have been recorded to date and their effectiveness is difficult to judge due to the short timescales involved and the need for subsequent monitoring.
Various guidelines that exist are largely pragmatic rather than being based on sound scientific knowledge. While tools are now being developed to predict long-term demography and genetics, a better understanding of population growth and extinction processes and the reasons why particular species are rare is still required.
Recommendations
Ecosystems -
Clear goals with realistic objectives should be set prior to undertaking restoration and rehabilitation programmes using reference ecosystems.
Efforts should be made to understand the effectiveness of restoration and rehabilitation programmes on the recovery or establishment of ecosystem functioning and the overall species inventory.
Restoration and rehabilitation programmes should, where appropriate, be more scientifically based, and relevant theory should be developed to support the carrying out of such work.
Efforts should be made to assess the socio-economic viability and long-term effectiveness of restoration and rehabilitation programmes and develop guidelines as to how this should be achieved, especially in the context of sustainable development.
Further research should be developed on organisms and biogeochemical processes that can contribute to rehabilitate polluted ecosystems.
Species -
A detailed assessment should be made of those species introduction and recovery programmes which have already been undertaken, with a view to drawing on this experience.
Research should be undertaken aimed at predicting the demographic and evolutionary potential of re-introduced populations, that depend on parameters such as population size, life stage, and initial genetic variability.
Long-term monitoring should be complemented by both modelling and controlled experiments.
Article 8(h)
Rationale
Recognising the threats posed by invasive species to economic productivity, ecological stability and biodiversity in general, this clause of Article 8 prescribes that contracting parties should as far as possible prevent the introduction, control or eradicate alien species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species. In fact, invasive species often represent the greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction. Invasives are not only pervasive and potentially damaging, but because of limited data, practical expertise, and inadequate social and legal mechanisms, the capacity to deal with them is somewhat limited. Since this field of study has not until recently had an experimental base, the capacity to predict which species will be invasive is also limited. Knowledge of the receiving environment is needed as well as of the characteristics of the species themselves. We do not know why some systems are more invasible than others, or why invasibility may vary with time.
Recommendations
An assessment is needed of the changing nature of the vectors of invasives, particularly patterns of trade.
An evaluation should be made as to how far, and in what ways, global change, in its broadest extent, may exacerbate the problem of invasives.
An early warning system should be developed to enable nations to benefit from the knowledge of others. Emphasis should be on those microbes, plants and animals that are doing the greatest damage.
An examination should be made of which quarantine practices and legal instruments have been most successful in preventing the importation of potential invaders.
Knowledge of best practices in terms of the highest degree of control in the most environmentally benign manner must be made widely available, and ways of sharing both knowledge and expertise need to be developed.
Greater efforts should be devoted to developing biocontrol and integrated pest management techniques and the use of environmentally safe bioengineered organisms, and to devising better ways of assessing the success of any control effort. These efforts will assure that biocontrol efforts do not result in unwanted secondary consequences on biodiversity.
Actions to implement the above recommendations form part of the collaborative Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP), co-ordinated by SCOPE in conjunction with IUCN, UNEP and CABI, and a component of the DIVERSITAS programme, which COP is invited to endorse and support.
Article 8(j)
Rationale
Traditional communities which have developed a close relationship with the natural environment are particularly important to understanding and managing biological diversity. These relationships may change over time, but are presently under particular threat. In making decisions on the conservation, sustainable use and management of biodiversity at species and ecosystem levels both modern science and traditional knowledge systems have to be employed.
Recommendations
Within the SBSTTA framework, a forum should be provided whereby modern science and traditional knowledge can jointly define research projects regarding implementation of this clause of Article 8.
Research on the application of traditional use methods should be undertaken with the full participation of traditional communities.
Methodologies and procedures should be developed for recording and conserving traditional knowledge on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
Efforts should be made to identify those areas in which loss of traditional knowledge is occurring rapidly, so that appropriate steps can be taken to prevent this loss.
Research is needed into ways in which traditional practices for the use of biological diversity mimic natural processes and maintain the functioning of ecosystems and how these practices can continue to be used.
Research needs to be undertaken on providing options that will allow local communities to adapt to new lifestyles while at the same time retaining as far as possible their traditional knowledge, procedures, and biological diversity.
The complex relationships between national legislation and traditional lifestyles and use of components of biodiversity need to be carefully explored in attempting to implement this clause of Article 8.
Provision should be made for the education and training of the younger generations of local communities in traditional knowledge and practices.
Full integration of traditional knowledge (particularly that of traditional sustainable practices) into the process of developing management plans and programmes should be assured, including through the development of appropriate institutional mechanisms.
Article 8 (k)
Rationale
Any legislation and regulatory provisions developed for threatened species and populations must take into account the different levels of knowledge available on those species and populations identified as threatened. In many cases little is known about the ecology and biology of many species included on national and regional Red Lists. For many organisms, especially plants, their survival may be dependent on obligately associated beneficial organisms (e.g. mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, pollinating birds or insects). Any measures introduced for their conservation should therefore recognise that species do not exist in isolation.
Recommendations
Legal or other instruments drawn up for the protection of threatened species and populations should, where appropriate, also take into account obligately associated beneficial species that are necessary for the survival of the targeted threatened species.
In drawing up legal or other regulatory protection for threatened species or populations, specialist advice should be sought to ensure that provisions are made to undertake research that might enhance the possibility of conserving them.
Article 8(m)
Rationale
Considerable experience in both traditional and modern approaches to biodiversity conservation and utilisation exists in both developed and developing countries. Despite the relatively long history of international programmes on this issue, there is still an urgent need to strengthen capacity in developing countries and for developed countries to benefit from knowledge of traditional biodiversity management systems.
Recommendations
Support for interaction, both south/south and north/south between biodiversity specialists should be increased, especially through the establishment of joint projects and capacity building networks.
The compilation of"best practice" manuals and training courses should be promoted for application in both developed and developing countries, so as to address in-situ biodiversity management problems through bringing together experience gained in addressing similar problems in different countries.
Support should be given to increasing participation by developing country workers in scientific symposia, workshops and seminars.
Article 9. Ex-Situ Conservation
Rationale
Ex-situ conservation is an essential component of biodiversity management. The wide interpretation of the concept of genetic resources implied in the Convention will require a policy adjustment for both ex-situ and in-situ management. Ex-situ conservation activities are very diverse, covering seed banks, microbial culture collections, zoos, botanic gardens, tissue and cell culture, cryopreserved material and including whole organisms, seeds, pollen, spores, embryos, semen and DNA. Importantly, however, for the majority of organisms on earth, no ex-situ collections have been made and there is a strong taxonomic bias in those which do exist (e.g. less than 10% of plants represented in gene banks, 18% of described micro-organisms). The justification for ex-situ collections depends on the group of organisms, they may be essential for the identification and subsequent study of material (and biotechnological application in the case of micro-organisms), to supply material for breeding programmes (crop plants), captive breeding (endangered animal species) and education. Reintroduction and translocation of ex-situ propagated organisms is only likely to be a viable option for a small proportion of cases.
Recommendations
A mechanism needs to be devised for the implementation of clauses (a) and (b) of this Article (adopting measures and establishing and maintaining facilities for ex-situ conservation), given that the vast majority of collections are not under direct governmental control. To be effective, this will need to take into account the diverse interest groups and co-ordination at a local level.
A long-term commitment, infrastructural support and training are required for the maintenance of ex-situ collections in the country of origin. The UNESCO MIRCENS are an important element for microbial collections.
A system of monitoring, control and protection needs to be put in place for the many ex-situ collections where no such agreements exist, such as the FAO undertaking on plant and animal genetic resources. A system is needed especially for all kinds of microbial genetic resources and botanic garden collections.
An in-depth assessment of the availability, location and status of ex-situ collections of all groups is urgently needed. The programmes of the WFCC and the WDCM have made considerable progress with respect to collections of micro-organisms.
Evidence should be sought from the many well-documented examples of biological invasions as to which species are most likely to be successful candidates for reintroduction (see also Article 8 (f)).
Because the success of reintroductions cannot be judged in the short term, arrangements should be made for post-release monitoring of such attempts where nonesuch already exists.
Systems of control and regulation of reintroductions should be put in place, because of the potentially hazardous consequences for biodiversity (ref. Article 8(f)).
Close attention should be paid to traditional knowledge regarding ex-situ conservation of genetic resources at grass roots level (ref. Article 8(j)).
Methodologies and techniques need to be developed for sampling genetic diversity, especially when dealing with wild as opposed to domestic species (especially for plants), when establishing and maintaining ex-situ collections.
Much more effort is needed to identify accurately and characterise the material in ex-situ collections.
More research is needed on problems such as seed recalcitrance and germination, as yet uncultured micro-organisms, poor breeding success in endangered animals, DNA handling and curation and the collection of environmental genetic samples.
A body needs to be established to help co-ordinate the activities of the different ex-situ constituencies listed in the rationale. Issues such as databasing, curation standards and commercial exploitation of genetic resources are common to some, if not all ex-situ activities, and it is highly likely that efforts are being needlessly duplicated due to lack of communication among different sectors of the ex-situ community.