Article 10. Sustainable Use of Components of Biological Diversity
Rationale
To ensure the sustainable use of components of biodiversity in a given area, the ecosystem approach should be applied. The ecosystem approach is based on the application of appropriate scientific methodologies focused on levels of biological organisation which encompass the essential processes and interactions amongst organisms and their environment. The ecosystem approach recognises that humans are an integral component of ecosystems. (This definition of"ecosystem approach" was developed at a Workshop co-hosted by the Governments of Malawi and the Netherlands, recently held in Lilongwe.)
If possible the precautionary principle should be applied whenever natural resources are utilised. The use of biological resources must be viewed in an integrated context that satisfies the needs of both long-term resource sustainability and environmental conservation.
More selective harvesting techniques that are less destructive of non-target species in any area that is exploited should be developed and applied, and lessons should be learned from effective traditional exploitation methods by local communities.
Recommendations
A network of co-ordinated databases on wild species that are being used by humans should be established (ref. Article 7 (b)) once an inventory has been made.
Criteria should be established for sustainable use, based on the population dynamics of the target species and on the effects of their use on the exploited system.
Complementary research is needed in population biology of target species and on how exploitation of some populations in a given ecosystem affects the functioning of the total system, for example its robustness and resilience. (i.e. the consequences of fisheries on the genetic diversity of the exploited populations and the functioning of aquatic systems to which they belong.)
Research is needed on the relationships between socio-economic factors, and the achievement of sustainable use should be promoted to demonstrate economic efficiency of sustainable practices.
The use of alien species in ecosystems should not occur unless a thorough scientific analysis of their possible negative effects on biodiversity has been carried out (ref. Article 8h).
Article 14. Impact Assessment and Minimising Adverse Impacts
Rationale
Sound methods of assessing and communicating the impacts of factors potentially affecting the conservation of biodiversity as envisaged in Articles 14 (a) and 14 (d) must be developed and implemented. It is also important that the assessments focus more on providing early warnings of incipient problems rather than recording damage at a stage where it may be irreversible. Some adverse impacts may be wide-ranging and have effects beyond the limits of particular ecosystems or national boundaries. The use of comparable assessment systems over as wide a geographic area as possible is therefore advantageous.
Populations, or the status of single species or even groups of organisms may be affected by an array of diverse factors not necessarily indicative of more general changes. Thus, methods based on a wide range of organisms are more likely to be indicative of changes of general concern.
In view of the vast number and size of the areas requiring continuous impact analysis, it is imperative that assessment techniques be usable after minimal training by non-specialists, including conservation officers, reserve managers, and local communities.
It should be noted that some of the bioindication approaches developed in temperate regions, and which have been effectively employed by non-specialists and even school-children (e.g. in surveys of air and water pollution), can also be used in tropical countries, and that some progress to this end has already been made in UNEP/GEF sponsored discussions on how to establish a Tropical Areas Bioindicator System (TABS).
Recommendations
1. Environmental impact assessment procedures should be strengthened by techniques that enable users to access the appropriate knowledge base for impact prediction and conflict resolution.
2. The assessment methods employed should be based on a suite of organisms that respond to similar types of perturbations (whether environmentally or human-induced), and that provide early warnings of potential threats at the ecosystem level. These methods should be designed so that they can be employed over wide geographical areas by non-specialists, including local communities.
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
CABI Commonwealth Agriculture Bureau International
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
COP Conference of the Parties (to the Convention on Biological Diversity)
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
GBO Global Biodiversity Outlook
GCTE/IGBP Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems/International
Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
GEF Global Environment Facility
GISP Global Invasive Species Programme (DIVERSITAS - SCOPE, IUCN, UNEP, CABI)
GOOS Global Ocean Observing System (IOC, WMO, UNEP, ICSU)
GTOS Global Terrestrial Observing System (FAO, WMO, UNESCO, UNEP, ICSU)
ICSU International Council of Scientific Unions
IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO)
IUBS International Union of Biological Sciences
IUCN The World Conservation Union
IUMS International Union of Microbiological Societies
MAB Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO)
MIRCENS Microbial Resources Centres (UNESCO)
RAT Rapid Assessment and Monitoring Technologies
SBSTTA Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
(to the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity)
SCOPE Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (ICSU)
TABS Tropical Areas Bioindicator System
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
WCPA World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN)
WDCM World Data Centre on Micro-organisms, Japan
WFCC World Federation for Culture Collections
WMO World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations)
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