Ê®WÀRDS
NÀÎÊÛNÀL PÛLÏCŸ
ÛF ËË@ËËVËËSËÊŸ
From the origins Man has taken benefit from biological resources to eat,
resist cold, cure diseases... The spectacle of biodiversity stimulates human ima—
gination and skills. Networks of symbolic representations as well as practical
relationships have developed between societies and Nature. This complexity
slowly evolved through centuries with gradual changes in the environment. The
economic expansion and the demographic explosion of the last decades have
created a fracture in this process and massively endangered future biological
resources. ln parallel growing urban populations have lost their traditional roots
and relationship with Nature. Present social disfunctionments as well as bleak
prospects lead to a growing concern. And our societies are aware of the econo—
mic, ecologic and cultural need of a rich and diverse living environment.
Diversity in the living world is found from molecules and genes to cells and
organisms, from populations and communities to ecosystems, landscapes and
biosphere as a whole. Biodiversity is appreciated through the abundance and the
variety of species on a site as well as through their activities and their breeding
regularity. Nature accommodates environmental changes in the long run by a
functional and genetic evolution and by reorganizations involving extinctions
and emergences of species and of biological associations. These processes are
extremely slow when compared to the speed and the intensity of human pres—
sures. The balancebetween gains and losses has now shifted to the second. And
biological diversity is being eroded. The future of this trend is especially diffi—
cult to assess since Nature evolution cannot be disconnected from human socie—
ties transformations. The instinctive reaction calling for interdicts or stringent
conservation measures is inopportune. On the contrary the future has to be pre—
pared in practice by a continuous investment in knowledge and techniques all
the more efficient as molecular and naturalist approaches merge. ln parallel
society has
short—term and profit—oriented managements of
biological resources and a long—term perspective of sustainable development.
The first is a risky bet on the future, the second may hamper the economic deve—
lopment many people need. Present knowledge on the renewal potential of bio—
diversity is sparse and poorly adapted to guide decision makers in the field.
NÀÎÊÛNÀL PÛLÏCŸ
ÛF ËË@ËËVËËSËÊŸ
From the origins Man has taken benefit from biological resources to eat,
resist cold, cure diseases... The spectacle of biodiversity stimulates human ima—
gination and skills. Networks of symbolic representations as well as practical
relationships have developed between societies and Nature. This complexity
slowly evolved through centuries with gradual changes in the environment. The
economic expansion and the demographic explosion of the last decades have
created a fracture in this process and massively endangered future biological
resources. ln parallel growing urban populations have lost their traditional roots
and relationship with Nature. Present social disfunctionments as well as bleak
prospects lead to a growing concern. And our societies are aware of the econo—
mic, ecologic and cultural need of a rich and diverse living environment.
Diversity in the living world is found from molecules and genes to cells and
organisms, from populations and communities to ecosystems, landscapes and
biosphere as a whole. Biodiversity is appreciated through the abundance and the
variety of species on a site as well as through their activities and their breeding
regularity. Nature accommodates environmental changes in the long run by a
functional and genetic evolution and by reorganizations involving extinctions
and emergences of species and of biological associations. These processes are
extremely slow when compared to the speed and the intensity of human pres—
sures. The balancebetween gains and losses has now shifted to the second. And
biological diversity is being eroded. The future of this trend is especially diffi—
cult to assess since Nature evolution cannot be disconnected from human socie—
ties transformations. The instinctive reaction calling for interdicts or stringent
conservation measures is inopportune. On the contrary the future has to be pre—
pared in practice by a continuous investment in knowledge and techniques all
the more efficient as molecular and naturalist approaches merge. ln parallel
society has
short—term and profit—oriented managements of
biological resources and a long—term perspective of sustainable development.
The first is a risky bet on the future, the second may hamper the economic deve—
lopment many people need. Present knowledge on the renewal potential of bio—
diversity is sparse and poorly adapted to guide decision makers in the field.