4
1 Introduction
scientific means by which to decide how many and which crop species must be
conserved on a global level and in the interest of intergenerational equity.
The above-mentioned deficits of information and uncertainties are hindering an
economically efficient approach to optimizing agrobiodiversity conservation.
Because of lacking estimations on:
• the value of PGRFA for global welfare (e.g., value of PGRFA for breeding), or
the cost of their extinction,
• the rate of PGRFA extinction, and
• the costs of conservation,
investments in PGRFA conservation are most likely sub-optimal at the margin.
Additionally, allocative problems such as the imbalance between the shared costs
and the benefits of conservation hamper an optimal conservation at all levels. For
example, some countries with a high amount of unique PGRFA belong to the
poorest countries in the world, where investment in conservation is constrained by
very limited resources and other priorities for the use of available funds (von
Braun and Virchow, 1997).
Despite the existing uncertainties concerning the economic value of PGRFA for
national and global welfare, the political will, expressed by all governments
present at the Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture in Leipzig in 1996, stressed the importance of genetic resources
conservation (FAO, 1996b). This lent support to continued conservation of
PGRFA, even though long-term conservation activities face strong competition
from other often more short-term development activities for the allocation of
financial resources.
Considering these circumstances, there is a need for cost-effective and efficient
strategies for PGRFA conservation, in addition to further scientific and economic
research. Cost-efficient conservation will reduce the risk of losing unique
genetically coded information and reduce the problem of allocating too extensive
financial resources to conservation activities. Although the political discussion is
focused on the issue of "fair and equitable sharing" of the benefits derived from
the use of PGRFA, and the economic discussion is focused on the value of plant
genetic resources and in situ conservation, an intensive analysis of the costs of
conservation activities has been neglected. Therefore this study will focus on the
costs of conservation and the efficiency and effectiveness of the conservation
strategies.
1.2
Definitions of Genetic Resources
Preservation, conservation:
There are two fundamentally different concepts of protecting nature: preservation
implies the protection of areas, species or other units of nature from any kind of
human activities or influence, whereby conservation implies the protection of
parts of nature for anthropogenic sustainable utilization. Consequently,
1 Introduction
scientific means by which to decide how many and which crop species must be
conserved on a global level and in the interest of intergenerational equity.
The above-mentioned deficits of information and uncertainties are hindering an
economically efficient approach to optimizing agrobiodiversity conservation.
Because of lacking estimations on:
• the value of PGRFA for global welfare (e.g., value of PGRFA for breeding), or
the cost of their extinction,
• the rate of PGRFA extinction, and
• the costs of conservation,
investments in PGRFA conservation are most likely sub-optimal at the margin.
Additionally, allocative problems such as the imbalance between the shared costs
and the benefits of conservation hamper an optimal conservation at all levels. For
example, some countries with a high amount of unique PGRFA belong to the
poorest countries in the world, where investment in conservation is constrained by
very limited resources and other priorities for the use of available funds (von
Braun and Virchow, 1997).
Despite the existing uncertainties concerning the economic value of PGRFA for
national and global welfare, the political will, expressed by all governments
present at the Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture in Leipzig in 1996, stressed the importance of genetic resources
conservation (FAO, 1996b). This lent support to continued conservation of
PGRFA, even though long-term conservation activities face strong competition
from other often more short-term development activities for the allocation of
financial resources.
Considering these circumstances, there is a need for cost-effective and efficient
strategies for PGRFA conservation, in addition to further scientific and economic
research. Cost-efficient conservation will reduce the risk of losing unique
genetically coded information and reduce the problem of allocating too extensive
financial resources to conservation activities. Although the political discussion is
focused on the issue of "fair and equitable sharing" of the benefits derived from
the use of PGRFA, and the economic discussion is focused on the value of plant
genetic resources and in situ conservation, an intensive analysis of the costs of
conservation activities has been neglected. Therefore this study will focus on the
costs of conservation and the efficiency and effectiveness of the conservation
strategies.
1.2
Definitions of Genetic Resources
Preservation, conservation:
There are two fundamentally different concepts of protecting nature: preservation
implies the protection of areas, species or other units of nature from any kind of
human activities or influence, whereby conservation implies the protection of
parts of nature for anthropogenic sustainable utilization. Consequently,