Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere - WBGU

Agrobiodiversity: functions and threats under global change D 3.4
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tems can contribute towards agriculture being
shaped in as environmentally sound and sustainable
a manner as possible.
D 3.4.6.1
Research needs
Identifying the functions of
agrobiodiversity
External inputs in agriculture are sometimes in substitutional
relationships to biodiversity services.
Starting from the idea that we can best guarantee the
protection of agrobiodiversity by its sustainable use,
the following primary research needs arise:
• Identifying the potential and actual contribution
agrobiodiversity makes to the productivity, stability
and sustainability of agro-ecosystems.
• The targeted contribution or use of biodiversity as
‘means of production’ requires urgent examination.
This area includes development of methods
for identifying the ecological services provided by
agrobiodiversity and identifying the economic
value of agrobiodiversity.
Recording and characterizing
agrobiodiversity
Recording agrobiodiversity on farm must be tackled
and promoted worldwide. As a priority, domestic
plants and animals at the variety and species levels as
well as microorganisms, particularly soil dwellers,
should be considered. In particular, the crops that do
not feature in the ‘Top 30’ should also be included
(Section D 3.4.2).
The systematic investigation and evaluation of the
stocks of genetic resources in ex-situ collections is
also of fundamental importance and requires support.
Important specific issues are:
• Examination of genetic diversity on the basis of
molecular and morphological markers is often
based on less than 100 gene loci (out of an average
of approx 10,000–100,000 genes in higher organisms).
It is necessary to examine the genetic variation
in the loci that control the agronomically
important features.
• For the conservation and use of diversity within
the particularly richly subdivided crop species it is
absolutely necessary for the classic morphological-systematic
systems to be further developed.
Optimizing conservation strategies
The Global Plan of Action (GPA) adopted at the 4th
International Technical Conference of the FAO in
Leipzig in 1996 gives in-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity
priority over ex-situ measures. However, the
development of optimum conservation strategies
must take place in a species-specific way and requires
that a number of different factors be considered.The
following should be addressed as priorities:
• Investigation of the suitability and reliability of insitu
approaches for the preservation of genetic
diversity under various ecological conditions must
press ahead.
• Investigation of costs and benefits of various conservation
approaches with due regard for the fact
that agrobiodiversity, at least partially, has the
character of a public asset. It should also comprise
analysis of the distribution of costs and benefits,
both geographically and within society.
Three individual questions in the area of ‘Optimizing
conservation strategies’ should receive priority treatment:
1. The development of efficient transfer mechanisms
to finance conservation and to share the benefits
arising from the use of agro-genetic resources.
2. Establishment of practical, affordable reproduction
methods.
3. Ascertaining necessary population sizes in ex-situand
in-situ conservation approaches in order to
avoid genetic drift wherever possible.
Analysing social, economic and political
parameters
The agricultural sector is very highly regulated in
most national economies. At the international level,
too, there are already certain sets of rules that touch
on the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity. The
primary focus should be placed on:
• Investigations of social and economic factors that
influence the way relevant actors make use of
agrobiodiversity.
• Analysis of the (national and international) existing
parameters for the conservation and use of
agrobiodiversity and the long-term consequences
resulting from that use.
Important sub-areas are:
• The impact of the life sciences industries on agrobiodiversity.
Can the breeding of ‘minor crops’ be
assured for the future?
• The question of the extent to which different systems
for the protection of intellectual property
have an impact on the availability of genetic
resources.
• Do the international rules (primarily the Convention
on Biological Diversity and the IUPGR of the
FAO; Section I 3) guarantee effective protection
of agrobiodiversity? How could they be
improved?