1. lecture # 12, 13

2. Sustainable &
Unsustainable Use of
Biological Resources

3. Biological Resources
• These are genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations,
or any other biotic component of ecosystems that have actual or
potential value or use to humanity.
• A biological resource is a substance or object required by an organism
for normal growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Resources can be
consumed by one organism and, as a result, become unavailable to
another organism.
• For plants key resources are sunshine, nutrients, water, and place to
grow. For animals key resources are food, water, and territory.

4. Sustainable Use of Biological Resources
• The main element of the ecological management approach is the
development and implementation of sector-specific policies, plans
and programs.
• The sustainable use of biological resources and ecosystems is
essential to the well-being of members of society and is necessary to
conserve biodiversity.

5. Sustainable Use of Components of Biological
Resources
• A. Integrate consideration of the conservation and sustainable use of
biological resources into national decision-making.
• B. Integrate the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programs and
policies.

6. Unsustainable use of biological resources
• The rapidly growing rate of resource consumption throughout the world is
unsustainable said a United Nations report
• "It is time to recognize the limits to the natural resources available to support
human development and economic growth
• The world is expected to consume three times more natural resources than
current rates by 2050, unless countries can learn to "do more with less," the
report said.
• The report noted that the rising cost of many natural resources creates an
economic imperative for both developed and developing countries to use less.
• We must realize that prosperity and well-being do not depend on consuming
ever-greater quantities of resources. Decoupling is not about stopping growth.
It's about doing more with less," the report added.

7. According to Convention on Biological Diversity
• Indigenous communities are playing an increasingly significant role in
the development of cooperative regimes to sustain our resources for
future generations.
• Other sectors of society are becoming increasingly aware of the need
to conserve biodiversity and use biological resources in a sustainable
manner.
• In some instances it may be possible to develop opportunities for the
secondary processing of biological resources as a means of increasing
employment, profits and economic diversity.

8. Conti…
• Where such opportunities exist, they should be pursued as a means
of supporting sustainable harvest rates for biological resources.
• Biological systems are dynamic and can change significantly in
biological productivity, species distribution and abundance.
• Consequently, resource managers and users must be aware of natural
adjustments and fluctuations and respond with appropriate
management practices.

9. Strategies
• Modify, develop and implement government policies and programs to
ensure that they support the sustainable use of biological resources, the
conservation of soil, water, air and other essential resources, and the long-
term integrity of supporting ecosystems.
• Improve methods and technologies that support the sustainable use of
biological resources and eliminate or minimize adverse impacts on
biodiversity resulting from resource use.
• Develop and implement education and training programs for policy-
makers, property owners, lease operators, resource managers and others
involved in the management, development and use of biological resources,
to ensure that they have access to the best available information, methods
and technologies.

10. Conti…
• Develop and improve methods of monitoring ecosystems and
biological resources to support the sustainable use of these
resources.
• As possible, provide information to assist consumers in understanding
the impacts and implications of their decisions and to promote the
sustainable use of biological resources and ecosystems.
• Improve the effectiveness of public participation in developing
policies for the use of biological resources using a variety of
measures, such as integrated decision-making processes and conflict
resolution mechanisms.

11. Agricultural Areas
The agriculture and agri-food industry is a major contributor
to the country economy, accounting for 21 percent of the
Gross Domestic Product and 43 percent of total employment
in Pakistan

12. Relevant Strategies
• Assess current and proposed major government agricultural policies
and programs to ensure that ecological, economic, social and cultural
objectives are considered.
• Maintain, adjust or develop economic incentives that promote the
conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of biological
resources on agricultural lands.
• Inventory and evaluate genes, populations, species and ecosystems to
ensure the conservation of natural control systems and the
identification of species for use as biocontrol agents.

13. Genetic Improvement of Crops
• Genetic diversity has allowed crop breeders around the world to improve
many crops by adapting them to local conditions.
• For example
• Agriculture Canada’s Rust Research Laboratory has bred and released a
series of wheat varieties that are genetically resistant to wheat stem rust, a
fungus that wiped out spring wheat crops in 1916.
• As a result, there has been no stem rust epidemic in western Canada since
1954, and there is no longer a need to use pesticides to control it.
• Since the 1950s, characteristics such as high protein and energy, seed
dormancy and disease resistance have been incorporated into new
varieties of oats.

14. Aquatic Areas
• Aquatic areas include freshwater, marine and wetland ecosystems. For
centuries humans have used these ecosystems for food, recreation, sewage
treatment, transportation, irrigation, cultural and spiritual purposes.
• Ground and surface waters are used as sources of potable water, and
access to water has been a determining factor in the location of towns,
cities, farms and other settlements.
• Globally, aquatic ecosystems produce the largest single source of animal
protein for human consumption. Aquatic resources are also used for
medicines and as raw material for manufacturing industries.
• Marine ecosystems play a significant ecological role, exerting influence
over global processes such as the absorption of atmospheric carbon
dioxide.

15. Relevant Strategies
• Assess current and proposed major government aquatic resource
policies and programs to ensure that ecological, economic, social and
cultural objectives are considered.
• Use objective criteria to select sites for restoration and rehabilitation,
and restore or rehabilitate degraded aquatic ecosystems where
practical.
• Implement biological and ecological inventory, monitoring programs
and classification systems to determine appropriate biodiversity
conservation measures and provide a framework for managing
aquatic resources on a sustainable basis.

16. Forested Areas
• As well as being ecologically significant on a global scale, forests are
important contributors to our economic and social well-being.
• About 300 communities depend largely on forestry and more than 800,000
people work in the forest products industry or for organizations associated
with it.
• In 1993, forest product exports contributed $22.4 billion to our net
balance of trade.
• Forest resources provide food, fuel and medicines for many communities,
and are used for hunting, trapping, gathering, spiritual or religious
purposes, and wilderness experiences.
• While it is difficult to assign a monetary value to the social and cultural
benefits of forests, these extremely important values must be considered
in determining appropriate forest uses.

17. Goal Statement of Sustainable Forests
• To maintain and enhance the long-term health of our forest
ecosystems for the benefit of all living things, both nationally
and globally
• Also providing environmental, economic, social and cultural
opportunities for the benefit of present and future
generations.

18. • Conserve ecosystems and habitats, together with associated cultural values
and traditional natural resource management systems.
• They are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where
a proportion is under sustainable natural resource management and where
low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature
conservation is seen as one of the main aims of the area.
• The concept is criticized by ecologists on the grounds that the aspiration for
these areas is hardly practicable in reality because nature conservation is
almost never possible without restricting human activity and also because
the economic activities of a population inevitably affect the ecosystems.

19.  Conservation, Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Essential for Adapting
to Climate Change:
• Biodiversity is the foundation of life on earth and one of the pillars of
sustainable development.
• The richness and variety of life on earth makes possible the ecosystem
services on which we depend: clean water, food, shelter, medicine and
clothing.
• Environments rich in biodiversity are resilient when stricken by natural
disaster.

20. • All of this is of particular importance for the poorest citizens of our
world.
• Those who live on only a few dollars a day need biodiversity to meet
their basic needs.
• Without the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, we will
not achieve the millennium development goals.
• However, biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate.
• This, in turn, is seriously eroding the capacity of our planet to sustain
life on earth.

21. • It is for this reason that world leaders attending the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 agreed to achieve,
by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss of biodiversity.
• This commitment was reiterated at the 2005 World Summit.
• The 2010 biodiversity target is now fully integrated into the framework
of the Millennium Development Goals and, as a sign of further support,
the international community decided to declare 2010 the International
Year for Biological Diversity.

22. • As the world also focuses more attention on climate change, the links
between climate change and biodiversity are also being articulated.
• The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• A state of the art appraisal of the world’s ecosystems and the services
they provide -- has identified climate change as one of the biggest
causes of our planet’s loss of biodiversity, along with changing land use
patterns.
• In addition, the recently released report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change made it crystal clear that climate change is real and
will continue to affect our lives and ecosystems for many years to come.

23. • Those impacts will include the extinction of ever increasing numbers of
species, further weakening a number of already fragile ecosystems.
• It is, therefore, timely that the theme of this year’s observance of the
International Day for Biological Diversity is “Biodiversity and Climate
Change”.
• Indeed, the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is an
essential element of any strategy to adapt to climate change.

24. • Mangrove forests and other coastal wetlands represent a bulwark
against extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
• As agricultural landscapes become warmer and drier, the diversity of
livestock and cereal crops can provide farmers with options to cope
with new conditions.
• Forests, peat lands and other ecosystems contribute to sequestering
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby helping to mitigate
increases in greenhouse gas emissions.

25. • Through the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international
community is committed to conserving biodiversity and combating
climate change.
• The global response to these challenges needs to move much more
rapidly and with more determination at all levels -- global, national and
local.
• For the sake of current and future generations, we must achieve the
goals of these landmark instruments.