The Global Environment Facility and biodiversity conservation: lessons to date and suggestions for future action

Mittermeier, R. A.; Bowles, Ian A.

doi:10.1007/bf00051964

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This showed the cost-effectiveness of unlocking collection-based information to document plant diversity. Based on the SABONET experience, it would appear that herbaria can produce good-value-for-money products, and make them available free of charge in collaboration with international funding bodies such as the GEF (Mittermeier & Bowles, 1993).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Red Data List assessments in southern Africa: financial costs of a collaborative regional project

Siebert

Smith

2005

TAXON

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As part of the activities of the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network (SABONET), funds were made available by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to compile plant Red Data Lists for the ten participating countries. Analysis of costs involved in terms of human and financial resources to perform conservation assessments of threatened plants revealed interesting trends, especially cost savings due to sound co‐ordination followed by stakeholder participation and data collection. Data dissemination proved the most expensive. Data collection did not include costs involved in gathering species information, because these contributions were voluntary and cost‐free. SABONET has demonstrated that with sound management and co‐ordination, and selective regional participatory consultation and peer review, it is possible to assess conservation status of threatened plants at around $US 18/taxon and produce a complete product at $US 40/taxon. Cost‐effective expenditure for generating conservation‐oriented information is often overlooked in donor‐funded projects. This article presents a project case study of how a low financial input can lead to high returns (useful information and skills that can improve decisions about conservation).

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Red Data List assessments in southern Africa: financial costs of a collaborative regional project

Siebert

Smith

2005

TAXON

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conservation and the need to preserve areas in a natural state has been referred to as 'the imperialist yearning of Western biologists' (Guha, 1989); and a paper by Mittermeier and Bowles (1993) viewed by Guha as radical American environmentalism is referred to as 'This frankly imperialist manifesto' (Guha, 1989). Such language illustrates how much these views are an expression of a political agenda rather than of science.…”

Section: National Parks or Multiple-use Resource?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social change and conservation misrepresentation in Africa

Spinage

1998

ORX

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In spite of these guidelines, the articulation of the value of systematics within the context of the biodiversity crisis (Eldredge, 1992;Krebs, 1992;Wilson, 1992), and the considerable attention attracted to these issues since the Earth Summit (Strong, 1993;di Castri, 1993), effective support for systematics remains very inadequate. The performance of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) -the funding mechanism delegated at the Earth Summit to support biodiversity conservation -has been an embarrassing waste of resources, as judged by its mismanagement to date, lack of clear objectives and insufficient funding of deserving projects (Mittermeier and Bowles, 1993). The GEF would greatly benefit biodiversity conservation if it supported the fragmented infrastructure of threatened resources (collections and associated human skills) which represents taxonomy.…”

Section: Inadequate Support For Systematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The values of biodiversity impinge on the human psyche, economics, health and agriculture (Wilson, 1992;Mittermeier and Bowles, 1993). Considerable value of biodiversity lies in its ability to counter adverse effects of contingencies such as unforeseen disease epidemics, and the vagaries of unpredictable climates and fluctuating economies (Burton et aL, 1992).…”

Section: The Value Of Biodiversity Sustainable Use Biological Producmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematics, biological knowledge and environmental conservation

Cotterill¹

1995

Biodivers Conserv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Systematics and taxonomy are essential: they respectively elucidate life's history, and organize and verify biological knowledge. This knowledge is built of interrelated concepts which are ultimately accounted for by biological specimens. Such knowledge is essential to decide how much and what biodiversity survives human onslaughts. The preservation of specimens in natural history collections is the essential part of the process which builds and maintains biological knowledge. These collections and the human expertise essential to interpret specimens are the taxonomic resources which maintain accurate and verifiable concepts of biological entities. Present and future knowledge of the complexities and diversity of the biosphere depends on the integrity of taxonomic resources, yet widespread ignorance and disregard for their fundamental value has created a global crisis. Preservation of specimens in natural history collections is chronically neglected and support to study and manage collections is very insufficient. The knowledge held by experienced taxonomists is not being passed on to younger recruits. Neglect of collections has destroyed countless specimens and threatens millions more. These threats to taxonomic resources not only impinge on systematics but all biology: this tragedy jeopardizes the integrity of biological knowledge. The consequences for environmental conservation and therefore humanity are also of dire severity and the biodiversity crisis adds unprecedented weight to the barely recognized crisis in taxonomy and systematics.

show abstract

The Global Environment Facility and biodiversity conservation: lessons to date and suggestions for future action

Cited by 13 publications

References 2 publications

Plant Red Data List assessments in southern Africa: financial costs of a collaborative regional project

Plant Red Data List assessments in southern Africa: financial costs of a collaborative regional project

Social change and conservation misrepresentation in Africa

Systematics, biological knowledge and environmental conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About