Conservation of Biodiversity: Critical Issues in Small Developing States
Graham Baines
To be effective and
lasting, biodiversity conservation needs to be an integral part of economic and
social development. It is not easy to put this ideal into practice. East
Timor’s needs might best be served by a focused set of immediate actions, with
a more comprehensive and detailed strategy for biodiversity conservation being
developed from information and experience emerging from this first phase. Based
on similarities with circumstances in Pacific island countries, critical issues
are identified as a basis for discussion.
Biodiversity is made up of
the many plants and animals that provide the basis for life. Some of these
plants and animals are used directly by people for things such as food,
medicine, clothing or housing. Others provide indirect benefits for people; for
example, tiny soil animals and bacteria process soil to make it fertile; forest
trees slow the fall of rain and guide water into the soil and to streams. Conservation is part of development.
The word “conserve” means to use resources carefully.
East Timor’s biodiversity has been severely degraded. It is not
realistic to dream of restoring all that has been lost, though some
rehabilitation may be possible. Conservation is not just about “protected
areas”. To be effective, biodiversity conservation should be an integral part
of a programme of sustainable development, backed by a participatory process of
planning. It is suggested that East Timor consider an initial emphasis on 1)
support interventions for rural communities’ use and management of land and sea
biodiversity, while 2) implementing an environmentally responsible framework
for guiding and regulating urban and industrial development.
First actions identified should be those that will:
·
address people’s basic needs in the use of biodiversity,
·
begin to slow the current trend in degradation of biodiversity and
natural resources,
·
establish a trend towards a sustainable use of land and sea resources,
·
introduce measures to protect water sources and supplies,
·
ensure that urban and industrial development is planned and executed
according to “best practice” methods which avoid damage to land and sea
resources;
·
identify species and areas of special biodiversity importance;
·
initiate surveys of the status of resources and biodiversity, and of
people’s rights and relationships to them, while
·
building on the strengths of traditional resource management practice
and knowledge.
The needs of “nature
conservation” are not specifically identified in the above listing. Some of
these needs will emerge from this first phase and be addressed through simple
protection measures. Nature conservation would become an integral item of the
medium and long-term strategies that should subsequently be developed.
Biodiversity in Pacific
islands countries cannot be considered in isolation from cultural diversity.
“The very basis of Pacific island cultures has long been the interrelationship
between the individual, the clan or tribal group, and the environment.”[1]
East Timor must deal with a
number of problems that are common to other small island states. From the
experience of Pacific island countries, these critical issues are apparent:
1.
Meeting immediate subsistence and economic development needs without
further degrading environment and biodiversity.
2.
Restoring the potential of degraded land and sea areas to produce
natural resources, maintain vital ecological processes and sustain genetic
diversity.
3.
Maintaining the quality of land and sea environments so that they will
continue, always, to provide the resources needed to ensure a satisfactory
quality of life for all citizens.
4.
Understanding and appreciating the value of genetic, species and
ecosystem biodiversity.
5.
Finding effective means of accommodating customary land and sea tenure
systems in a framework for community and national development, and of using
traditional knowledge and practice in a fresh approach to development that
builds on the best of tradition, strengthened by modern interventions.
The indications are that
East Timor has a chance to establish and follow a path of sustainable
development – though the difficulties will be considerable. Experience
elsewhere suggests that threats to success will come from pressures for quick
and unsustainable economic returns from natural resources, and from ignorance
of the value and role of biodiversity in development. Through the sixties and
seventies various Pacific island countries reached this decisive point in their
history. Their success in management of their biodiversity has been less than
they had hoped. There are, however, some successful examples of biodiversity
conservation from which East Timor could benefit.