Biodiversity: A Challenge for Development Research and Policy PDF
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Biodiversity Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH Wilhelm Barthlott Matthias Winiger (Eds.) Biodiversity A Challenge for Development Research and Policy With 91 Figures and 24 Tables , Springer EDITORS: MANAGING EDITOR: Professor Dr. Wilhelm Barthlott Dr. Nadja Biedinger University of Bonn University of Bonn Institute of Botany Institute of Botany Meckenheimer Allee 170 Meckenheimer Allee 170 53115 Bonn, Germany 53115 Bonn, Germany e-mail: [email protected] Professor Dr. Matthias Winiger University of Bonn Institute of Geography Meckenheimer Allee 166 53115 Bonn, Germany e-mail: [email protected] Cover illustrations: W. Barthlott (5) and J. Theisen (1) ISBN 978-3-642-08370-9 ISBN 978-3-662-06071-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-06071-1 1st edition 1998, Second corrected printing 2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Biodiversity: a challenge for development research and policy 1 Wilhelm Barthlott, Matthias Winiger (eds.) p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Biological diversity conservation. I. Barthlott, Wilhelm. II. Winiger, Matthias. QH75.B5224 1998 333.95-dc21 97-51324 CIP This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broad casting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. http.llwww.springer.de © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1998,2001 Originally published by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York in 2001. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 2001 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant pro tective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Typesetting: Camera-ready by the editors Cover design: design & production GmbH, Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper SPIN 10797536 30/3130/is - 5432 1 Foreword Biodiversity, sometimes simply understood as "diversity of species", is a specific quality of life on our planet, the dimensions and importance of which have just lately been fully realized. Today we know that "biological diversity is a global asset of incalculable value to present and future generations" (Kofi Annan). Biodiversity is spread unequally over the world: in fact, the main share of biological resources worldwide is harboured predominantly by the so-called developing countries in the tropics and sub tropics. Therefore, Biodiversity - A Challenge for Development Research and Policy was chosen as the title for an international conference which was held in Bonn in 1997 as one of the first major events organized by the then newly established North-South Centre for Development Research (ZEF) at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn (Germany). Since the ZEF, founded by the Senate of the University of Bonn in 1995, has played a central role in turning Bonn into a centre for international cooperation and North-South dialogue. The Centre is a product of the Bonn Berlin agreement of July 1994 which was adopted to offset the effects caused by the Parliament and much of the Government moving to Berlin. It fits in well with the double strategy to strengthen Bonn's position as an interna tional science arena and as an eminent place for development policy and the national and supranational agencies dealing with this issue. The ZEF symposium on biodiversity made a valuable contribution to these goals and scientifically supported the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio 1992) and the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO Conference, Leipzig 1996). Therefore, I am very happy to present to the public a second edition of the proceedings of this symposium. I am extremely grateful to my colleagues, Professor Barthlott and Professor Winiger, for having initiated and once again superbly edited this publication. Professor Dr. Klaus Borchard Rector Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn Preface to the Second Printing Authors and publishers can be pleased when a book's reprint becomes necessary only two years after its first publication. It shows the avid and still growing interest of science, politics and a broad public in the topic. Behind this interest stands the insight, or at least the assumption, that biodiversity or diversity in a larger sense must be considered as inevitable prerequisites for thriving, survival and further development of symbiosis and ecosystems. At the same time, it becomes more and more evident that the essential aspects of "biodiversity" have to be investigated more basically and more fundamentally. The importance of biodiversity has to be put in concrete terms in connection with society and development. Efforts have been made worldwide and on a large scale to achieve this aim. An increasing number of highly specialised and popular scientific publications underline this trend. This book is based, in large part, on both an international conference and a symposium on Bolivian megadiversity. As many authors are involved, a completely new edition is not possible or worthwhile at the moment. Therefore, a slightly modified reprint is presented here including new and updated references. Bonn, January 2001 Wilhelm Barthlott Matthias Winiger Preface to the First Printing Life and its extraordinary diversity is the unique wealth which distinguishes the planet earth from all other planets in the universe. Mankind is a critical element of this wondrous spectrum, and thus biodiversity in all its aspects represents the very foundation of human existence. We have only become aware of the real dimensions of this wealth during the last twenty years, and today we know some 1.7 million different species probably representing far less than 10 % of the actual diversity. At the same time it is increasingly evident that - due to the rapid growth of the world's population which is nearing six billion people and is driving the extreme exploitation of natural resources - this diversity is undergoing a dramatic change. Fundamental genetic resources, which evolved over three billion years, probably are being lost at a dramatic pace. Extinction is forever. The growing recognition and knowledge of the importance of biodiversity and genetic wealth has become part of the public awareness of the dual role of biodiversity: as an economic resource, but as well as an essential condition for the survival of inividuals and biotic communities. Much attention is being given to the important ethical and aesthetical implications of biodiversity. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the loss of biodiversity risks also to have serious ecological consequences and considerable economic and social costs. As a result, biodiversity is now seen as a critical component of global environmental change. Of course, the main purpose cannot be to save all species at any price. Nevertheless, each species constitutes a part of the diversity of biotic communities and therefore is part of the diversity of habitats. The most diverse ecosystems are not found in industrialised countries. The greatest variety of genetic diversity is located predominantly in tropical rainforests and in certain subtropical areas. This enormous contrast between megadeveloped countries and megadiversity countries reinforces the need for us to devote greater attention and priority to: Biodiversity - a challenge for development research and policy. The day has passed delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered himself in a Brazilian forest. The novelty of the plants, the beauty of the flowers, but above all the general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. - It was not by accident that Charles Darwin wrote this remark in his journal of researches on February 23, 1832 when he, for the first time, entered a tropical forest in Bahia, Brazil. Today, however, Darwin would not find many remains of a natural forest in the vicinity of Bahia, where, like in many parts of the world, a radical transformation of the original vegetation cover and ecosystems has begun. It is thus not surprising that in particular the developing countries, with their huge and threatened reservoir of diversity, initiated one of the most significant international agreements: the CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (CBD), Rio de Janeiro 1992. This convention mandates the preservation, exploration and sustained utilisation of biodiversity. It regulates the use of biological resources through a fair and well-balanced mechanism of benefit sharing. Almost all nations of the world have signed this binding convention anchored in international law and are engaged in its implementation with varied success. For industrialised countries with a comparatively low species richness, the message is again clear: Biodiversity - a challenge for development research and policy. Responding to this challenge, we present a global distribution of approxima tely 270 000 vascular plants in map form for the first time in detail. This geographical perspective, i.e. spatial dimension of potential phytodiversity, reveals a remarkable feature: in addition to extensive areas of extreme species paucity, we are able to delineate equally impressively centres of enormous species richness. Despite uncertainties posed by this global view, we believe that the essential aspects of diversity are reflected precisely. Furthermore, the map indicates those areas where exploration and preservation should receive highest priority support; i.e. regions with high diversity within the tropics and in certain areas of the subtropics. The six global diversity centres are listed according to their tentative species richness: 1. Choco and Costa Rica Centre, 2. Tropical Eastern Andean Centre, 3. Atlantic Brazil Centre, 4. Eastern Himalayan-Yunnan Centre,S. Northern Borneo Centre, and 6. New Guinea Centre. Tropical Africa, with somewhat lower species numbers, shows two maxima, and Madagascar also deserves mention. Several additional species numbers maxima characterise in particular Mediterranean-type regions throughout the world: the Mediterranean itself, but above all southern Africa and southwestern Australia, with their highly endemic floras. Obviously, high biodiversity is related to historical factors (paleoclimate and history of vegetation, paleogeography), position of the locality (degree of isolation, types of zonobiome), climatic conditions (water availability and higher temperature) and an accordingly high geodiversity (diversity of abiotic factors within the area). These factors explain why mountains especially have become focal points of global biodiversity research. Our knowledge of the diversity of vascular plants and their distribution is surprisingly advanced compared to all other large groups of organisms (i.e. insects). The map presented here is based on an evaluation of data from approximately 1 400 standard floras and checklists. In an ecosystemary context we mapped the diversity of producers (plants). Since the diversity of consumers and decomposers depends on producers the map probably reflects the basic patterns of the entire terrestrial biodiversity in its entirety with relatively high precision. 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