Policy and education reform needs for conservation of dryland biodiversity

Abstract

Increasing attention is devoted at the national, regional and international levels to in-situ conservation as a dynamic form of preservation of biodiversity and related local knowledge. The significance of drylands biodiversity for agricultural production, other human needs, and environmental protection is emphasised with particular reference to the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region. The detrimental activities and processes leading to the rapid erosion of aridland biodiversity and, finally, to desertification on a large-scale are identified and discussed in relation to human population growth, urbanisation and poverty. Examples of regional projects on plant biodiversity conservation, ecosystem rehabilitation and sustainable utilization, which are carried out by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) with its National Agriculture Research Systems (NARS) partners in the region, are mentioned, and the contribution of farmers and herder communities through participation in these efforts is highlighted. A broad public awareness and education campaign at all levels, starting with the community members and school children and addressing other stakeholders, particularly national decision- and policy-makers and donor organisations, is essential for arresting and, hopefully, reversing the negative trends in the dryland's biodiversity degradation.