Please write a summary of this text (250-300 words): Michel Batisse
Compare a 19
th
century picture of a city like San Francisco, Nairobi or São Paolo with a con-
temporary view and the frightening urban sprawl that has taken place is only too noticeable.
A similar contrast could appear if we look at landscape vistas of the Great Plains or of Kazakh-
stan over the same period. During this very short span of human history, the face of the Earth
has seen changes far deeper than any since the last Ice Age.
Continued demographic growth and expanding per capita demands, along with massive
technological influence, are set to extend further this “artificialisation” of the land surface dur-
ing the 21
st
century. Three main land use zones in the world will result: one put under concrete
and asphalt through urbanization and related activities, another devoted to intensive agricul-
ture and forestry, and a third left aside in a state closer to natural conditions.
These latter territories will continue to shrink although they will remain by far the largest.
It is here that most of the world’s biodiversity is concentrated and has some chance of being
conserved outside of zoos and botanical gardens. Unfortunately, such areas are themselves
increasingly influenced by human activities of various kinds, happening in lines and patches in
a most disorderly manner, thus fragmenting landscapes, destroying the structures of ecosys-
tems, and upsetting their functioning. Wetlands, flood plains, hill slopes, and tropical forests
are particularly affected.
The first thing to do for further conservation of biodiversity is to counter this fragmen-
tation process through land-use planning, regulatory measures, and economic incentives, including compensation for extra-costs incurred (i.e. for roads or rail construction). Fragment-
ed ecosystems, however, are preferable to destroyed ones, and the conservation of biodiver-
sity has to follow a very pragmatic approach. It must necessarily be based on sound scientific
basis, but theory has to be tempered with practical realities on the ground. Given the present
rate of ecosystem degradation, it must be said that whatever can be saved should be saved
now. The real problem is one of deciding where efforts should be concentrated and how and
for whom these efforts should be made.
Biodiversity covers so many things, from genes to landscapes, that its conservation in-
evitably raises the question of priorities. I this respect, much attention is rightly paid to the
so called “hot spots”, mainly in tropical forests. This is where the largest number of species
can be found, with coral reefs coming next. Biodiversity, however, has a tremendously wide
range of values and occurrences and needs to be conserved on a great variety of sites and in
widely differing situations, including in rural areas where humankind has long had an impact.
The few plant and animal species of a desert are each as important from an ethical, economic, or scientific viewpoint as the great many species of a rainforest, and no ecosystem on Earth is
unworthy of conservation measures. The usual answer has been to keep certain areas free from direct human impact through
national parks or biological reserves. These are playing, and will continue to play, a most im-
portant role. They have, however, been set up only where it was possible to do so, most often
in areas of poor soil fertility or low population density, and thus do not cover other regions
that are host to a large portion of the world’s biodiversity. Most of these conventional pro-
tected areas have also been established without sufficient prior consent from neighboring
communities which tend to become hostile when they want, through real need or common
greed, to use additional land.
While such protected areas have to be improved, a new non-conventional approach is re-
quired, in which the imperatives of conservation can be reconciled with the legitimate claims
of local populations for sustainable development. Such an approach is embodied in the con-
cept of the “Biosphere Reserve”. Supported by UNESCO, which is now widely recognized in
many countries, and which has the advantage of being supported through a world network for
scientific and economic research, information, exchange, and training. Each Biosphere Reserve
is made up of one or more core areas devoted to conservation, surrounded by delineated buff-
er zones allowing certain activities, and an outer transition area for sustainable resource use.
The key to success for this flexible approach to biodiversity conservation lies in the partner-
ship with local communities, which associates them with the design and management of the
area and ensures they benefit directly from it. The economic benefits will vary greatly from site to
site but should form a “critical mass” with such elements as non-timber forest products and eco-
tourism, and, above all, improved rural practices together with better education and health care.
Experience shows that this approach works in developed and developing countries alike
at a relatively low investment cost. Such a scenario of ecosystems management could thus
constitute a key component of regional planning and development in the coming centu-
ry, which would have the added advantage of keeping more rural people away from shanty
towns, empowering them with a key role in the conservation of landscapes and biodiversity, while allowing them to take their place in the market through specific products and services.
/from Valuing the Global Environment.
Actions & Investments for a 21
st
Century . GEF. 1998 p. 70–71/