Experience has also demonstrated the need to work with surrounding communities rather than rely on a strict enforcement approach. Knowledge of national biological resources and the extent to which they are endangered varies greatly. Plant species, however, are often a more important source of potentially usable biological material than birds or mammals. For example, Brazil and Colombia are estimated to have more than 50,000 species of higher plants apiece, and China, Indonesia, and Mexico each have more than 25,000 species. Many high-income countries have fewer than 5,000 species of higher plants.
Habitat conservation provides only a partial answer to the challenge of conserving biodiversity.
To also reap the benefits of biodiversity, complementarities must be sought between biodiversity protection and economic activities. Such complementarities are particularly important for agriculture, which depends on many services provided by the environment, such as crop pollination and genes for developing improved crop varieties and livestock breeds. Exploiting biodiversity could substantially boost agricultural production. At the same time, damage to biodiversity often hurts agriculture. Reconciling biodiversity conservation with increased production to meet the needs of growing human populations will be a major challenge.