WHY WE MUST EMPOWER PEOPLE TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY

Conserving blodiversity has in recent years become a concern of the gl obal elite because of the commercial potential of the emerging biotech nologies. But much of this blodiversity resides In the Third World tro pics which are currently being drained of their biological and mineral wealth. This process goes on because the costs of the resultant degra dation are entirely passed on to the poor of the Third World countrysi de who perforce have to depend on resources gathered or produced with their own labour from their surroundings. The elite have always found a substitute whenever a particular resource, or a particular locality, has been exploited to exhaustion. Indeed, given their record, commerc ial interests are likely to abandon the new found concern for conserva tion once they acquire control over adequate levels of genetic resourc es in ex situ storages. Long term conservation of biodiversity must th erefore be attempted through empowering and suitably rewarding people of the Third World countryside whose well being is linked to the susta inable use of biological resources and conservation of the biodiversit y in their own localities.