Planning for biodiversity conservation based on the knowledge of biologists

To conserve biodiversity, complementary approaches are necessary. Besides u sing museum data from sightings and specimens, the knowledge of experts can also be employed. Often such valuable information is lost on retirement or death. To investigate the value of this knowledge for nature conservation planning, we sent questionnaires to 124 professional conservationists in th e province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Fifty-two replies illustrated th at the historical context biases our concepts of nature and the conservatio n of biodiversity. Despite an awareness of all the spatial scales, complexi ties and dynamics of nature, there is still a strong focus on large-sized a nimals and visibly discrete ecosystems, such as wetlands. Nevertheless, the respondents illustrated that an awareness of infrequently-seen and less we ll known organisms is increasing. Harnessing this expert knowledge was valu able for conservation planning, but had the weakness that many taxa and loc alities were neglected. Similar problems arose with data from museum specim ens. However, both these approaches were synergistic and highlighted the ge ographical areas that need far more exploration of their biodiversity. Such information gathering is an important ethical and practical exercise for c onserving biodiversity.