Introduction

Abstract

The sustainable use of the components of biodiversity is one of the three key objectives of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity1. But this far from a new idea. The need to strike a balance between human utilization and con- servation is at the heart of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme launched in 1971; there are now 482 Biosphere Reserves in 102 countries,‘‘living laboratories for people and nature’’. Is not the key to con- serving biodiversity long-term securing the commitment of those who use it? Local peoples are the front-line of the exploitation vs. conservation conflict, whether in Amazonas, Kalimantan, the Pacific North-West, or the Camarge. Sound conservation practice has to be recognized as beneficial and im- plemented by the people who use it from subsistence farmers to skiers and pharmaceutical bioprospectors. Fortunately, there is now a hightened concern over biodiversity conservation and the state of the environment than ever before. Voluntary groups undertake work to protect endangered species, create and maintain new biodiversity reserves, and prevent the destruction of natural habitats. But, more critically, the numbers of conservation- and en- vironmentally-aware has passed a‘‘tipping point’’ and is influencing policy from the global to the local level. At the same time, indigenous peoples utilize enormous numbers of plants, fungi, and fish particularly for foods and medicines. This has to be allowed for in conservation planning, and is a source of potentially new food sources. The world’s staple foods, of which potatoes and rice are prime examples, were first exploited by indigenous groups. Yet over-exploitation can drive species to- wards extinction, from tigers in south-east Asia to North Sea Cod, the South Indian Lady’s Slipper orchid and Giant Pitcher plants, and even perhaps to Matsutake mushrooms. Use of particular species has to be monitored and controlled, and fortunately such cases are increasingly the subject of interna- tional agreements, for example under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).