Abstract
The definitions of ‘genetic resource’, ‘biological resource’, and ‘biodiversity’ show the existence of degrees of innacuracy, according to the versions considered. The increasing acceptance of inappropriate concepts in the realms of plant genetic resources and biological conservation prompts re-examination of the subject. The argument raised is that the establishment of defective concepts may undermine the foundations of scientific thought itself.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allem, A.C. (1999) Termos e definições críticos em planejamento. Revista Administração Pública (Rio de Janeiro) 33, 143-52.
Allem, A.C., Mendes, R.A., Salomão, A.N. and Burle, M.L.(2000) The value of aggregation of Manihot genetic resources. In Cassava Biotechnology: IV International Scientific Meeting?CBN (L.J.C.B. Carvalho, A.M. Thro, and A.D. Vilarinhos, eds) pp. 15-23. Brasília: Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia.
Brockhaus, R. and Oetmann, A. (1996) Aspects of the documentation of in situ conservation measures of genetic resources. Plant Genet. Resources Newslett. 108, 1-16.
CBD (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity. Text and Annexes. United Nations Environment Programme, Rio de Janeiro, 5 June.
CGIAR (1992) Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Plant genetic resources conservation short course. July 6-August 7, 1992, Washington, DC.
Dobzhansky, T., Ayala, F.J., Stebbins, G.L. and Valentine, J.W. (1977) Evolution. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman.
Eiten, G. (1987) Physiognomic categories of vegetation. In Vegetation Ecology and Creation of New Environments (A. Miyawaki, A. Bogenrieder, S. Okuda, and J. White, eds), pp. 387-403. Tokyo: Tokai University Press.
Elsevier (1991) Dictionary of Plant Genetic Resources. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
FAO (1989) Plant Genetic Resources: Their Conservation in Situ for Human Use. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
FAO (1995) Conference, 28th session, 20 October-2 November. Broadening the mandate of the FAO commission on plant genetic resources to cover all genetic resources relevant to food and agiculture.
Frankel, O.H. and Soulé, M.E. (1981) Conservation and Evolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Frankel, O.H. and Soulé, M.E. (1992) Conservation and Evolution, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hodges, J. (1995) A description and appraisal of the convention on biological diversity relative to domestic livestock and poultry following the first conference of the Parties held in the Bahamas 28 November-9 December 1994.
Mills, L.S., Soulé, M.E. and Doak, D.F. (1993) The keystone species concept in ecology and conservation. Bioscience 43, 219-24.
Oxford University Press (1996) A Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pareto, V. (1935) The mind and society [Trattato di Sociologia Generale]. In Nonlogical Conduct, Vol. 1 (A. Livingston, ed). Translated by Andrew Bongiorno and Arthur Livingston. London: Jonathan Cape.
Pezzey, J. (1992) Sustainability: an interdisciplinary guide. Environ. Values 1, 321-62.
Ray, G.C. (1988) Ecological diversity in coastal zones and oceans. In Biodiversity (E.O. Wilson and F.M. Peter, eds), pp. 36-50. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Singer, P. (1983) Hegel. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
UNEP. (1991) United Nations Environment Programme. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Convention on Biological Diversity. Unpublished working paper, fourth negotiating sessionrsecond/session of INC, Nairobi, September 23-October 2. UNEP/Bio.Div./N4-INC.2/CRP.1.
UNEP (1996) A call to action. Decisions and ministerial statement from the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Jakarta, Indonesia, 6-17 November 1995. UNEP/CBD/ 91/1, October.
Wilcox, B.A. (1982) In situ conservation of genetic resources: determinants of minimum area requirements. In National Parks, Conservation and Development: the Role of Protected Areas in Sustaining Society (J.A. McNeely and K.R. Miller, eds) Proceedings of the world congress on national parks, Bali, Indonesia, October 11-22, 1982, pp. 639-47. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Wilson, E.O. (1984) Biophilia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wilson, E.O. (1988) The current state of biological diversity. In Biodiversity (E.O. Wilson and F.M. Peter, eds) pp. 3-18. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
WRI. (1996) World resources institute biodiversity web site. Biodiversity glossary of terms.
WWF. (1995) Biodiversity support program. A USAID-funded consortium of World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute. Conservation impact grants program. Request for proposals.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allem, A.C. The terms genetic resource, biological resource, and biodiversity examined. The Environmentalist 20, 335–341 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006730000698
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006730000698