Download Wildlife Resource Conservation - Department of Agricultural

Team 3:
Biological Resources
Travis Long
Kathryn Peters
Melissa Prock
Seth Scherm
Ch. 3.1 Biological Resources
and Agriculture
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What are biological resources?
Resources that affect agriculture
Resources that provide scientific inputs
Resources that generate natural goods
and services
• Agriculture and Genetic Resources
• Comparing Wildlife and Genetic
Resources
What are biological resources?
• Biological resources
refer to the living
landscape -- the
plants, animals, &
other aspects of
nature that occur on
farmland, forests, and
other natural lands.
Resources that affect agriculture
• Natural resources that directly affect
agriculture.
• It can be a positive or negative affect.
• Examples: cultivated plants, pollinators,
pests, soil microbes, and domesticated
animals.
Resources that provide
scientific inputs
• Animal and plants genes that can be
collected and analyzed for future scientific
uses.
• Protecting genes preserve materials that
may be useful in production of industrial
and pharmaceutical products.
Resources that generate natural
goods and services
• It is hard tp place a commodity value on
these resources. Examples of these
include wildlife, fish, and scenic beauty
present in farmed and natural landscapes.
• These resources are divided into three
categories based on the type of benefits
they supply.
Types of Benefits Provided by
Natural Goods and Services
• Consumptive Benefits --> active use of wildlife
for activities such as hunting as fishing.
• Nonconsumptive Benefits--> activities such as
wildlife viewing that do not directly harm plant
and animal populations.
• Nonuse benefits--> people require no physical
connection to acquire benefits from the
resource. An example is the “existence value” of
an ecosystem.
Agriculture and Wildlife
• Wildlife is important to the American
people and to the U.S. economy.
• Wildlife oriented activities such as bird
watching have increased in recent years.
• Hard to place a $ value.
• Abundant species value < Rare species
value. White-tailed deer vs. bighorn sheep
Agriculture and Wildlife
• Agricultural lands are a major supplier of
both wildlife habitat and access to wildliferelated goods and services.
• An example of agriculture, wildlife and
economics all coming together is the
leasing of farmland for recreational
hunting.
• Economic incentives for farmers to
allocate land as habitat is also helpful.
Agriculture and Genetic
Resources
• Genetic resources: the genes found in all living
things
• Can be stored in gene banks and enhance
domestic and world food security through
increased productivity and protection against
yield variability due to diseases, pests, and
environmental stress.
• Maintained by 2 techniques of preservation:
• In situ- maintained in their natural environment
• Ex situ- maintained in gene banks
Comparing Wildlife and Genetic
Resources
• Both share a common feature: benefits they
provide to society are not marketable
commodities. Hard to value dollar-wise.
• Government programs to help include: the EQIP
and CRP.
• Increase the overall supply of wildlife habitat.
• Both will be examined in greater detail by my
other team members.
3.2 Crop Genetics
Crop Genetics
Relationship with Agriculture
In-situ
Found in wild / fields
Ex-situ
Found in banks, botanical
gardens, zoos
Research & Development
Productivity of Ag Production
Benefit Cost Analysis
of Genetic Resources
Direct use values
Agricultural inputs
-breeding, pesticides, microorganisms
Indirect use values
Ecosystem role
Option values
Use in Future
Quasi-option values
Information in conserved resources
Bequest values
Future generations
Existence values
Existence
Genomics
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Mapping the genome of an organism
Sequencing a single ind. From a given species
Identifying genes
Genetic variability and similarities within species
Gene function
Gene regulation
Gene interaction
Crop Genetics Benefits
• Crop genetic enhancements - $115 million
welfare increase in U.S.
• Constitutes a large percentage of
Agriculture Economy in other nations
Genetic Erosion
• Habitat Conversion
– for Urban or Agricultural Use
• Widespread adoption of genetically
uniform crop varieties
Genetic Conservation
• In-situ Conservation Benefits
– Evolutionary process continues
– Some germoplasm more efficient
– Existing wild relatives pereserved
• In-situ Conservation Costs
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Bourne by farmers
Can reduce farm productivity
Requires land
Farmer selections may not preserve targeted diversity
Genetic Conservation Con’t
• Ex-situ Conservation Benefits
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Costs centralized
Large amounts of diverse germplasm
Readily accessed by more breeders
High security storage from natural disasters
• Ex-situ Conservation Costs
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Some germplasm not easily stored
Regeneration costly, time consuming
Genetic drift
Insufficient funds, organization, documentation
Ex Situ: Benefits and Costs
Ex Situ: Benefits and Costs
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Long-term conservation of genetic material
Store large amounts at low cost
Not all resources can be held Ex Situ
To costly to keep material alive
International Access to Genetic
Resources
• Critical to maintaining rate of varietal
improvement.
• Most important plant species originate
outside the U.S.
Policies Protecting Genetic
Resources
• NPGS
• Primary player in effort to secure and
utilize germplasm
• Maintains base collection and backup
seeds for germplasm
Policies to Protect Genetic
Resources
• NPGS
• 85 Crops
• Elite, Landrace and wild
Polices to Protect Genetic
Resources
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Genetic materials be held in situ
Genetic materials be held ex situ
Focus primarily on ex situ preservation
International ex situ agreements
Policies to Protect Genetic
Resources
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Collection
Preservation ex situ
Characterization
Enhancement
Policies to Protect Genetic
Resources
• Ex situ preservation efforts successful
• Results in NPGS becoming largest
collectors and distributors
• Management system has yielded
economic benefits for U.S. and World
Agriculuture.
Problems with Current Gene Bank
System
• Few wild relatives are held in banks
• Few may be receiving the adequate
funding for material to fulfill its mission
• Lacks funding to complete evaluation
regeneration of seed accessions
Internationally Held Genetic
Resources
• Addressed by International Agreements
• Funding International germplasm
preservation efforts
• CGIAR coordinates germplasm efforts
FAO-led International Undertaking
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1983
Major Controversy
Free access to all germplasm
Developing Countries disagreed
Some resisted to it
FAO-led International Undertaking
• Meetings of FAO began to resolve issues
• 1993 Called for Soveriegn Rights
• Convention designed to promote
conservation
• Had fairly wide reaching implications
• Focus of most recent Convention has
been genetically modified organisms
Wildlife Resource
Conservation
Chapter 3.3
Wildlife Conservation
Trade-off
• U.S. farms accounted for 41% of land in
lower 48 states in 1997
• The amount of wildlife on this land is
immeasurable and very diverse
• What is the worth of protecting species?
Trade-off
• US Agriculture is one of the most
competitive markets in US economy
• Typically operate at or near economic
margin
• This severely limits farmers or ranchers to
adopt programs or policies that support
wildlife but means of limiting output
Distribution of Cost and Benefits
• Benefits are derived public goods
• Includes existence value, bequest value
and option value
• Also can be common property resources,
meaning they are available to anyone
willing to incur the direct costs
• Ex. Fee hunting,
Cost Implications of Biology
• Wild species require four basic services: food,
water, cover and interspersion
• Where agriculture diminishes any one of these
four, then the species will be hurt
• Policies that do not provide for the biological
needs of target species are unlikely to
accomplish their objectives
• Any associated restrictions imposed on farm
activities risk needless increase in production
costs
Cost Implications, Con’t
• Policy must recognize that some programs
are detrimental instead of beneficial
• Supporting a single species or group of
species by protecting one specific kind of
habitat can actually harm other habitats
and hurt a more diverse population of
wildlife.
Objectives of Wildlife Resource
Conservation Policy
• “To balance between economics of production activities,
the distribution of legal property rights, the biological
needs of desired species and habitats, and social
preferences regarding wildlife conservation”
• Minimize impacts of agricultural production on wild
species and habitats
• Minimize impacts on agricultural producers of wildlife
conservation programs
• Protect threatened and endangered species
• Improve water quality and reduce soil erosion
• Protect open space
Current Programs
• Long-run land retirement
– WRP and CRP
– Over 415,000 contracts in 2000
Current Programs
• Conservation Compliance
– Provision of Farm Act
– “by failing to adhere to conservation
compliance restrictions, farmers risk losing
the benefits of imcome support, reduced
production risk, and reduced marketing risk
provided by the commodity program.
Current Programs
• Cost Sharing
– USDA encourages implementation of habitat
improvements by providing financial
assistance
– Include vegetative cover, restoring wetland
and riparian zones and installing structure that
benefit habitat
Current Programs
• Technical Assistance
– Effective where there are changes farmers
can make in their production practices or land
management decisions that favor wildlife and
that are neutral with respect to their impact on
net farm income
Global Warming & Agriculture
• Possible benefits:
– Enhanced CO2 assimilation
– Longer growing seasons
– Increased precipitation
• Possible costs:
– More frequent & severe droughts with heat
stress
– Faster growth, shorter growing periods,
shortened lifecycle
– Sea-level rise; increased flooding & salinization
Consequences Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 1995, US Global Change Research Information