The conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources help underpin local and national development by contributing to food security, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, economic and social advancement and the maintenance of cultural and spiritual values. While some natural and human-induced losses in biological diversity over time are inevitable, diversity between and within forest tree species can be maintained at acceptable levels and managed through a wide range of human activities, from intensive management of natural forests and forest plantations for the production of wood and non-wood products, to demarcation of wilderness and nature conservation areas. Action must be based on improved technical and scientific understanding of ecosystem functions, and of the extent, distribution and dynamics of biological diversity and genetic resources directly and indirectly used by man. Strong and continuing policy level support and genuine collaboration between all stakeholders, based on adequate understanding of underlying technical and scientific principles and of consequences and potential impacts of alternative choices, are necessary to successfully implement related activities and to maintain them over time. Raising of awareness at all levels is therefore an urgent need.
Neither natural ecosystems nor breeding programmes are static. Genetic conservation must not be aimed at freezing a given state, which would imply an arbitrary fixation, or a haphazard snapshot in time, of dynamically evolving, living systems. Similarly, it should be recognized that since economic, social and environmental requirements continually shift, objectives and aims of breeding for utilitarian purposes will change in time and space, leading to the need to ensure the long-term maintenance and enhancement of genetic diversity to meet future requirements. These aims can only be reached through active gene management.
Forest genetic resources considerations should increasingly be included as an integral part of silvicultural and forest management practices, and they should also form part of national and local strategies for the maintenance of biological diversity within and outside of protected areas. Genetic conservation considerations should, furthermore, constitute an explicit component of forest tree improvement and breeding programmes. Cooperation among a range of national and local agencies, institutions and local communities within countries is a prerequisite for the implementation of sustainable genetic management programmes.
Since genetic resources do not respect political boundaries, national efforts for their conservation and wise use, which must at all times form the basic building blocks of regional and global strategies, can be usefully complemented by international support and coordination. Joining efforts across national borders will make the best use of scarce resources and will help fill the considerable gaps in information and in the implementation of forest genetic resources programmes more quickly. While countries have sovereign rights and responsibility over their genetic resources, consistent action at the regional and global levels will facilitate the solution of problems at all levels. A coherent global framework for action on forest genetic resources could decisively help promote overall harmonization of action and help further co-operation among regions. Such collaboration could bring tangible benefits to all concerned.
Greatly increased attention and expression of wishes for intensified collaboration between countries in the field of forest genetic resources is a clear indication of growing recognition of the fact that conservation of forest genetic resources is not a limiting factor to development but a precondition for lasting well-being.
