Forest genetic resources are facing multiple threats from habitat loss, forest fires, climate change and from the invasion of exotic species. Conservation is compounded by the number of species that require protection. Some priority species for India are listed in appendixes 2-6. Plant resources, many of which come from forests, are the biological basis of the world security and directly or indirectly support the livelihoods of every person on earth by providing food, feed for domestic animals, fibre, clothing, shelter, wood, timber, medicine, energy, etc. These resources are also the raw material used in the production of new plant varieties through traditional plant breeding or through biotechnology. The erosion of these resources poses a severe threat to the world’s food security in the long term. Thus, there is an urgent need to conserve and utilize the genetic resources as a safeguard against an unpredictable future.
Today, increasing direct and indirect access to the benefits created by forests is causing damage to the ecosystem as a whole as well as loss of biodiversity in particular. Reliable and sustainable improvements in plantation yield are necessary to meet the growing demand and to protect the natural forests from pressures. The conservation and sustainable utilization of PGR is the key to improving the productivity and sustainability of forests, thus contributing to national development, food security and the alleviation of poverty. A multifaceted approach to biodiversity conservation is needed at this junction. We should not allow a single species to depart from us.
