Although, over the past years, there has been an increasing awareness of the need to conserve plant genetic resources, the examples of protected areas established and managed for the maintenance of intra-specific genetic diversity are few and - as regards woody species in the tropics - practically non existent. Similarly, there are still very few examples of cases where conservation of genetic resources is taken into consideration when drawing up management plans for the production of goods and services. Technical difficulties in implementation of in situ conservation are caused by inadequacy of basic knowledge of species distribution, genetic variation and variation patterns in the species to be conserved.
FAO, in collaboration with other international organizations (notably UNESCO, UNEP and IUCN) has, during the past few years, carried out a number of studies aimed at outlining a methodology of in situ conservation and at drawing up tentative guidelines for action, which - in spite of often inadequate basic biological knowledge - would lead to improved utilization of forest genetic resources. Three practical manuals have already been published:
In situ Conservation of Genetic Resources of Plants: the Scientific and Technical Base. Document FORGEN/MISC/84/1;
Guide to in situ Conservation of Genetic Resources of Tropical Woody Species. Document FORGEN/MISC/84/2;
In situ Conservation of Wild Plant Genetic Resources: A Status Review and Action Plan. Document FORGEN/MISC/84/3.
These documents are available, free of charge, from FAO's Forestry Department (see also FGRI no. 13, pp. 59–61).
In the elaboration of the documents, three countries - Cameroon, Malaysia and Peru - were contracted to carry out Case Studies on their present situation, problems and perspectives in in situ conservation of forest genetic resources. The species chosen for study in the three countries are not necessarily endangered and not necessarily in need of urgent attention. They were chosen to represent a wide range of woody species occurring in forest ecosystems, necessitating various degrees of intervention to achieve improved conservation, evaluation and use; and providing a range of goods and services.
The Case Studies on Cameroon and Peninsular Malaysia were published in FGRI no. 14. A summary of the Case Study of Peru is presented on the next pages.
Within the framework of the FAO/UNEP project on in situ conservation of forest genetic resources, pilot activities have been started in the three countries to conserve, in situ, a few of the species described in the Case Studies; the main purposes of the project are to test the methodologies developed and to demonstrate the compatibility of in situ conservation of genetic resources and sustained utilization of the resource.
