CONSERVATION

Conservation
What is conservation?
• prevention of wasteful use of a resource
• preservation, protection, restoration and sustainable use of the
natural environment and genetic resources
Conservation goals include protecting species from extinction,
maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services and
protecting biological diversity.
Methods of conservation
1-Ex-Situ conservation
• It refers to conservation of components of biodiversity outside their natural
habitat
2-In-Situ conservation
• It refers to conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats including
maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural
habitats
Ex-Situ conservation
• Zoo
• Botanical gardens
• Gene bank
• Seed bank
Zoo
• Mission of Zoos
• Education *Entertaainment
• Conservation
• How Zoo help in Conservation?
• Zoos primarily deal with three aspects of conservation – practice, advocacy and
research
• Conservation practice entails captive breeding, species reintroduction programs,
Species survival plans and the use of zoo revenue for conservation programs in
the wild.
• Conservation advocacy includes public engagement, promoting awareness,
advocating stewardship, and fundraising events and schemes. Example: ‘Adopt
an Animal’ scheme
• conservation research is conducted on wildlife biology, population dynamics,
animal behaviour, health and welfare and there are also publications generated by
zoos on animal care and captivity.
Zoo
• Over 7,000 vertebrate species are kept in zoos worldwide
• Zoos are relatively good places for maintaining species in captivity and
for captive breeding programs
Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos,
especially animals which have become rare in the wild
• Many techniques are used in captive breeding which are often species-specific.
Pros and cons of Zoo
• Benefits
• Restoring population of threatened species
• Research on captive animals increases knowledge of animal biology, genetics,
behaviour, interactions, food habits etc.
• Preserve biodiversity (genetic and species) that may be threatened or at
times even extinct in the wild, and they provide much needed funding for
research and conservation projects across the world.
• Problems
• Captive breeding is costly
• Risk of inbreeding depression
• Only limited gene pool can be conserved
Botanical gardens
• A botanical garden or botanic garden is a garden dedicated to the
collection, cultivation, preservation and display of a wide range of
plants labelled with their botanical names
• Worldwide about 80,000 plant species are grown in botanical gardens
Benefits of botanical gardens
• They play major role in education, conservation and aesthetics and Recreation
1.Education: Taxonomic Studies (Botanical gardens provide valuable information on
various plants Local flora, bonsai, rare plants etc), Botanical Research (Botanical
gardens supply wide range of plant species, seeds, flowers, fruits for botanical
research), education courses in local flora, horticulture, hybridization, plant
propagation, etc.
2.Conservation: Botanical gardens conserve and propagate rare species and genetic
diversity.
3.Aesthetics and Recreation: They help the public in identifying the local and exotic
plant species; provide instructions for home gardening’s, propagation of plants,
Botanical gardens also attract people who have made gardening their hobby.
Botanical gardens in Pakistan
• Pakistan Botanic Gardens Network Secretariat was established in 2006 at
Botanic Garden, GC University, Lahore. The Secretariat provides a forum for
the mutual linkages among the existing Botanic Gardens and also
encourages the establishment of new Botanic Gardens

• Forman Christian College Botanic Garden, Lahore

• Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore
• Karachi University Botanic Garden, Karachi, Karachi
• Pakistan Forest Institute Botanical Garden, Peshawar
• National Herbarium, Islamabad
Gene bank
• Gene banks are a type of biorepository which preserve genetic
material.
• For plants, this is done by in vitro storage, freezing cuttings from the
plant, or stocking the seeds (e.g. in a seedbank).
• For animals, this is done by the freezing of sperms, eggs or animal
cells until further need.
Cryopreservation
• Cryo-preservation or cryo-conservation is a process where organelles, cells,
tissues, extracellular matrix, organs or any other biological constructs
susceptible to damage caused by unregulated chemical kinetics are
preserved by cooling to very low temperatures in deep freezers (-80°C) in
vapour phase nitrogen (-150°C) or in liquid nitrogen (-196°C)
• Generally cryopreservation is done at -196 degree celcius in liquid nitrogen,
in the presence of cryoprotectants [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is more
commonly used]
• Trehalose (also used as cryoprotectants) stabilizes cell membranes, and it is
particularly useful for the preservation of sperm, stem cells, and blood cells.
Seed bank
• Places where the seeds (and sometimes also pollen, tissue cultures, etc.) can
be stored over the long term
• In seed banks, the seeds are kept in cold, dark conditions, which slows down
metabolism and prevents the seeds from germinating
• For a long time seed banks have existed, but primarily as a repository for
storing seeds of commercially important species.
• Now seed banks are also maintained for endangered species
• Preservation in the form of seed is the most common and easy method,
relatively safe, requires minimum space and easy to maintain.
• Glass, tin or plastic containers are used for preservation and storage of seeds.
• The seed can be conserved under long term, medium term and short term
storage conditions.
How to store seeds in Seed bank
• Dry the seeds completely before packaging them.
• The drier seeds are, the longer they will store
• Storing seeds that are less than 8% moisture provides the optimum
long term seed storage
• The Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP) is located at the Royal
Botanical Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Its goal is to eventually
store and protect more than 24,000 global species of plants. It
currently stores samples of the country's entire native plant
population, including several hundred endangered species
• The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry was established in 1894 in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and is the oldest seed bank in the world
• International Rice Research Institute (Los Banos, Philippines): It
maintains seed bank of Rice.
Benefits of seed bank
• Protection from Climate Change
• Protection from Natural Disasters
• Prevention from disease
• Provide seed material for research.
 Disadvantages of seed bank
• On the other hand, seeds do not last forever and so, periodically, seeds
have to be germinated to form plants that can produce new seeds

• Seed banks are also vulnerable to breaks in the power supply that keep
the refrigerators running

• Another disadvantage is that there are some seeds that simply do not produce
plants that can be stored in this way

• Just as with zoos, seed banks will not work as a repository for all species
Types of seed collections
• Based on the use and duration of conservation, seed collections are of
three types
1.Base collections
2.Active collections
3.Working collections
Base collection
• It is also known as principal collection.
• These consist of all the accessions present in the germplasm of a crop.
• They are stored at about -18oC or -20oC with 5 ± 1% moisture content;
they are disturbed only for regeneration.
• When the germination of an accession falls below 95% of its
germination at the start of storage, the accession is regenerated.
• For reasons of safety, duplicates of base collections should be
conserved in other germplasm banks as well.
• High quality orthodox seeds can maintain good viability upto 100 years
What is an accession?
An accession is a group of related plant material from a single species which is collected at one time from a
specific location.
What is regeneration?
Regeneration means growing a plant. Regeneration can take place through self-sown seed ("natural
regeneration"), by artificially sown seed, or by planted seedlings. In whichever case, the performance of
regeneration depends on its growth potential and the degree to which its environment allows the potential
to be expressed. Seed is needed for all regeneration modes, both for natural or artificial sowing and for
raising planting stock in a nursery.
What are orthodox seeds?
Seeds of this type can be dried to low moisture content of 5% and stored at a low temperature without
losing their viability. Such seeds can be easily stored for long periods; their longevity increases in response
to lower humidity and storage temperature
Another type of seeds is Recalcitrant seeds.
What are recalcitrant seeds?
The viability of this group of seeds drops drastically if their moisture content is reduced below 12-30%.
Such seeds present considerable difficulties in storage. They require in situ conservation.
Active collection
• The accessions in an active collection are stored at temperatures
below 15oC (often near 0oC), and the seed moisture is kept at 5%.
• The storage is for medium duration, i.e., 10-15 years.
• These collections are actively utilized in breeding programme. These
collections are used for evaluation, multiplication and distribution of
the accessions.
• They are usually maintained by multiplying the seeds of their own
accessions. But from time to time, base collection material should be
used for regeneration of these collections.
• Germination test is carried out after every 5-10 years to assess the
reduction in seed viability.
Working collection
• The accessions being actively used in crop improvement programmes
constitute working collection.
• Their seeds are stored for 3-5 years at less than 15oC and they usually
contain about 10% moisture.
• These collections are maintained by the breeders using them.
Advantages of ex-situ conservation
• Organisms are completely protected from predation and poaching
• Health of individuals can be monitored and medical assistance given as required
• Populations can be more effectively managed and divided if disaster strikes
• Genetic diversity of the population can be measured
• Selective breeding programmes can be put into place
• Modern reproductive technology can increase the chances of reproductive success
• Animals and plants can be bred to increase their numbers if endangered
• research into reproductive physiology, lifestyle and ecology of an endangered
species is made easier
• conservation sites can be used as attractions to raise funds for further conservation
efforts
• Conservation sites can be used for education
Disadvantages of ex-situ conservation
• Captive population have limited genetic diversity
• Animals can be exposed to a wide range of different diseases
• the organisms are living outside their natural habitate
• Nutritional issues may arise
• Animals may not behave as normal making reproduction difficult
• Correct survival environmental conditions may be difficult to achieve
• Expensive to maintain
• animals may not survive when reintroduction into the wild
• There can be difficulties with acceptance by the existing wild members of the
species
In-Situ conservation
• National parks
• Wildlife Sanctuaries
• Biosphere reserve
• Sacred groves
Protected areas
• The IUCN definition of a protected area is “A clearly defined
geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through
legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation
of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”.
• According to the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) there
are over 210,000 protected areas around the world.
Categories of protected area
National Park
• A national park is an area dedicated for the conservation of wildlife
along with its environment. It has clearly marked boundaries and
human activities are strictly prohibited
• In Pakistan a National Park is an area of outstanding scenic merit and
natural beauty where the landscape, flora and fauna are protected
and preserved in a natural state.
• Hunting of wild animals or interfering with animals and plants is
prohibited
• Clearing land for cultivation, mining or allowing polluted water to
flow in National Parks is also prohibited.
National Park
• It protects the entire ecosystem of the land plants, animals,
landscapes, historic objects etc.
• It is a highly restricted area, human activities are not allowed.
• It is an IUCN category II protected area.
National Park
Some of the major National parks of Pakistan
• Hingol National Park
• Hazarganji Chiltan National Park
• Kirthar National Park
• Lal Suhanra National Park
• Margalla Hills National Park
• Ayubia National Park
• Deosai National Park
• Chitral Gol National Park
• Khunjerab National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary
• It is also known as wildlife refuge or Nature reserve.
• It is a natural protected habitat which provides protection and
favourable living conditions to wildlife including the rare or
endangered species of plants, animals, insects etc.
• It mainly provides protection to birds, animals, insects, reptiles and
other organisms.
• It is not a highly restricted area, limited human activities are allowed.
• It does not have visible or marked boundaries.
• It is an IUCN category IV protected area.
Few wildlife sanctuaries in Pakistan
• Cholistan Wildlife Sanctuary
• Chashma and Taunsa Barrage Dolphin Sanctuary
• Islamabad Wildlife Sanctuary
• Haleji Wildlife Sanctuary
Biosphere reserve
• Notified areas which cover a larger area of land
• Areas are meant for conservation of biodiversity of a specific area.
• It mainly focus the whole biotic community of an ecosystem.
• Boundaries are marked
• Tourism is generally not permitted
• Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve and
Ziarat Juniper Forest are the only
two biosphere reserve in Pakistan
Sacred groves
• Sacred groves are forest fragments, size varying between 0.5 -500
hectare,(some groves are more than 500 hectare in size) which are
protected by religious communities, and have a significant religious
connotation for the protecting community.
• Sacred groves are mostly associated with temples/ shrines or with
cremation grounds
• Sacred Groves are also culturally important; various cultural and religious
festivals are often arranged by local people within these patches.
• Sacred groves contain various ecosystems, various food chains and food
webs are present in Sacred Groves.
Sacred groves
• Around 15000 sacred groves have been
reported from different parts of India
Advantages of in-situ conservation
1. The flora and fauna live in natural habitats without human
interference.
2. The life cycles of the organisms and their evolution progresses in
a natural way.
3. In-situ conservation provides the required green cover and its
associated benefits to our environment.
4. It is less expensive and easy to manage.
5. The interests of the indigenous people are also protected.
6-it conserves the entire ecosystem and not just a particular
species. As a result, conservationists find it to be more effective.
Not only do you help the species thrive, but you also support the
habitat in which they thrive.
Disadvantages of in-situ conservation
• Each protected area will cover only very small portion of total
diversity of a crop species, hence several areas will have to be
conserved for a single species.
• The management of such areas also poses several problems. This is a
costly method of germplasm conservation
• A gene sanctuary not only conserves the existing genetic diversity
present in the population, it also allows evolution to continue.
• As a result, new alleles and new gene combinations would appear
with time.