Design of Prototype Information Support System For Biodiversity Studies on Ethiopia
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Date
1994-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The direct benefits of biological resour ces to humanity
(for food, fue I , fibre , medicines, drugs, and raw
materials for a host of manufacturing technolog ie s and
purposes), and the intangible scientific, ethical/moral,
aesthet ic, recreational val ues and the ecological
se rvice s (in prot ect ing waters heds, cycling nutrient s,
comba t ing e r os i on, enriching so i I , regulat i ng water-flow,
trapping sediments, mitigating pollution, and controll i ng
pest populations) have been recognised for a long time.
However , biological resources have no t been given due
care and attention by policy makers, planners, and the
public . Indeed, the lar ge sca le probl ems of populati on
growt h and inappropriate development strategies a re
degrading the land, water, and atmosphere and
progressively extinguishing the Eart h 's o r ganisms and
habitats they inhabit. The g reat los s of biodiversity
suggests the need f or conse rv ing and manag ing it to
ensure s ustainab le de ve l opme nt. The thesis discusses
some of the research areas/topics c ri tica l to the
conservation of biodiver si ty . I t hi g h I ights th e
biological aspect as well as the soci o-economic factors
and cultural co ntext that mu st be conside r ed ins ucce ss fu I . longterm conservati o n work a nd f i n a l ly
proposes a nd br i e f ly d isc u ss e s a nat i ona l bi o di versity
con s ervation st rat egy to be drawn and impl e ment e d.
As par t o f co n servi ng an d ma n a ging bi od i v er s it y , it is
necessary t o id e nt i fy wh a t i s not known about
biodiversity a nd create t he mean s t o in crease and
di ss emin a te know l edge. The c hallenge of biod ive r s i ty
co n serva t io n , man ageme n t, a nd r esear ch entail s not o nl y
g at h e ring of information, but it s man agement,
a ppli c ati o n , and co mmu n icati o n. Pr o vi s ion of the
informat i o n needed t o de ci sio n makers in mo nit o ring ,
formulati ng policy and d es i g n ing p r ogr ams t o co nse r ve
bi odivers it y is cri t ica l. To e nh a nce t he avail ab ilit y a nd
app l i c a ti on o f s c i en tif ic inf o rma tion f o r ma nag in g a nd
con s erving bio l ogica l dive r si t y, s etting up computer
data bases and i nve nt o ri es a nd n e twor ks and harnessing the
capab ilities of r emot e se n s in g a nd geog r a phic info rma t ion
sys tems are exami ned. From t h is poi nt of v iew , agai n , a
s u rvey has bee n c on d u c t ed o n l ocal in s t i tut i o n s co nce rn ed
wi t h b i od i versit y, the finding s a nalyzed, c urrent
problems and c o n s traints i dentif i ed . Proto t ype databases
f or plan ts, animal s . natio n a l pa r k s . germp l a s ms, referra land refere nce services have been designed; strategies for
developing and implementing the databases discussed; and
a nationa l biodiversity informati on and monitoring system
(NBIMS) proposed .
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Keywords
Biodiversity Studies on Ethiopia