Strategies and action plans to conserve biological diversity: a cultural and scientific challenge

Ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity obliges the contracting parties to implement general measures to ensure the development of national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity as set out in Article Six. A decade after the 1992 Rio Conference — through a critical review of the path certain African countries have taken in the process of developing biodiversity strategies, actions plans or programmes — the authors propose the main areas of focus that should govern biodiversity conservation planning. After briefly reviewing the origins of the biodiversity conservation concept, the authors deal with the issue of ambiguity linked to the current use of certain terms such as conservation, preservation and protection. In this section, the debate revolves around the meaning of this biodiversity conservation concept, whose origins can be found in the cultural and economic domains. The rest of the article covers the different approaches used in processes designed to develop biodiversity strategies and action plans. Each of these approaches presents certain strengths and weaknesses. An approach is also proposed that would allow effective participation by all concerned stakeholders and shows how taking account of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is a prerequisite for a real participation of peasants in Africa.