Biological Resources of Economic Importance
Food, fibre, medicines, fuel wood and ornamental plants:
Five thousand plant species are known to have been used as food by humans. Presently about 20 species feed the majority of the world’s population and just 3 or 4 only are the major staple crops to majority of population in the world.
- A large number of plant and animal materials are used for the treatment of various ailments. The usage of medicinal plants in India has an ancient history, dating back to the pre-vedic culture, at least 4000 years B.C. The therapeutic values of herbal medicines led to evolution of Ayurveda which means “science of life”. It is estimated that at least 70% of the country’s population rely on herbal medicines and over 7000 species of plants are used for medicinal purposes.
- Wood is a basic commodity used worldwide for making furniture and for building purposes. Fire wood is the primary source of fuel widely used in third world countries. Wood and bamboo are used for making paper.
- Plants are the traditional source of fibre such as coir, hemp, flax, cotton, jute.
Breeding material for crop improvement:
- Wild relatives of cultivated crop plants contain valuable genes that are of immense genetic value in crop improvement programmes. Genetic material or genes of wild crop plants are used to develop new varieties of cultivated crop plants for restructuring of the existing ones for improving yield or resistance of crops plants. For example: rice grown in Asia is protected from four main diseases by genes contributed by a single wild rice variety.
Future Resources
- There is a clear relationship between the conservation of biological diversity and the discovery of new biological resources. The relatively few developed plant species currently cultivated have had a large amount of research and selective breeding applied to them. Many presently under-utilised food crops have the potential to become important crops in the future. Knowledge of the uses of wild plants by the local people is often a source for ideas on developing new plant products.
Social Benefits
- Recreation: Forests, wildlife, national parks and sanctuaries, garden and aquaria have high entertainment and recreation value. Ecotourism, photography, painting, film making and literary activities are closely related.
- Cultural values: Plants and animals are important part of the cultural life of humans. Human cultures have co-evolved with their environment and biological diversity can impart a distinct cultural identity to different communities.
- The natural environment serves the inspirational, aesthetic, spiritual and educational needs of the people, of all cultures. In a majority of Indian villages and towns, plants like Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Peepal (Ficus religiosa), Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) are planted and considered sacred and worshipped.
Research, Education and Monitoring
- There is still much to learn on how to get better use from biological resources, how to maintain the genetic base of harvested biological resources, and how to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems. Natural areas provide excellent living laboratories for such studies, for comparison with other areas under systems of use and for valuable research in ecology and evolution.