In situ and Ex situ Conservation of Biodiversity

To sustain biodiversity’s invaluable contributions supporting food webs, ecological balance, scientific discoveries and more, targeted conservation efforts are essential. Two major biodiversity conservation approaches include in situ and ex situ management.

In Situ Conservation

In situ conservation focuses on protecting endangered species within their native habitats through designated nature and marine preserves prohibiting land-use changes or resource extraction. Key examples of In situ Conservation are National Parks, Wild Life sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Gene Sanctuaries etc.

About 15.5% of the planet’s land area falls under in situ biodiversity protections, led by refuges like Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest preserving invaluable tropical diversity. However, many ecosystems lack adequate formal protections and even existing reserves suffer from poaching and encroaching development. Expanding well-managed habitat networks remains essential for species preservation in the wild.

Ex Situ Conservation

Ex situ techniques involve breeding threatened species outside original habitats, generally in specialized zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens and gene banks, Seed Banks, aquaria etc.

Such facilities enable supplemental populations that help reestablish declining species numbers if in situ protections falter. For example, the Panama Amphibian Rescue Center breeds dozens of endangered tropical frogs. Meanwhile some 45,000 plant varieties are cryogenically preserved in ‘doomsday vaults’ like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault as genetic insurance policies against extinction. Global crop gene banks additionally protect the wild ancestral varieties improving agricultural production. Though ultimately secondary to habitat preservation, ex situ conservation provides an invaluable biodiversity safety net.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Both approaches carry distinct advantages and disadvantages towards conservation goals. In situ protections best sustain complex interrelationships, evolutionary pressures and ecosystem integrity over generations. Yet habitat loss can quickly eliminate restricted native populations. Ex situ techniques increase reproduction capacity and research insights while reducing threats, but adaptation is limited outside natural environments given altered selection pressures. An integrated strategy maximizing each method’s strengths is required for comprehensive biodiversity policies.