by Douglas P. Wheeler
Chairman, California Executive Council on Biological Diversity
The concept of maintaining biological diversity is gaining increasing acceptance. Once the purview of a small group of scientists, conservation of biodiversity and its relationship to needed economic development is increasingly being recognized as an essential part of California's magnificent future.
Our challenge is to transform the promise of biological
diversity into planning and decision-making processes that conserve the
environment and lead to sustainable development.
Applying biodiversity in the management of California's natural resources means that future conservation planning and strategies will be focused on our state's unique and diverse natural regions, such as the Sierra, Mojave Desert, Klamath-North Coast, and Bay-Delta, rather than along narrow traditional jurisdictional lines or by focusing solely on the preservation of a single species. Moreover, it will be done different ways in different places, recognizing distinctive local issues, institutions and traditions.
The tools of science have changed over time, allowing us to apply data collected by satellites to evaluate the impact of our actions on the environment and, hopefully, to make better decisions for the future.
Recognition that we needed a new approach to conserving biodiversity produced the historic cooperative agreement between various levels of government and the Resources Conservation Districts, and the formation of the California Executive Council on Biological Diversity. This agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, seeks to have the member agencies and county supervisory groups work together toward this goal, and to involve local government, citizens and businesses in managing California's natural resources.
The council seeks to make the process more responsive and anticipatory, fitting Governor Wilson's notion of preventive government. It is not a new layer of bureaucracy, and it has no power to overrule local decision-making authority or to infringe upon private property.
By adopting biodiversity as the basis of long-term conservation planning, we have recognized that we can no longer afford to pursue different and conflicting policies at the local, state and federal levels, whether the issue at hand is the spotted owl and forest practices, or protection of the coastal California gnatcatcher and compatible economic development.
Our goal in establishing the California Biodiversity News is to assist the council and interested parties in understanding more about the challenges in specific bioregions and to exchange information regarding the many efforts that are under way throughout California. The decisions we must make still may be difficult. But working together, we will strive to make better informed decisions drawing upon the evolving concept of biodiversity.
Chairman Douglas P. Wheeler is California's Secretary for Resources.