Resumen

DEL MONTE-LUNA, Pablo; LLUCH-BELDA, Daniel  y  ARREGUIN-SANCHEZ, Francisco. Conservation and sustainable use of living natural resources. INCI [online]. 2007, vol.32, n.1, pp.61-65. ISSN 0378-1844.

Nowadays, a wide sector of the society talks about conservation affairs. The basic notion that still prevails implies maintaining untouched a natural system indefinitely, with no other purpose than to assure its existence. This idea differs from the definition of conservation agreed at international level, which entails the maximum sustainable use of natural resources in benefit of humankind. In the present essay, the concepts of preservation, conservation, sustainable use and over-exploitation are discussed. It is concluded that conservation and maximum sustainable use should be regarded as synonyms. The corollary is that there is an urgent need to reassess current models of exploitation of living natural resources in order to increase the utilization efficiency and to fulfil the purposes of conservation.

Palabras clave : Desarrollo Sustentable ; Explotación ; Preservación ; Sobrepesca ; Uso Sostenido.