DEFINITION
It is the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats in their natural surroundings. In the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties.
INTRODUCTION
In-situ (‘on site’, ‘in place’) conservation is a set of conservation techniques involving the designation, management, and monitoring of biodiversity in the same area where it is encountered. The in-situ concept is best understood in contrast to ex-situ conservation. Ex-situ (‘off site’) conservation techniques are implemented away from the conservation target’s natural habitat.
PURPOSE AND USE OF IN-SITU CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
In-situ management approaches can either be targeted at populations of selected species (species-centered approaches), or whole ecosystems (ecosystem-based approaches). Both approaches follow the same purpose. To enable biodiversity to maintain itself within the context of the ecosystem in which it has been found. So as to enable a species population to self-replicate and maintain its potential for continued evolution. This requires the conservation of the components of the natural system as well as the ecological and evolutionary processes occurring within that system.
Conservation measures are aimed at the surroundings where a target-species developed its distinctive properties. This could be a natural habitat, or an environment heavily modified by human activity. For instance, agricultural or domestic species may have evolved characteristic traits in human-dominated environments. The conservation of agricultural biodiversity, therefore, requires the conservation of agro-ecosystems by farmers, commonly using traditional farming practices
