New challenges have arrived for the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Increased pressure on the environment, including the added threat of climate change, has had adverse effects on biodiversity and agricultural systems. Emerging science and new technologies have at the same time altered the scope of possibilities for collection, conservation, and utilization of genetic resources for agriculture. Taken together, these changes imply a need for a refocusing of global strategies for the management of genetic resources for agriculture. This paper argues that simple theoretical models provide relatively little guidance for key questions about genebank management. The fundamental uncertainty of scientific possibility and global futures makes it challenging – and perhaps futile – to attempt economic valuation of gene banks. A more useful application of economic tools will be in the prioritization of collection and conservation. Economic analysis may also offer useful insights into the efficient management of genetic resources.

中文翻译：

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保护农业遗传资源：新兴科学的经济影响

保护粮食和农业植物遗传资源的新挑战已经到来。环境压力的增加，包括气候变化威胁的增加，对生物多样性和农业系统产生了不利影响。新兴科学和新技术同时改变了农业遗传资源收集、保存和利用的可能性范围。总之，这些变化意味着需要重新调整农业遗传资源管理的全球战略。本文认为，简单的理论模型对种质库管理的关键问题提供的指导相对较少。科学可能性和全球未来的基本不确定性使得尝试对基因库进行经济估值具有挑战性——也许是徒劳的。经济工具的一个更有用的应用将是对收集和保护进行优先排序。经济分析还可以为遗传资源的有效管理提供有用的见解。