自然博物馆在长江流域生物多样性保护中的作用

The roles of natural history museums in biodiversity conservation of the Yangtze River basin

长江流域是中华文明的起源地之一,具有丰富的生物多样性。然而,由于城镇化和社会经济的高速发展,长江流域的生物多样性面临着巨大威胁,如何保护长江流域的生物多样性成为亟须解决的问题。自然博物馆作为直接面向公众的科普机构,集教育、收藏、研究和陈列功能为一体,在长江大保护中具有不可替代的作用。回顾长江流域自然博物馆的发展历程、地域分布和现状,分析了自然博物馆在长江大保护中的重要性。当代自然博物馆的角色已经发生转变,旨在借助平台资源与社会各界进行知识交流和对话。因此,应当重视长江流域自然博物馆的建设,加强动植物遗传多样性的研究,并利用新技术、新媒体扩大自然博物馆的影响力,为长江流域生物多样性保护工作的顺利推进奠定基础。

The Yangtze River basin is one of the vital origins of Chinese civilization with great biodiversity. Nowadays, biodiversity of the Yangtze River basin is facing great challenges due to the process of urbanization and the rapid social and economic development. The conservation of biodiversity in the Yangtze River basin is in urgent need. Natural history museums, serving as public institutions with integrated functions of education, collection, research and exhibition, play irreplaceable roles in the Great Protection of the Yangtze River. In this paper, we introduced the functions as well as the achievements of domestic and international natural history museums, reviewed the development, distribution and current status of the natural history museums located in the Yangtze River basin, and analyzed the roles of natural history museums in the Great Protection of the Yangtze River. This study points out natural history museums have converted the role from exhibition institution into platforms of public communication, thus, definitely promote biodiversity conservation of the Yangtze River basin. Therefore, the development of natural history museums in the Yangtze River basin is of great significance and should be paid more attention. Collections are still the basis of the natural history researches, especially studies of genetic diversity. Advanced technology and new media should be employed to provide sound foundations for biodiversity conservation in the Yangtze River basin.