316 In Situ, Ex Situ Conservation Selection of target taxa Project commission Ecogeographic survey/ preliminary survey mission Conservation objectives Field exploration Conservation strategies Ex situ (Sampling, transfer and storage) Seed/Semen/ Ovule storage In vitro storage In situ (Designation, management and monitoring) Genetic reserve Botanical Garden/Zoo Onfarm Conservation products (Seed, live and dried plants, in vitro explants, DNA, pollen, data) Conserved product deposition and dissemination (Gene or semen banks, reserves, botanical gardens, zoos, conservation laboratories, on-farm systems) Characterization/Evaluation Utilisation (breeding/biotechnology/etc) Utilisation products (breeding new varieties and crops, pharmaceuticals, pure and applied research, on-farm diversity, recreation, etc.) Figure Model of biodiversity conservation Adapted from Maxted N, Ford-Lloyd BV, and Hawkes JG (1997b) Plant Genetic Conservation: The In Situ Approach London: Chapman & Hall therefore willing to pay It is impossible to actively conserve or monitor all species, so it is important to make the most efficient and effective selection of species on which to focus conservation efforts This choice should be objective and based on logical, scientific, and economic principles related to the perceived value of the species Maxted et al (1997a) discussed the sort of factors that provide a species with ‘value’: current conservation status, potential economic use, threat of genetic erosion, genetic distinction, ecogeographic distinction, national or conservation agency priorities, biological importance, cultural importance, relative cost of conservation, conservation sustainability, and ethical and esthetic considerations Rarely will one of these factors on its own lead to a taxon being given conservation priority More commonly, all or a