Which conservation strategy focuses on maintaining genetic diversity?

Captive breeding programs are specifically designed to maintain and enhance the genetic diversity of endangered species. These programs involve breeding individuals in controlled environments to increase the population size while ensuring that there is a broad genetic pool. This is important because reduced genetic diversity can lead to inbreeding, which makes populations more vulnerable to diseases and reduces their ability to adapt to changing environments.

By carefully selecting breeding pairs to ensure a mix of genetic lineages, captive breeding programs aim to create a genetically healthy population that can eventually be reintroduced into their natural habitats if necessary. This strategy contrasts with habitat rehabilitation, which focuses on restoring ecosystems; species reintroduction, which aims to bring back species to their native environments; and community education, which seeks to raise awareness about conservation issues. Each of these approaches contributes to conservation efforts but does not directly target maintaining genetic diversity as a primary objective like captive breeding programs do.