conservation and preservation

• what is meant by conservation?

  maintenance of biodiversity through human action or management. (Includes maintaining genetic diversity, maintaining habitat diversity and diversity between species)
• what does conservation involve?

  • management of ecosystems so natural resources can be used without running out
  • this is known as sustainable development
  • reclamation- process of restoring ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed
  • reclamation involves techniques such as controlled burning of forest areas, this halts succession and increases biodiversity
  • conservation is dynamic and needs to adapt to constant change
• what is preservation

  protection of an area by restricting/banning human interference, so the ecosystem is left in its original state- NO human involvement
• what is involved in preservation? when does preservation need to take place?

  • used when sensitive resources need to be preserved
  • visitation isn't allowed from anyone except for those who manage and monitor the cites
  • newly discovered caves (virgin caves) need to be preserved and protected from damage by eg movement of dirt around cave system, can be done by barriers to entrances, contain geologically sensitive formations
  • nature reserves and marine conservation zones preserved
  • people argue that no one can enjoy the caves and there's no point in having a resource that can't be used
• in general, what kind of things are conserved and what type of things are preserved?

  • conserved- objects and buildings more commonly
  • preserved- usually the natural environment
• what are the three reasons for which conservation is important?

  • economical
  • ethical
  • social
• describe the social, ethical and economic reasons for conservation

  • economical- provision of resources that humans need to survive and provide an income
  • social- people enjoy the natural beauty of wild ecosystems- aesthetic
  • ethical- organisms have a right to exist and play important roles within their ecosystems. Also moral responsibility for future gens to conserve natural ecosystems