Protecting And Preserving Natural Resources And Animal Species

PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES AND SPECIES

 Earth’s natural resources include air, minerals, plants, soil, water, and wildlife. Conservation is the care and protection of these resources so that they can persist for future generations. It includes maintaining diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems, as well as functions of the environment, such as nutrient cycling. 

Conservation is similar to preservation, but while both relate to the protection of nature, they strive to accomplish this task in different ways. Conservation seeks the sustainable use of nature by humans, for activities such as hunting, logging, or mining, while preservation means protecting nature from human use.

Continued human population growth has led to unsustainable rates of consumption of our natural resources, resulting in a loss of Earth’s biodiversity. The main factors driving biodiversity loss include habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution.

The extinction of the passenger pigeon is a famous example of an extinction caused by human activity. It was once the most abundant land bird in North America, with a population of approximately three to five billion when Europeans arrived. Despite its vast numbers, this pigeon became extinct in the wild by the 1900s because of overhunting. The last individual bird, named Martha, died in captivity in 1941 at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Wild animals have always been a critical resource for human beings. Historically, food, fur, and leather were key to human survival — more recently, wildlife has assumed high economic and cultural significance. Wild animals provide entertainment in circuses, zoos, and wildlife parks, they form a central attraction in international tourism, and they are key members of ecosystems on which humans rely for vital services. Equally, wild animals can be seen as threatening to human beings; for instance, they can be sources of new human diseases (zoonotics), and they can damage or consume human crops. What matters here, whether as resource or threat, is how useful — or otherwise — wildlife is to human beings. Environmental ethicists often call this instrumental value.

What You Can Do for Wildlife

• One of the easiest and most effective ways to help wildlife is to preserve the environment in which the animals live.
• Volunteer with organizations in your area to restore native forests, grasslands, and coastal ecosystems by planting native species, manually removing invasive plant species, and taking out old fences.
• Participate in or hold your own local trash clean-up to help protect the habitats of imperiled species and other wildlife.
• Respect wild animals by keeping a safe distance away, not approaching them, and not removing them from their environment. If you find young animals, particularly in the spring, do not handle them. Mothers often leave young for extended periods to forage. Although the young may appear to be abandoned, the mother will almost certainly return within 24 hours, and handling the young puts them in danger. If you encounter an injured wild animal, contact a certified animal rescuer in your area.

Why Conservation Is So Important

To protect wildlife

The most obvious reason for conservation is to protect wildlife and promote biodiversity. Protecting wildlife and preserving it for future generations also means that the animals we love don’t become a distant memory. And we can maintain a healthy and functional ecosystem.

To protect the earth

It’s no secret that the future of our planet desperately needs to be safeguarded, with climate change already wreaking havoc on our natural environment. In order to preserve the earth for future generations, we not only need to reduce the amount of harm that human activities have on the environment but support the natural world as much as we can.

For human health

One pretty big reason for conservation work that is talked about a little less often is the impact that it has on human health. Both in terms of preventing the emergence of new diseases, and the production of medicines that we rely upon.

Having wild habitats for animals serves as a barrier. It prevents emerging infectious diseases from jumping from animals to humans. Previously undisturbed habitats have been cleared to make way for humans and agriculture. This has brought wild and domestic animals together and helped to facilitate the jump of diseases to humans.

Made by Harsh Dagar

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