Some conservationists state that such activities are a support to conservation, but are not conservation itself. It is true that research on its own does not save anything. But without research it is often impossible to know what the right thing to do is. But in many respects, the debate as to whether or not research is part of conservation is itself academic. We need research in order to proceed. Show more Show less. Surely we are missing the heart and soul of conservation here?
Why do we want to conserve anything in the first place? Why do we bother to conserve anything? For most of those actively involved in conservation, our motivation is clear. We conserve nature as an ethical choice. We value the wild species and natural habitats with which we share this planet, not solely for what they give us, but also as having their own right to exist and flourish.
We reject any notion that suggests that species should pay their own way in order to have a right to be here on the Earth with us. Recognizing that wild fauna and flora in their many beautiful and varied forms are an irreplaceable part of the natural systems of the earth which must be protected for this and the generations to come; Conscious of the ever-growing value of wild fauna and flora from aesthetic, scientific, cultural, recreational and economic points of view;.
Recognizing that peoples and States are and should be the best protectors of their own wild fauna and flora;. Recognizing , in addition, that international co-operation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade; Convinced of the urgency of taking appropriate measures to this end; Have agreed as follows:. It refers to the aesthetic, scientific, recreational and economic values of nature. All of these are values placed on nature by humans.
In recent years, as conservationists have fought harder and harder to convince others of the need for nature conservation, we have appealed more and more to the utilitarian or instrumental values of nature, because we believe, rightly or wrongly, that arguments for conservation based on intrinsic values alone will not be sufficient to persuade, for example, governments or the private sector. There is no question that nature does provide benefits to people, including economic benefits.
For example, forest conserved on water catchments maintains a year-round flow of clean water in streams. Many species produce products that are commercially valuable, for example as medicine, food, or products such as wood. And there are whole industries based on nature, such as ecotourism, fisheries and forestry. Natural ecosystems also play critical roles in sequestering carbon thus reducing climate change impacts , or preventing soil erosion, or providing coastline defence for example coral reefs and mangroves , or providing for spiritual enrichment and recreational enjoyment so-called cultural services.
As noted earlier, conservation programmes can bring benefits for local communities, but sometimes the human beneficiaries of ecosystem services are far distant from the site of the conservation programme as with climate regulation services for example. Discussions along these lines have led to serious debates within the conservation community on our underlying values. At the opposite extreme, others have claimed that we should conserve nature only for its intrinsic value.
This debate is made more complex by the fact that people are inevitably part of nature; we all live in an ecosystem whether we like it or not. Debates have become particularly heated when some proponents of natural capital have started to put monetary values on nature. Many of those that emphasise intrinsic values believe that this is ethically wrong.
The danger of putting a monetary value on, say, a forest, is that it could give justification for destroying that forest if the monetary value of an alternative, destructive land-use is higher. This is not an academic debate. At the time of writing, there is a proposal to destroy the Atewa Forest in Ghana because it is sitting on top of a valuable bauxite deposit.
But the Atewa Forest includes many species that occur nowhere else in the world. Mining the bauxite will mean extinction for these species. But to be fair, by no means all proponents of ecosystem services or natural capital arguments support putting a monetary value on nature; rather they feel that such concepts are a useful way to persuade decision-makers of the multiple reasons for conserving nature.
Or is couching conservation in economic terms — natural capital, ecosystem services — the only realistic hope there is for protecting biodiversity? First Known Use of conservation 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1. History and Etymology for conservation Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin conservation-, conservatio , from conservare — see conserve entry 1. Learn More About conservation. Time Traveler for conservation The first known use of conservation was in the 14th century See more words from the same century.
Phrases Related to conservation conservation area. Style: MLA. Kids Definition of conservation. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Extinction is the complete disappearance of a species from Earth. Species go extinct every year, but historically the average rate of extinction has been very slow with a few exceptions.
The fossil record reveals five uniquely large mass extinction events during which significant events such as asteroid strikes and volcanic eruptions caused widespread extinctions over relatively short periods of time. Some scientists think we might have entered our sixth mass extinction event driven largely by human activity. Our planet is dependent on an interconnected system. If we lose one species, how does that impact the whole system? What if we lose hundreds?
Help your students understand the gravity of extinction with these classroom resources. As many as one million species face the reality of extinction unless humans work to protect them. Napoleon had only one object—to draw the alliance closer in the eyes of all Europe for the conservation of his prestige. The idea that the Church can, in these times, serve as a basis for justice or the conservation of property, is simply absurd.
In regard to the Conservation movement: I sympathize very strongly with my good friends here from the West. It is a section, therefore, in which the conservation of the soil is of the highest importance. New Word List Word List. Save This Word! See synonyms for conservation on Thesaurus.
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