Can nature be preserved and respected without anthropogenic disturbances, an interpretation promoted by the passionate environmentalist John Muir; or should it be used as “the better benefit for the biggest number of people, for a long time” as the radical environmentalist Gifford Pinchot places it in the nineteenth century? Conservation and preservation are linked closely and may sometimes appear to signify the same kind of thing. In simple terms, conservation strives the appropriate utilisation of nature, whereas preservation tries to protect nature from exploitation. Conservation is considered a broader concept encompassing the past, present and the future, while preservation is limited to the present generation only. This article seeks to discuss the difference between environmental conservation and environmental preservation.
It is often depicted as the classic debate in the environment world: should wild areas be protected for their innate characteristics, or should they be conserved for their raw materials? Both conservation and preservation are about environmental safeguarding, but the distinction between the two lies in the level of mankind’s authorized “usage” or “intake.” Conservation generally means being able to make environmentally sustainable relationships with human life while still gathering natural resources whereas preservation applies to exempting areas of land that are either free of human beings or free from noticeable human activity.
What are the views of Environmental Conservationists?
Many conservationists do not believe there is intrinsic value in the surrounding environment but do believe there is intrinsic value in human existence and well-being. By ensuring that resources are consumed at a reasonable rate out of the ecosystem, conservation initiatives help society continue to survive and evolve. Conservationists typically support policies that minimize the usage of natural resources by humans, but only if such policies benefit people. For example, they may be referring to a system that gives government benefits to people who install solar panels on their houses, but not someone who prohibited the building of roads in national parks.
Conservationists, then, aim to meet people’s environmental, moral, economical and occupational needs while reducing the earth’s stress and strain. The ‘good use’ concept is integrated in this conservationist strategy to sustainable forest management. Profits accumulate whereas resources remain the same. Resources are used judiciously or responsibly so they can continue to be accessible in the future. Conservation puts great focus on natural asset utilization. The environmental-assuming resources can be renewable or non-renewable. For instance, we might say ‘conserve water’ or ‘conserve petroleum or fuel’ but we don’t say ‘preserve water’ or ‘preserve petroleum or fuel.’ Water is a renewable commodity while petroleum or fuel is non-renewable or depleted with use. Usage of the latter product is pollution related.
The Economic Value of Conservation
Conservation seems to be the efficient utilization and resource conservation comprising of animals, water, air, and land. Protecting renewable resources such as trees means making sure that they’re not being depleted quicker than they are replaceable. Conserving non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels essentially means that enough amounts are stored to be used by generations to come. Natural resource management typically deals with human requirements and preferences, such as the ecological, financial, cultural, and recreational qualities that these resources provide. For instance, the forests offer a large variety of resources, supplying local people with food supplies, and other parts of the world with a source of lumber and pharmaceutical drugs. Conservationists agree that progress is required for a prosperous society, but only if the improvements occur in ways that would not be unsustainable. What the conservationist condemns isn’t really the utilisation of nature for the benefit of humanity, but the notion that besides use, the world much at all comes out to be far worse. This is the major difference between environmental conservation and preservation.
What about Environmental Preservation?
Like conservationists, environmental preservation would probably support a legislation that granted residents who placed solar panels on their residences, tax benefits, but they would also favour an agenda that prohibited road construction in a national park. Preservationists also see wildernesses all on its own as having meaning. A few explain this on moral or philosophical grounds though some believe that when we leave it alone, natural world is much more magnificent, but when we aggressively try to control it, we avoid living in accordance with nature. Preservationists are worried that humans are destroying the natural too rapidly. Every life form has a right to live and it must be given the space to do anything. The preservation of the ecosystem has been seen as a greater form of environmentalism, or ecocentrism.
Those who believe in environmental preservation often suggest that wilderness and natural habitats must be preserved despite the economic advantages that they may have for human populations. As just a subject of national policy for instance, it could put down and designate a forest as a restricted area. One of several characteristics of a nature reserve is its core zone. The core zone is that particular place with specific boundaries in which no use has been permitted whatsoever. Then perhaps this part is preserved and capable of performing its ecological roles. It can therefore act as a suitable storage tank for water, wildlife habitat, prevent soil erosion, flood prevention, carbon storage, oxygen production, severe weather barrier, soil quality preservation and many more. Another example is a game protected area. Humans are forbidden to hunt animals within the region to allow recovery of a species with such an exhausted population. So, in view of making it available in the future, it is a ‘no take’ zone.
The Example of Fishing
Fishing activities carried out by oversea or local ships that operate in violation of federal legislations is recognised as illegal fishing. This sort of practice represents 26 million tonnes of fish per annum. Illegal fishing is a global driving force for overfishing and represents a threat to aquatic ecosystems. It also puts food security and stability in the region at threat, and also is connected to important violations of human rights and even organised crime like explosive and cyanide fishing. A conservationist would demand that these aquatic assets be used and managed sustainably. One possible way of doing that is to enforce stricter state jurisdiction regulations and punishments against those who fish illegally. A preservationist will indeed recommend financing and protection of aquatic ecosystems in order to retain it in its authentic form. An example of this would be the construction and protection of fishing shelters.
A graphical way in which the difference between preservation and conservation can be explained is:
Conclusion
Conservation as I consider is broader concept encompassing the past, present and the future, while preservation is limited to the present generation only. Conservation leads to limited resource usage and making of sustainable economic products. While preservation do not allow human or vehicular movement in those areas. Preservationists are worried that humans are so quickly changing the world that it will destroy nature. While conservationist seems to be utilising efficiently and conserve resource comprising of animals, water, air, and land. Protecting renewable resources such as trees means making sure that they’re not being depleted quicker than they are replaceable. People with conservationist aspirations and preservationist motives also co-appeal in their decisions to keep nature intact in several areas. The conservationists’ arguments may be: “people will maintain the environment so badly there will be no further land for younger generation to use” whereas the preservationists’ arguments could be: “this region ought to be free of human interference as it is healthy for nature to survive without human beings managing it.” Considering the prevailing relationship that exists between people and the environment, I think that there is enough space for cooperation between preservationists and conservationists to work together.
Written By: Dronashish Goswami, Email id: dronashish22@gmail.com, Contact no.: +918011191041 Facebook id: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068016999198
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