Preservation and Conservation Term Paper

Ecological Study

Preservation and Conservation

Conservation, Preservation & Natural Regulation

The purpose of this paper is to define the difference between "conservation" and "preservation" and to research "natural regulation" and define that as well and to examine the results of "natural regulation" in terms of animal population, forest fires and any other results which may be discovered due to "natural regulation."

The 'conservationist movement' was born in the decade of the 1960's and grew strong in the 1970's. There was a smaller movement of preservationists that was both ally and enemy to the conservationists in their pursuits. The survival is each plant and animal in the ecosystem, or their demise as a species if by the process of natural selection is only accomplished through maintaining biodiversity in the ecological system of the earth. Biodiversity has been described as the "structural and functional variety of life forms at genetic, species, population, community and ecosystem levels "(unknown, 1992.

. The Convention on Biological Diversity defines the Ecosystem as: "a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit (UNEP 1992)." "Conservation of the ecosystem entails preservation and regulated utilization of the ecosystem. The UN Charter for Nature states that "all forms of life warrant respect regardless of their value to people. The charter also states that the genetic viability on the earth shall not be compromised; the population levels of all life forms, wild and domesticated, must be at least sufficient for their survival, and to this end necessary habitats shall be safeguarded." Further the World-wide Fund for Nature Conservation (WWF, 1993) states, "biodiversity is a matter of survival. It is critical for life at grass root level because it is the total variety of living matter on which society depends. It provides ecosystem resilience to allow both people and natural communities to cope with periodic environmental stress."

I. Preservation:

Preservation is the practice of central control in human ecosystem management. It is one that believes in the keeping in place that which already exists and keeping it in it's present form. For example, there would be no hunting of animals, no gathering of herbs, fruits, but only the preserving of the resources in existence.

II. Conservation:

Conservation is a policy that focuses on 'wise use' of available resources. Unlike 'preservation' there is allowable and limited use of available resources but only to the extent that allow nature replace what has been utilized.

III. Natural Regulation:

There existed a group of young scientists in the field of ecology. According to the source these young people was "particularly fond of Barry Commoner whose 'three laws of ecology' included the claim that 'nature knows best'." This young group called themselves 'preservationist'. This…