Our Natural Resources- Let’s Conserve

The conservation of environment implies the sustainable use as well as management of natural resources including wildlife, water, air, and soils of the earth.

It usually focuses on the needs and interests of human beings. The interests of human beings include biological, economic, cultural and recreational values of natural environment.

The word conservation goes with the word preservation, and preservation means protection of the environment. The conservation of environment is the act of conserving or saving our natural resources through careful management practices.

Here it means- anyone can use the resources of environment but wisely and responsibly. Reduction of waste, protection of trees and forests, recycling, using renewable sources etc are some of the responsible practices of conservation.

Surveys conducted from time to time show that wildlife species are disappearing faster than ever before in Earth’s history, while the average global temperature is dangerously rising.

The glaciers are melting, extreme weather events are becoming more common and if we do not start taking better care of the environment, we are risking an unprecedented climate change which may threaten the very existence of life as we know it today on a global scale.

Although the planet’s climate is known to go through cycles and to change dramatically in the past as well, the climate change we are already witnessing is primarily a result of human activities.

Need of conservation of Natural Resources

Anthropogenic reasons or the human hands behind the depletion of most of our environmental resources and losses of species are the basic matter of concern for any effort towards the protection and conservation of environment.

The population explosion in many parts of the world is resulting into an increased pressure on the environment. Some of the basic challenges to the environment today are –

1. Loss of wildlife habitat which has already pushed out a number of species of wild life towards the brink of extinction.

• Loss of forests which leads to a serious increase in the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is further increasing the degree of greenhouse effect in the atmosphere resulting into global warming, melting of ice caps, rising sea levels and the climate change. 

3. Exploitation, overuse, and wastage of environmental resources have gone up to such an extent that the natural environment has lost the capacity of replenishment.

4. Increasing concentration of different gases emitted through burning of fossil fuels at different places is contributing to the climate change affecting the agricultural productivity and endangering the lives of this planet. 

5. Fast replacement of synthetic non- decomposable materials in day to day life and agriculture increased causing biomagnifications and other hazardous impacts. 

What can be done?

The conservation and preservation of environment is a global issue and needs global efforts to avert the dangers. For this countries of the world are trying hard to develop some consensus to take up the remedial measures.

Unfortunately, some of the developed countries do not appear to be serious to solve the problem and try to put pressure of controlling pollution on the developing nations who are already reluctant in view of developing their economy.

Many developing nations have started their efforts in this direction but, until all the nations of the world stand fast with jointed efforts, the solution of the global problem is sure to remain far away.

Some countries do not want to adopt rigorous environmental laws and accept those hard treaties proposed in the world summits in view of their already fast economic growth. Many environmentalists therefore worry that a global action will start only when it will be too late and urge the people to take action themselves.

Practices of Conservation of Resources

The conservation of natural resources can be done through technical and social practices.

The Technical Practices of Environmental Conservation include-

• Search for alternate sources

• Finding and making use of substitutes of scarce resources,

• Promotion of renewable resources, and

• Finding new areas of exploration

The social Practices of environmental conservation include-

• Saving the natural resources by making only the best and judicious use of these resources

• Re-use and Re-cycling of resources

Why to conserve natural resources?

Natural resources should be conserved in view of –

• Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life support system

• Preservation of biological diversity

• Maintenance of balance of nature, and

• Sustainable development.

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