Conservation Areas - Report Example

Conservation areas Conservation is one of the fundamental principles of maintaining sustainability of the global environment. Conservation of areas takes various forms with diverse targets as the goals. Environmental conservation of areas aims to protect the flora and fauna as well as the general environment of areas thought to be in potential danger of harmful exploitation. In the process, parcels of land are secluded with restrictions imposed on human activities in the areas. This results in advantages and disadvantages of the conservation of areas in both human and environmental aspects whose effects are felt in places that are miles away and which will still affect the future generations. This essay discusses the weights of the disadvantages and advantages of the conservation of areas with the purpose of attaining improvements in the environment while giving recommendations on the solutions to these problems. The arguments in the essay are based on a wide range of academic sources. In his endeavor to develop and transform his way of living into a better mode of life man has exploited the natural resources of the earth to attain food and raw materials. However, the ever-increasing population growth rate in the world and high mechanization witnessed in the last few centuries has driven the demand for these materials to a higher scale. This has resulted in the change of the trend of the accessing of the resources at a rate that can only be described as overexploitation. In order to maintain sustainability of these resources there has been a need to undertake certain projects and initiatives aimed at conservation of the environment on a large number of fronts. One such project is the establishment of conservation areas all over the globe. A conservation area is a parcel of land with a protected status and demarcated not for use in human development to maintain and safeguard the cultural heritage, natural features and biota in the area (Brockington et al., 2012). The conservation area can be a park, nature reserve or a project of land reclamation. The projects of conservation have been beneficial in improving the state of the environment in the areas. Conservation areas came into being because of the Civic Amenities Act of 1967 that sought to protect areas that had buildings with importance as a group. The act stipulates that a Conservation Area Advisory Committee will advise locals of a conservation area on the appropriateness of proposed developments (Kozwolski and Peterson, 2005). These conservation areas have advantages and disadvantages that yield benefits and demerits respectively. One of the benefits of conservation areas is that they preserve the vegetation cover of the area. Trees in conservation areas receive blanket protection status. This applies restrictions concerning trees preventing the removal of trees without prior permission from the relevant authorities (Sodhi, et al., 2013). This reduces the rates of deforestation in the conservation areas. The policy also helps in the preservation of certain plant species that are in danger of extinction through the felling of trees as the relevant authorities monitor the clearance of vegetation. The reduced deforestation and exploitation of the vegetation cover of the conservation areas is also a plus for the rate of improvement and increase of vegetation cover (Brockington et al., 2012). A case study that involved the sampling of 93 conservation areas in the form of tropical parks revealed an increase of vegetation cover in 40% of the parks with 43% having reduced levels of forest clearance to a point of almost zero (Brockington et al., 2012). In 36 conservation areas participating in the study, 89% of the parks exhibited faster deforestation rates of between 0.1 to 14 % in the areas outside the demarcated conservation area boundary. This means the conservation has succeeded in reducing the deforestation rate if not completely eradicating it in the areas within the conservation area boundaries. Forested land is a big part of the global ecosystem. They are the catchment areas for most rivers as the trees and other vegetation in the area break the fall of rainwater aiding infiltration into the ground (Kushwar and Kumar, 2001). Conserving forested areas has increased the cover and the number of trees through the significant reduction of deforestation rates and increased spread of the cover of the trees and other vegetation. This means this has aided in the increasing of the infiltration rates of the rainwater and reduced run offs. Increased runoffs mean increased volumes of rivers during wet seasons and minimized volumes in the dry spells. Increased infiltration increases the balancing of the volumes of the rivers over all seasons, as more water is stored as groundwater in the forested regions. This contributes to a stable hydrological cycle and improves the availability of water (Worboys et al., 2010). Conservation areas exhibit improved soil quality and preservation. The increased infiltration and reduced surface runoffs propose to reduce the erosion rates in the areas. The increased vegetation cover provides stable attachment for the loose soil materials (Worboys , 2010). The reduced runoff also subjects the soil to a less force of erosion resulting in reduced erosion levels. This means that more of the topsoil is retained and therefore the fertility of soils in the areas does not negate greatly. The vegetation cover also improves the quality and fertility of the soil by providing matter that increases the humus content of the soil (Van, 2008). Biodiversity preservation is another benefit of conservation. In the last few decades, some species like the bison were hunted on a large scale for products such as meat and hides. This has seen a drastic decline in their population (Brockington, 2012). Some species are endangered as a result. Conservation of areas that are habitats of such species allows for the continued survival of the species, as hunting is restricted in these areas. The preserved vegetation cover is the habitat of a large number of species that have improved sustainability from the increased size of their habitats (Brockington et al., 2012). The increase in vegetation cover purposes to reduce the rates of global warming as the vegetation cover uses up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reducing the amount readily available (Kushwar and Kumar, 2001). The aesthetic beauty of the land is also preserved and enhanced. This provides spots for leisure in parks. Conservation means processes of development and human settlements should not disturb the land. This leaves the land and the ecosystems on it with little or no human influences. This provides a natural research center for the dynamics of ecosystems in their natural conditions (Van, 2008). Conservation of areas increases maintains the aesthetic beauty of the area creating tourist attractions. This results in an increased influx of tourists in the area. Though this brings many benefits to the local economy, it is also associated with increased vices. The tourism results in cultural destruction as the tourist bring influence in terms of religion, modernization, language, rituals and culture. This results in a deviation from the native cultural practices and beliefs. The exploration of the areas also results in the destruction of the area through pollution, development of resorts and use of equipments of exploration such as vehicles. The tourism industry provides an allure of unskilled employment, which encourages the worrying trend dropping out of institutions of learning among the youth of the area. This creates a problem of engagement in marginal employment. It also encourages participation in illegal activities such as prostitution, gambling, and the drug trade. In an attempt to develop the tourist attractions, development of other areas is diverted creating marginalized areas. However, the conservation projects are also associated with demerits. The chief disadvantage of conservation of an area is the sudden slump of the development in the area. People are not allowed to settle in conservation areas. If there existed settlements before the area became a designated conservation area, no more settlements can come up in the area as this means an alteration of the area, which negates from the principle of conservation. Minor changes to one’s property require long procedures for approval, which in a way is a hindrance of one’s right of property (Groves, 2003). For the development in various fields to occur, there is a need for a stable energy supply system to be in place. This means the construction of as many hydroelectric power plants as possible in areas with a steady water source. This may not be possible in conservation areas as the reservoir will flood the area and destroy habitats. This slows down the development rate of the society (Groves, 2003). Conservation also rules out the possibility of activities like mining and farming taking place in the area. This threatens the economic stability of the nation as potential revenues of mining are ruled out and the food security of the nation is at stake due to the reduction in the size of land under farming activities. Designation of an area as a conservation area comes with a lot of infringement of the rights of the community settled in the area. The areas are major resources that account for a large portion of the raw materials and resources required by the community (Worboys et al. 2010). Designating these areas as conservation areas restricts the access and exploitation of the resources vital to the survival of the communities in or around the area. This results in the economic and physical displacement of the communities. Cutting off resources hinders economic activities of the communities and displaces them in terms of their economic status. The lack of resources and the strict rules of the conservation projects create an environment that is not conducive to most members of the communities. This brings a causal effect of most of them moving away from their initial settlements (Kozwolski and Peterson, 2005). In some cases, the people are evicted to conserve the area. Conservation of areas is an important aspect of the conservation of the environment and maintenance of global sustainability. The projects of conservation yield a wide range of benefits of a number of fields (Kushwar and Kumar, 2001). Conservation projects result in the preservation of biodiversity, reduced deforestation, and increased vegetation cover, reduced soil erosion and degradation, and a decrease in the fluctuations of the hydrological cycle patterns. The projects also have indirect effects that materialize in the form of reduced global warming, reduced siltation of reservoirs and the increased prosperity of wildlife because of the increased size of their habitats. However, these come at a cost to the population in the areas with cases of displacement, landlessness, joblessness, food insecurity, and social disarticulation increasing. The projects also hinder development and activities that would boost the economies on local and national fronts (Worboys et al., 2010). Nevertheless, the benefits of the projects far outweigh the disadvantages associated with the disadvantages, which are solvable problems from which the population can recover from through incentives aimed at solving them. The demerits accrued from the conservation of the areas can be avoided. The problem of culture erosion is avoidable through the promotion of cultural diversity of the natives among the tourists. Holding culture themes and nights will also sensitize the tourists on the local culture helping in its maintenance. The refugees need relocation to new areas to compensate them for their losses. High scrutiny of the tourists will minimize the influx of drugs into the local economy and curb the emergence of drug trades. Increased security through the increase of security area as well as posts in the areas will curb the growing crime rates associated with the areas. Engineering projects designed for the areas may be relocated to other suitable areas in order to avoid an energy deficit in the areas. Projects of conservation of areas with the aim of protecting the flora and fauna of the area are important incentives for environmental conservation. The benefits of the projects go a long way in maintaining global sustainability. The effects of these projects are felt in areas that are far from the projects and will continue to improve the environment for centuries in the future. However, the relevant authorities should strive to create incentives that will help cancel out the negative effects on the community of the areas. References Brockington, D., Igoe, J. and Duffy, R. (2012). Nature Unbound: "Conservation, Capitalism and the Future of Protected Areas". Routledge. Groves, C. (2003). Drafting a conservation blueprint: A practitioners guide to planning for biodiversity. Washington: Island Press. Kozlowski, J., & Peterson, A. (2005). Integrated buffer planning: Towards sustainable development. Aldershot [u.a.]: Ashgate. Kushwah, R. B. S., & Kumar, V. (2001). Economics of protected areas and its effect on biodiversity. New Delhi: APH Pub. Corp. Sodhi,, N., Bradshaw, C. and Brook,, B. (2013). Tropical Conservation Biology. John Wiley & Sons. Van, D. F. (2008). Conservation biology. Dordrecht: Springer. Worboys, G., Francis, W. L., & Lockwood, M. (2010). Connectivity conservation management: A global guide (with particular reference to mountain connectivity conservation). London: Earthscan. Read More