ENVIRONMENT PRESERVATION

INTRODUCTION

The protection and preservation of environment is a pressing issue. Every person,

organisation and institution has an obligation and duty to protect it. Environmental consciousness
deserves to be propagated at all levels. Environmental conservation can be achieved if we all
share a single thought, the thought of creating a better world to live in, the thought to give a
better deal to everyone, human or otherwise, to the present as well as to the future generation
who all have to share the Almighty’s great gifts of clean environment and abundant natural
resources on this planet earth. Environmental protection encompasses not only pollution but also
sustainable development and conservation of natural resources and the eco-system.
Environmental degradation can be either localised such as the depletion of a nation’s forest
resources, or global, such as destruction of the ozone layer. The focus of discussion today
revolves around examining the extent to which awareness about the environment has percolated
into public consciousness, and making a frank appraisal of enforcement measures adopted so far
in protecting the environment.

People those who are mainly concerned with protecting the environment will often use
the terms preservation and conservation. Let’s know in details what preservation and
conservation of environment exactly means. These two terms are often confused and are
generally used to mean the same thing, although differences exist. In this article we will briefly
discuss about environmental preservation and conservation and their major differences.

Conservation of environment simply implies the sustainable use as well as management

of natural resources which include wildlife, water, air, and earth deposits. There are renewable
and non-renewable natural resources. Conservation of natural resources generally focuses on the
needs & interests of human beings, for instance the biological, economic, cultural and
recreational values. Conservationists have the view that development is necessary for a better
future, but only when the changes occur in ways that are not wasteful. Read on to know more
about preservation and conservation of environment.

As far as preservation of environment is concerned, it tries to maintain the present

condition areas of the nature or Earth which are not yet touched by humans. This is because of
the fat that mankind is encroaching onto the environment at such a rate that various wild
landscapes are being given over to farming, industry, housing, tourism and other human
developments. And we lose much of the natural areas. Preservationists also strongly support the
protection of nature for purely human-centered reasons. However, some adopts less human-
centered approach to environmental protection, placing a value on nature that does not relate to
the needs and interests of human beings. But is a fact that by preserving and conserving
environment we can make a healthy atmosphere to live in.

Considering preservation and conservation of environment, the United States

Environmental preservation is viewed or seen as the setting aside of earthly resources for
preventing damage normally caused by contact with humans or by certain human activities, such
as logging, mining, hunting, and fishing, only to replace them with new human activities such as
tourism and recreation. Furthermore regulations and laws may be enacted for the preservation of
natural resources. Being earth friendly is very essential as this will save our planet at the time
making a better place to live in for us, for future generations.

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Approaches to environmental preservation
Voluntary environmental agreements
In industrialized countries, voluntary environmental agreements often provide a platform
for companies to be recognized for moving beyond the minimum regulatory standards and, thus,
support the development of best environmental practice. In developing countries, such as
throughout Latin America, these agreements are more commonly used to remedy significant
levels of non-compliance with mandatory regulation. The challenges that exist with these
agreements lie in establishing baseline data, targets, monitoring and reporting. Due to the
difficulties inherent in evaluating effectiveness, their use is often questioned and, indeed, the
environment may well be adversely affected as a result. The key advantage of their use in
developing countries is that their use helps to build environmental management capacity.

Ecosystems approach
An ecosystems approach to resource management and environmental protection aims to
consider the complex interrelationships of an entire ecosystem in decision making rather than
simply responding to specific issues and challenges. Ideally the decision-making processes under
such an approach would be a collaborative approach to planning and decision making that
involves a broad range of stakeholders across all relevant governmental departments, as well as
representatives of industry, environmental groups and community. This approach ideally
supports a better exchange of information, development of conflict-resolution strategies and
improved regional conservation.

International environmental agreements

Many of the earth’s resources are especially vulnerable because they are influenced by
human impacts across many countries. As a result of this, many attempts are made by countries
to develop agreements that are signed by multiple governments to prevent damage or manage the
impacts of human activity on natural resources. This can include agreements that impact factors
such as climate, oceans, rivers and air pollution.

Government

Discussion concerning environmental protection often focuses on the role of government,

legislation and law enforcement. However, in its broadest sense, environmental protection may
be seen to be the responsibility of all people and not simply that of government. Decisions that
impact the environment will ideally involve a broad range of stakeholders, including industry,
indigenous groups, environmental group and community representatives. Gradually,
environmental decision-making processes are evolving to reflect this broad base of stakeholders
and are becoming more collaborative in many countries. Many constitutions acknowledge the
fundamental right to environmental protection, and many international treaties acknowledge the
right to live in a healthy environment. Also, many countries have organizations and agencies
devoted to environmental protection. There are international environmental protection
organizations, as the United Nations Environment Programme. Although environmental
protection is not simply the responsibility of government agencies, most people view these
agencies as being of prime importance in establishing and maintaining basic standards that
protect both the environment and the people interacting with it.

Challenges

The main issues for developing countries like Brazil and Mexico are that protected
areas suffer from encroachment and poor management.In Brazil, protected areas are increasing
but there are significant challenges caused by human impacts. Logging and mining are
potentially huge threats to protected areas. Between 1998 and 2009, 12,204 km2 of forest within

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protected areas was cleared, with 1,338 mining titles being granted and 10,348 awaiting
approval. Developing countries need to allocate more money from their budgets if they hope to
address these problems.

African governments face several challenges in implementing environmental

protection mechanisms. In Tanzania for example these include lack of financial resources to
manage protected areas, poor governance and corruption, and significant illegal logging and
hunting. Also with such large allocations of land to national parks, indigenous people have been
forced to relocate what resulted in a lack of local participation in environmental decision making
processes. As a result of these factors recent calls have been made to allow “parks with people”
as a mean to encourage the support of better overall management and care of the land.

Due to the Australian climate being dominated by deserts and semi-arid regions, most of
the environmental protection challenges focus on availability and management of water
resources. Even though this will continue to be an issue in areas of great demand, such as the
Murray-Darling basin, several events were pivotal battles in environmental protection.

CONCLUSION
Before I conclude – a few words about corporate social responsibilities. Companies
should commit themselves to reducing their environmental impact and should create a set of
environmental principles and standards and should have environmental audit. Companies should
recognize that to be effective, an environmental policy needs to be adopted by employees
throughout the organization, not just by those whose work is related to the environment.

Towards that end companies should engage in a variety of activities, especially education,
to help employees understand the environmental impact of their jobs and to support their efforts
to make positive changes. To help ensure that their products and processes are environmentally
responsible, companies should buy greener products and materials from their suppliers. Products
themselves may be made more environmental friendly, with regard to the control of emissions,
noise, reduced health and safety risks, and reduced energy requirements. Both potable water and
agricultural water is becoming scarce in India. Over use of underground water leads to increase
in salinity. The water team, therefore, must ensure optimum use of water in all processes and
ensure minimization of its waste in industry.

It is necessary to emphasis that problem of environmental degradation can be tackled

only by concerted efforts by every person, organisation and institution and by extremely
stringent enforcement of the laws. We have to educate, spread awareness, involve and motivate
every child, woman and man in the country to conserve the local flora and fauna, soil and water
resources and all other gifts of God which are national properties and belong to all and to none
individually.