Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local and National Levels

Ong Woan Min 4 PISMP SN/PJ/PC

 MOST EFFORTS TO PERSERVE species and habitats rely on initiatives from concerned citizens, conservation organizations, and government officials. These actions may take many forms, but they begin with individual and group decisions to prevent the destruction of habitats and species in order to preserve something of perceived value.
Governments and the community organizations are often involved because the environment is preserved to be a public good, with public policy and public action directly determining optimal allocation of resources.

 Efforts to preserve biological diversity, however, sometimes come into conflict with actual or perceived human needs. Conservation biologists, policy makers, and land managers are recognizing the need for sustainable development-( economic development that satisfies both present and future needs for resources and employment while minimizing its impact on biological diversity ) If sustainable development is to be a useful concept in conservation biology, it must emphasize improving current development and limiting growth

Decisions must be made concerning compromises between development to meet human needs and the preservation of the natural world

Local Conservation

 In modern species, local( city and town) and regional( country, state, provincial) government pass laws to provide effective protection for species and habitats. Conservation laws regulate activities that directly affect species and ecosystem. Example: i) These law govern when and where hunting and fishing can occur; number/ species animal can be taken ii) Type of weapons and traps and other equipment

 Laws that control the way in which land is used are another means of protecting biological diversity. Examples of laws : i) Restrictions on amount of land use or access ii) Type of land use iii) Pollution generated ( Vehicles and even people on foot may be restricted from habitats and resources that are sensitive to damage ) The rhetoric of conservation biology can also enter local debate in way to conserve biological diversity- Frivolous use of conservation arguments causes community leaders to take genuine conservation issues less seriously or to suspect the intentions of conservationists.

 One of the most powerful strategies to protect biological diversity at the local level is the designation of intact biological communities as nature reserves or conservation land- Governments set aside public lands for various conservation purposes and to preserve future options.

National Legislatures ( Perundangan Negara )

 National legislatures and governing agencies are the principles bodies setting standards that limit environment pollution. Laws set by national legislatures regulating aerial emissions, sewage treatment, waste dumping, and development of wetlands are often enacted to protect human health and resources such as drinking water, forests, and commercial and sport fisheries.

The effectiveness with which these laws are enforced shows a nations determination to protect its citizens and natural resources.

 National governments, through the control of their borders, ports, and commerce can have substantial effect on the protection of biological diversity. Example : i) restrict logging to protect the forests and regulate their use , ban the import of forestry equipment. National governments can identify endangered species within their borders and take steps to conserve them, such as acquiring habitat for the species, controlling use of species, developing a research program on the species and implementing in situ and ex situ recovery plans.

Traditional Societies and Biological Diversity

 Human activities are not automatically incompatible with biological diversity, in case there are a number of highly diverse communities existing in places where people have lived for many generations and used the resources of their environment in a sustainable manner.

Local people practicing a traditional way of life in rural areas, with relatively little outside influence in terms of modern technology. These people known as tribal people, indigenous people, native people or traditional people.
Even tropical forests that are designated as wilderness by governments and conservation groups often have a small, sparse human population of these traditional people.

Traditional societies such as this Chipese village family in Zambia

Traditional societies live in rural areas in India

 Traditional people have lived in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem of the world for thousands of years as hunters, fisherman, farmers, and gatherers. The great biological diversity of the tropics has coexisted with human societies for thousands of years and in most, places, humans did not substantially damage the biological diversity. In case, many traditional people societies do have strong conservation ethics. Example of conservation perspective i) Tukano Indians of northwest Bazil have stong religious and cultural prohibitions against cutting the forest along the Upper Rio Negro which they recognize as important to the maintenance of fish populations. ( Tukano believes that these forests belong to the fish and cannot be cut by people )

Biological Diversity and Cultural Diversity

Biological Diversity and Cultural Diversity are often linked. Rugged tropical areas of the world, where the greatest concentrations of species are found, are frequently that areas where people have the greatest cultural and linguistic diversity.

Conservation Ways

I. INVOLVING TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES IN CONSERVATION EFFORTS

In developing world, a rigid separation between lands used by local people to obtain natural resources and strictly protected national parks is often impossible. Local people may live in protected areas or traditionally use the resources of the protected areas.

Through compromise, the economic needs of local people are included in conservation management plans, to the benefit of both the people and the reserve. Such compromise known as Integrated ConservationDevelopment Projects ( ICDPs ).
There are many strategies in protecting biological diversity, the customs of traditional societies, the genetic variation of traditional crops, and economic development that could be classified as ICDPs .

II. BIOSPHERE RESERVES UNESCOs Man and Biosphere Program ( MAB )

The MAB Program recognizes the role of people in shaping the natural landscape, as well as the need to find ways in which people can sustainably use natural resources without degrading the environment. It includes investigations of how biological communities respond to different human activities, how humans respond to changes in their natural environment, and how degraded ecosystems can be restored to their former condition.

III. IN SITU AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION

Local farmers cultivating locally adapted varieties of crop plants can preserve genetic variability in these species.
Often farmers will grow many varieties in one field to minimize the risk of crop failure and for the different uses of each variety. These local varieties often have unique genes for dealing with disease, nutrient deficiencies, pest resistance, drought tolerance and other environmental variations. Moreover, these local varieties continue to evolve new genetic combinations, some of which may be effective in dealing with looming global environmental threats. Nowadays, farmers throughout the world are abandoning their traditional forms of agriculture with local landraces to grow high-yielding varieties using capital-intensive methods, including fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery. This transition is often encouraged by governments and international aid organizations, and subsidized by low-cost loans and grants.

IV. COMMUNITY-BASED INITIATIVES

Local people already protect biological communities such as forests, wildlife, rivers and coastal waters in the vicinity of their homes. Such protection is often enforced by village elders with justification based on religious and traditional beliefs. Governments and conservation organizations can assist local conservation initiatives by providing legal title to traditional lands, access to scientific expertise, and financial assistance to develop needed infrastructure.

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