Importance of Environmental Conservation
We hear the terms conservation and preservation in the ecological context from childhood. However, the importance of environmental conservation creates confusion inside our heads.
According to a report by Statista, the world surface temperature was measured to be 0.98 degrees warmer than the average in past decades.
It clearly shows how the temperature can impact our natural resources. In verse, the disbalance in our natural ecosystem is the primary cause of such a situation.
Further, as per a survey, the most threatened species with extinction are cycads and amphibians.
With the increasing number of natural (and human-made) hazards, our environment moves towards the worst-case scenario. Not just these few scenes, there are multiple other reasons we should take care of our environment and its conservation.
Thus, this article will cover the environmental conservation topic briefly along with all its importance. So, let’s begin!
Table of Contents
What Is Environmental Conservation?
Before diving deeper into the importance of environmental conservation, let’s clarify the basics.
Preservation of our natural ecosystem and other environmental components on which we humans are dependent is known as environmental conservation. Our environment, which gives us all the necessary elements for our survival, is now in danger with our activities.
Our ill effects include deforestation, pollution, overfishing, natural habitat destruction, etc. These all are causing pain to our mother nature and dreadful scenarios for humans.
That’s the main reason why we need to redecide and plan towards our sustainable development goals. It will help us preserve the environment from critical issues like global warming, acid rain, natural disasters (often due to anthropogenic reasons), wildfires, etc.
Importance of environmental conservation
Conserving our natural resources means taking care of our activities and practicing sustainability. However, the question arises, “what is the importance of environmental conservation?”. Here are five reasons for it.
To Avoid Exploitation of Natural Resources
According to the data from the worldometer, the total human population to date is 7.9 billion, which is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2057.
With the increased human population, there is a spike in resource usage. The primary natural resources we use for living and making our life comfortable includes water, air, sunlight, agricultural land, metal ores, and fossil fuels.
As per a report published in Statista, coal, copper, iron ore, and potash are the most exploiting mining resources.
China and India — the two countries with the most population, are also known for the highest coal consumption. And according to a report, global coal consumption has reached 157.4 exajoules in 2020.
As we are primarily dependent on fossil fuels for energy expenditure, their scarcity could bring unexpected problems to the world. This is also because these fuels take millions of years to form.
Further, we know that our freshwater resources are just 3% of total water bodies all over the earth. Only 1% can be used for different purposes like electricity generation, irrigation, and regular usage.
The way we are using these bodies can ultimately bring a crisis for our next generation.
Not just minerals and water, the increased amount of deforestation and other human activities is responsible for exploiting our natural forests and their organisms. Moreover, it leads to several other environmental issues.
Thus, we need to understand the need for environmental conservation.
To Keep Balance in Our Ecosystem
The second and most critical reason to understand the importance of environmental conservation is to keep the ecosystem intact.
There are so many reasons for that:
- Our forests are one of the significant (about one-third) drinking water suppliers for the world’s most famous cities. Also, it’s the house to 80% of amphibians, 75% of birds, and 68% of mammal species.
- Increased street trees could benefit 68 million people by diminishing the air temperature to 0.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius in summer.
- Ecosystem degradation has affected about 40% of people worldwide.
- And as per a study by the International Resource Panel, we can fulfill all the 17 sustainable development goals till 2030 by restoring the landmass.
All these statistics are evidence that we must save our earth from the continuous exploitation of species (of both plants and animals) that imbalance our food chain and food web, causing ecosystem degradation.
Therefore, conserving our natural environment is the topmost step for avoiding future consequences.
To Prevent Human-Caused Natural Disasters
Besides the human-made accidents happening every year, some natural disasters are primarily due to increased human activities.
The most significant example is the current COVID-19 pandemic which seems like a natural disaster but results from humans.
From 2020 to 2022, there will be about 59 lakh deaths worldwide due to this anthropogenic coronavirus. And it has brought lots of losses to the economies of different countries.
Some other natural disasters include floods responsible for the death of about 6.8 million people in the 20th century. And you will be staggered to know that it’s also a result of human activities. Deforestation, climate change and prolonged rainfall, and sea-level rise are some of the human impacts of such natural disasters.
Not just floods but other types of natural calamities are also highly impacted due to us. That’s why we need to start environmental conservation as soon as possible.
To Reduce the Impact of Global Warming
Some of the side effects of global warming include climate change, glacier melting, sea-level rise, acid rain, greenhouse effect, ocean acidification, etc.
And if we see the reason why our global temperature is gradually increasing are all due to increased population and our irresponsible activities.
According to a recent report, the global surface temperature has risen from 1.06 degrees Celsius to 1.26 degrees Celsius between 2017 to 2021, which is relatively higher than in the preindustrial era.
It won’t be a problem until it starts affecting other environmental factors. Due to increased carbon concentration in the atmosphere, we can see effects like climate change and acid rain. Moreover, the acid created by the mixture of atmospheric carbon with rainwater is one of the leading causes of death in the most polluted countries.
Further, when mixed with ocean water, this acid increases the pH. And certain organisms can’t live above the optimal pH of their survival. Thus, the effect on a few lower groups of organisms spread to the entire food web, and this causes ecosystem degradation.
Also, the increased global temperature is causing the glaciers to melt at a rapid rate. Based on research, we are losing 267 gigatons of glaciers per year, raising the sea level by 21% in the 21st century.
Besides, there are other interlinked consequences for the increased sea level rise. However, with the proper understanding of the importance of environmental conservation, we can save our world from the upcoming, unexpected natural disasters.
To Bring Awareness
The last but not the least reason to start environmental conservation is to bring awareness among our population. All the environmental issues we can see today are due to our decade-long irresponsible behaviours, leading us towards the most disastrous situation we can ever imagine.
All the environmental preservation and conservation efforts begin with grasping its importance. That’s because the results impact the compound effect of our actions.
Moreover, if we as the responsible population start spreading awareness by taking part in several environmental conservation programs, we can reduce the aftermath in no time.
Top organizations Working on Environmental Conservation
Some organizations are working on environmental conservation to let us know its importance. Here’s the list of a few of them:
- World Wildlife Fund
- Greenpeace
- Natural resources defence Council (NRDC)
- Sierra Club
- Conservation International
- Environmental Defense Fund
- The Nature Conservancy
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Rainforest Alliance
- Oceana
- National Wildlife Federation
- Birdlife International
- Fauna and Flora International
There are more to add to this list. However, the actions these organizations are taking towards conserving the environment are more crucial to grasp.
Environmental Conservation Projects
Further, gaining knowledge regarding conserving our nature is the first step towards change. However, taking action requires both organizational and individual contributions.
Thus, here are some recent projects working on the importance of environmental conservation:
As per nrep.org, some environmental conservation initiatives are going on worldwide. These are:
- Forest conservation in Madagascar where actions are taken to preserve 3,72,000 acres in Makira natural park.
- Sustainable agriculture in Nepal.
- Brazilian Rosewood Amazon Conservation Project.
- Environmental education in Bali.
- Eco agriculture in Costa Rica.
- Environmental sustainability in New Orleans.
Some Other Environmental Conservation Initiatives
- Pakistan and Saudi have signed environmental cooperation agreements for several green incentives.
- There are 100 million hectares of wall building for preserving the natural environment in Africa. This is said to be the next world wonder.
- Further, there’s a global battle going on from Chile to China against Desertification.
- After evidencing the increasing climate change events, authorities vowed that the Winter Olympics in Paris is going to be the first Climate-positive game
Moreover, organizations are taking many similar steps towards preserving and conserving our environment. This will lead us toward a brighter future for our goals of sustainable development.
The above article discussed the meaning and 5 importance of environmental conservation along with environmental conservation projects. Please share this article with friends and family members.