Conservation involves studying the earth's biological diversity and coming up with ideas or plans on how this biological loss can be averted or mitigated. Biological diversity describes the varieties of life on the planet or within a particular location. Conservation has become necessary due to the increased level of species extinction that the earth is currently experiencing. It offers ways that can help mitigate this unprecedented rate of loss in biodiversity. A 2019 UN Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services noted that human activities like deforestation and overhunting have resulted in the loss of over one million of earth's species.
Similarly, according to The World Counts, species are getting extinct 10,000 times faster than they have ever been in modern history. They noted that about half of the species on earth will likely face extinction by 2100. Scientists further noted that about 37,000 species are threatened to go extinct. The most threatened class are amphibians, conifers, sharks and rays, reef corals, mammals, and birds. Consequently, conservation is very important in protecting wildlife. Conservation will involve protecting the natural habitats of endangered species. This is important because most of these species cannot survive outside of their habitats.
Overall, conservation is essential to protecting the earth and everything therein. Climate change already poses a significant threat to the existence of species. Conservation is instrumental in reducing the extent of the environmental havoc that is being wrecked on the earth. For instance, It involves reducing or completely stopping activities that might result in the depletion of the rainforest or the disappearance of coral reefs. Protecting the earth also involves ensuring a balanced ecosystem. A balanced ecosystem contains microorganisms, plants, and animals in a balanced order such that they depend on each other for sustenance while ensuring material cycling and resourceful energy.
In addition to mitigating the loss of biodiversity and protecting the earth, conservation is essential to ensuring that future generations are able to access natural resources in practical amounts. This is important because the world's natural resources are not infinite and are likely to be exhausted if practical steps are not taken to mitigate their depletion. Natural resources like forests and fossil fuels will be depleted if there are no active policy decisions to ensure conservation.
Conservation is also important because it contributes to the advancement of human health. It is instrumental in preventing new diseases while providing resources that cure existing or old diseases. For instance, maintaining and preserving animal habitats means that they make little or no contact with humans, and this reduces the likelihood of infectious diseases being transferred from animals to humans. For instance, the Ebola outbreak was caused by a virus originally found in apes but got transferred to humans through contact and consumption. Similarly, the preservation of plant species means that humans have wider access to chemicals generated from plants. These chemicals are useful in the development of vaccines and medicines.
Similarly, the conservation of resources like forests is also key to protecting human health. For instance, forests are a key to purifying the atmosphere and ensuring that humans breathe clean air. Through a process known as photosynthesis, trees suck up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and capture greenhouse gases in their roots, branches, and leaves. The Amazon forest is the earth's largest air purifier, considering that it captures over 150 billion metric tons of carbon in the atmosphere.
