4. Sustainable strategies on biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity is vital to sustainability!

Short-term strategies – stopgap measures:

1) Designation and listing of endangered and threatened species.

They are classified on the basis of biological criteria, primarily their population size and rate of population decrease. Currently, the most endangered and threatened species are included in the Red Data Book. National and international laws have been established to prevent endangered species from becoming extinct. The most at risk are categorized as endangered, while those at lower risk are categorized as or vulnerable.

2) Development of captive breeding and release programs.

Zoos and botanical gardens play a role in preserving species. They serve to educate the public and excite interest in preserving endangered species. Captive breeding programs can rescue a species from a risk of extinction as was done for some animals.

The release of animals and plants into the wild to re-establish and re-introduce populations is an essential component of the program.

Long-term strategies – preventive measures:

1) Restructuring human systems for sustainability

Address the root causes of the crisis of unsustainability;

• our inefficient use of resources

• continued population growth

• our reliance of fossil fuels

• our failure to recycle extensively

• our lack of attention to restoration

Industries can prevent or reduce their impact on habitat in the following ways:

• By reducing the amount of pollution and waste the produce as much as possible, in order to reduce the effect these have on habitats.

• By building on derelict sites or refurbishing old buildings, rather than developing “green field” sites.

• By cleaning up industrial sites that have abandoned, rather than just leaving them to go derelict.

• By making sure that the products they obtain from threatened habitats are renewable.

Example: exploiting tree products from the rainforest, like Brazil nuts and rubber, rather than cutting down the forest altogether. Wherever possible, industries should farm the resources so as to ensure continued supply without depleting natural reserves.

• By developing new raw materials to replace those that come from threatened habitats.

• By encouraging nature conservation schemes on their property, where appropriate, or supporting local nature conservation (protection) organizations: Zapovedniks and National parks.

2) Setting aside biologically rich regions – buying habitat of endangered species and instituting growth management strategies.

3) Buffer zones and wildlife corridors – protecting and connecting vital areas (ecological islands).

4) Extractive reserves – land set aside for native people to use on a sustainable basis (harvesting of rubber, nuts, fruits).

5) Improving wildlife management – regulation of harvesting of fish and other commercially important species so as to avoid depletion.

Ecosystem management – management of entire ecosystems – not just single species. It also instructs us in the practice of protecting all of the vital habitat a species requires – not just isolated sections of it.

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Type	Comission
Industry	Nature Conservation
Headquarters	Gland, Switzeland
Area served	worldwide
Key people	Nik Lopoukhine - Chair
Products	IUCN Protected Areas Programme
Services	Protected area planning, Protected area policy advice Protected area investment Global Action.
Total equity	1 400 members, 140 countries
Parent	IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)2
Divisions	America, Africa, Asia, & Europe
Website	IUCN website

History

• International commitments to the development of networks of protected areas date from 1972, when the Stockholm Declaration from the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment endorsed the protection of representative examples of all major ecosystem types as a fundamental requirement of national conservation programs. Since then, the protection of representative ecosystems has become a core principle of conservation biology, supported by key United Nations resolutions - including the World Charter for Nature, 1982, the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit (1992), and the Johannesburg Declaration 2002

A protected area is:

A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values

Although all protected areas meet the general purposes contained in this definition, in practice the precise purposes for which protected areas are managed differ greatly.