3.3 Conservation and regenerationIB Environmental Systems and Societies HL: Revision notes

Arguments for preservation can be aesthetic, ecological, economic, ethical and social.

Species-based conservation tends to be ex situ (zoos, captive breeding, seed banks such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault) and habitat-based conservation tends to be in situ (reserves, national parks). A mixed approach uses both. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a UN treaty addressing both.

Limitations of ex situ: the habitat and ecological interactions are not conserved, some species cannot be stored or bred in captivity, and it is costly.

Habitat conservation protects species by conserving their natural environment, through protection of wild areas or active management. Effective reserves depend on the biology of target species and on size and shape: larger reserves support more species, a circular shape has the least edge effect, and corridors link populations.

By conserving and regenerating ecosystems, humanity can stay in a safe operating space within the biodiversity planetary boundary.

Natural processes in ecosystems can be regenerated by rewilding. Example: wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995–97.

Environmental perspectives and value systems affect the strategy a society chooses: ecocentric (intrinsic value), anthropocentric (human benefit) and technocentric (technology and management).

(HL) The success of international, governmental and non-governmental organisations in conserving and restoring biodiversity depends on:

• Use of the media: raises awareness, pressure and donations (Greenpeace).
• Speed of response: NGOs can often act faster than governments.
• Diplomatic constraints: intergovernmental bodies depend on agreement among states (the IWC moratorium on whaling, with Norway, Iceland and Japan continuing to hunt).
• Financial resources: funding determines the scale and length of programmes.
• Political influence: governments can legislate and enforce; NGOs lobby.

(HL) Rewilding and habitat restoration can trigger positive feedback loops that enhance biodiversity and promote ecosystem equilibrium. In Yellowstone, wolves reduced elk grazing, willow regrew, beavers returned and their dams created wetlands that supported more species, which in turn favoured more willow and beavers.

(HL) Benefits: restored processes, more biodiversity, ecosystem services, tourism. Limitations: conflict with farmers, cost, slow and uncertain results, and disputed cause and effect.

(HL) The success of conservation or regeneration needs to be assessed, by monitoring indicators (species numbers, diversity index, vegetation cover) against a baseline over the long term.

(HL) Ecotourism can increase the interdependence of local communities and increase biodiversity by generating income and providing funds for protecting areas. Example: mountain gorilla tourism in Rwanda, where permits cost about 1,500 US dollars and about 10% of revenue goes to communities.

But there can also be negative societal and ecological impacts: disease transmission and disturbance, unequal sharing of benefits, loss of access to land, and dependence on tourism.