Habitat conservation
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, social views started to change and conservation principles were first practically applied to the forests of British India.
[9] By the mid-20th century, countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain instigated laws and legislation in order to ensure that the most fragile and beautiful environments would be protected for posterity.
Today, with the help of NGO's and governments worldwide, a strong movement is mobilizing with the goal of protecting habitats and preserving biodiversity on a global scale.
However, land development from anthropogenic economic growth often causes a decline in the ecological integrity of nearby natural habitat.
Financial profit can be made from tourist revenue, for example in the tropics where species diversity is high, or in recreational sports which take place in natural environments such as hiking and mountain biking.
[16] A combination of seed banking and habitat conservation has been proposed to maintain plant diversity for food security purposes.
[18] Pearce and Moran outlined the following method for classifying environmental uses:[19] Habitat loss and destruction can occur both naturally and through anthropogenic causes.
[26] Aboriginal hunting practices, which included burning large sections of forest at a time, eventually altered and changed Australia's vegetation so much that many herbivorous megafauna species were left with no habitat and were driven into extinction.
Deforestation, pollution, anthropogenic climate change and human settlements have all been driving forces in altering or destroying habitats.
"[36] The scale of habitat restoration efforts can range from small to large areas of land depending on the goal of the project.
[42] Therefore, areas classified as ‘biodiversity hotspots’, or those in which a flagship, umbrella, or endangered species inhabits are often the habitats that are given precedence over others.
HCPs require clearly defined goals and objectives, efficient monitoring programs, as well as successful communication and collaboration with stakeholders and land owners in the area.
Reserve design is also important and requires a high level of planning and management in order to achieve the goals of the HCP.
This idea is often referred to as the "single large or several small", SLOSS debate, and is a highly controversial area among conservation biologists and ecologists.
Noss & Cooperrider support the "larger is better" claim and developed a model that implies areas of habitat less than 1000ha are "tiny" and of low conservation value.
Shwartz argues that human induced habitat loss leaves no alternative to conserving small areas.
Furthermore, he suggests many endangered species which are of high conservation value, may only be restricted to small isolated patches of habitat, and thus would be overlooked if larger areas were given a higher priority.
This process determines the habitats that need protection, specific elements that should be conserved as well as monitoring progress so more efficient practices can be developed for the future.
In all cases the aim is to provide a sustainable environment for both the plant and animal life forms that depend on them as well as all future generations to come.
[46] The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was first formed in after a group of passionate conservationists signed what is now referred to as the Morges Manifesto.
One of the first projects of WWF was assisting in the creation of the Charles Darwin Research Foundation which aided in the protection of diverse range of unique species existing on the Galápagos’ Islands, Ecuador.
The WWF also initiated a debt-for-nature concept which allows the country to put funds normally allocated to paying off national debt, into conservation programs that protect its natural landscapes.
Rare has been in operation since 1973 with current global partners in over 50 countries and offices in the United States of America, Mexico, the Philippines, China and Indonesia.
By engaging local communities and changing behaviour Rare has been able to launch campaigns to protect areas in most need of conservation.
