conservation

conservation The natural resources of the Earth, including air, water, land, flora and fauna of natural ecosystems must be safeguarded for the benefit of the present and future generations through careful planning and management, as appropriate – Principle of the Stockholm Declaration, . The large-scale loss of biodiversity and its global impact makes conservation the need of the hour. Conservation of biodiversity is protection and scientific management of biodiversity so as to maintain it at its optimum level and derive sustainable benefits for the present as well as future generations. It aims to protect species from extinction and their habitats and ecosystems from degradation. General strategies in conservation • identify and protect all threatened species • identify and conserve in protected areas the wild relatives of all the economically important organisms • identify and protect critical habitats for feeding, breeding, nursing, resting of each species • air, water and soil should be conserved on priority basis • wildlife Protection Act should be implemented There are two aspects of conservation strategies (Table . ). i) In-situ conservation ii) Ex-situ conservation