Conservation is the process of protecting Earth’s natural resources so they can continue to provide water, oxygen and minerals for future generations. This includes preserving natural habitats and reducing damage caused by human activities, such as deforestation and pollution. Conservation also involves promoting sustainable use of natural resources and educating people on how to best conserve biodiversity, which includes species, genes and ecosystems.
The most obvious reason for conservation is to protect and restore the environment, but it also helps us. For example, conservation of forests helps combat climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also protects biodiversity, as different species are vital to a healthy food chain and for the maintenance of ecosystems. It also prevents the loss of natural landscapes, such as swamp and wetlands, that are often altered for agriculture or urban development.
Many people who work in conservation do so because they are passionate about animals, the outdoors and nature, or they want to see certain species protected or restored. Successful stories about rehabilitating wild animal populations or conserving natural areas can motivate people to get involved with conservation. This has been the case with individuals like Aldo Leopold, who wrote A Sand County Almanac and influenced environmental ethics; Dian Fossey, an American primatologist and conservationist who studied wild chimpanzees in Rwanda; Wangari Maathai, an African conservationist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who founded the Green Belt Movement; and Steve Irwin, the Australian zookeeper, TV host and conservationist who died after being attacked by a stingray.