Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Conservation for the People

Services were divided into four categories: provisioning (supplying products such as food or genetic resources), regulating (contributing regulatory functions such as flood

control), cultural (supplying nonmaterial bene- fits such as a sense of spiritual well-being) and supporting (providing basic elements of the eco- system, such as soil formation).


Hot spots- small areas that harbor a great variety of en- demic, or native and geographically restricted, plant species.


Preserving biodiversityfor its own sake, particularly in areas called hot spots, is not working as a conser- vation strategy.


Focusingonprotecting ecosystems vital to peo- ple’s health and material needs makes more sense.

Such ecosystems would include not only forests but also wetlands that maintain clean water, mangroves that shield against storms and reefs that sustain fisheries.

Saving these sites can preserve biodiversity and ensure that people are apriority.


At- tempts to eradicate predators more than a cen- tury ago have jeopardized human health today.


Key Points:

Services are divided into four categories:

provisioning (supplying products such as food or genetic resources)

regulating (contributing regulatory functions such as flood control)

cultural (supplying nonmaterial bene- fits such as a sense of spiritual well-being)

supporting (providing basic elements of the eco- system, such as soil formation)


Hot spots - small areas that harbor a great variety of endemic, or native and geographically restricted, plant species. Preserving biodiversity for its own sake, particularly in areas called hot spots, is not working as a conservation strategy.


  • Focusing on protecting ecosystems vital to people’s health and material needs to make more sense.
  • Such ecosystems would include not only forests but also wetlands that maintain clean water, mangroves that shield against storms and reefs that sustain fisheries.
  • Saving these sites can preserve biodiversity and ensure that people are a priority.
  • Attempts to eradicate predators more than a century ago have jeopardized human health today.
Benefits of Rare Species:
The plants and animals most central to ecosystem services and human economy tend to be fairly abundant. But rare species still have a crucial role as insurance. With global climate disruption and massive modification of land, the rare species of today may become theabundant species of tomorrow, and so we should save as many as possible.

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