Why do we need conservation?

Do we really want the amazing animal species of today to simply become a myth in a book? The species that we take for advantage could one day simply disappear, leaving our future generations to admire them only in stories.

We have been continously over exploiting our planet and it is affecting the natural balance of life. Losing just one species can have an impact on the whole ecosystem, whether it be plant, insect, bird or mammal, it will affect the natural order. Take for example the story of the red squirrel, the UK's native species is slowly disappearing due to the introduction of the grey squirrel over 130 years ago. Unfortunately the red squirrel has been out competed by its exotic counterpart and the UK may one day say goodbye to our native species due to mans mistake.

Source: 1

Photo by: Lucy Boynton

Not many people have had the privilge of seeing a hazel dormouse, but whilst studying them on a field trip I not only sighted 1, but 4 of these tiny, furry mammals. But unfortunately their numbers are rapidly declining. During 1950-1980 many ancient woodlands were cleared so the demand for timber could be satisfied by planting conifers. This meant the dormouse has undergone a decline of over half their orginal population size during the twentieth century. Their need for ancient woodland is crucial to their survival and if deforestation and fragmentation continues the hazel dormouse may be another species that disappears in the UK.

Source: Kirby. K. J. (2003) Woodland Conservation in privately-owned cultural landscapes: the English experience. Environmental Science & Policy. 6(3), pp 253-259.

Garland . L., Woods. M. (2005) Dormice on road verges. Ecology and Environmental Management in Practice. 48, pp 1-7

Photo by: Bjoernschulz

Not only may we lose some of our treasured species but also are natural resources are under threat. Without these we will suffer, no materials to build our homes, no plants to feed us, no fresh water to quench our thirst, we are slowly ruining our own planet.

Maintaining our biodiversity is key to conserving what is important to us, so that the beauty and richness of life will still be available to our children. Through the huge variety of animal species we can learn about their adaptations they developed through evolution and natural selection, so that intead of moulding the environment to suit us we can begin to adapt ourselves so we don't end up in an articical world.

Conservation can help redress the balance between man and nature so that once again we can enjoy the world as it is meant to be.