CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

What is conservation?

This is the preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, including natural
ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.

Conservation can also be regarded as using resources in a way that they wont be depleted, so they
can be used by future generations.

Conservation Methods

Management This is the monitoring of the resource or area with resources so that levels of
the resource do not drop below a certain level and if the resource is renewable, that what was
used was replaced in an effective manner

Rehabilitation This is to improve the current state of the resource or area with resources

Restoration This is to bring the resource or area with resources back to its original state

Preservation This is an attempt to keep the resource or area with resources in its natural
state by not using it in a consumptive way.

Conservation Terms

in situ on site
ex situ off site
sustainable development employing measures to further a country or territory economically,
socially, politically, technologically and environmentally without compromising the needs of
future generations

Reasons for Conservation (also see your text book)

Ecological
Each organism has a special role in the environment. When the habitat or food source of the
organism is damaged or depleted, the organism, in turn, dies off. Extinction or even reduction
of a species in an area can cause an imbalance in the natural cycling of nutrients as well as
the food web. It is therefore important to conserve the components of life support systems, so
that species do not become threatened or endangered and therefore would not become
extinct. Where they are already threatened or endangered, measures should be put into place
in order to preserve what is left and to restore their populations. Sustainable use of natural
resources is therefore key in maintaining ecological balance.

Ethical
 Some natural resources and natural areas are considered to be sacred to indigenous, tribal or
even religious groups, especially those which interact with nature or consider nature to be their
connection to God and/or the earth.

Some societies believe that organisms have some kind of importance to the world and
therefore have the right to exist.

Aesthetic
Some natural resources or natural areas add beauty and therefore hold some intrinsic value.

Conservation Tools

1) Sustainable Yield Management This is the extraction/harvesting of a renewable, exhaustible

natural resource without depleting the stock and therefore allowing the resource to replenish
itself before extracting/harvesting again

2) Use of substitutes for non-renewable resources e.g. using substitutes such as renewable or
recycled resources can cut down on the depletion of non-renewable resources

3) Use of appropriate technology usage of more environmentally friendly technology which

minimises the consumptive use of natural resources and/or recycles old materials

4) Reduction and minimisation of waste - recycling of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes, reusing,
refusing, redesigning, re-thinking

5) Use of economic instruments:

user fees this is where patrons of a site, for example a mangrove swamp, pay to use the
site. The fees go towards the upkeep of the site and towards the workers wages.

taxes taxes placed on less green products

penalties such as jail sentences, community service or fines for damaging the
environment

incentives this includes government subsidies on, or taxes removed from, or taxes
refunded from purchases of more environmentally friendly products, community uplifting
projects, monetary incentives (e.g receiving 25c per returned bottle)

economic valuation of natural resources this is an estimation of how much a resource is

worth

environmental accounting a subset of accounting which aims to incorporate

environmental aspects along with economic aspects

greening of national budgets According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD), Stakeholders capacity for integrating the environment into
national planning processes must be enhanced if we are to achieve greener
development Environmental resources and services make a vital contribution to
 economic growth and wellbeing in developing countries. Their natural resource sectors
drive economic growth and provide the poor with livelihoods and an important safety net in
times of crisis Economic growth based on the unsustainable use of natural resources is
no longer viable in a world facing the pressures of a growing population, climate change
and increasing risks of food shortages. Against this background ensuring the sustainability
of the natural resource base is crucial.

6) Land-Use Planning - Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public
policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an
efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use
planning to manage the development of land within their jurisdictions. In doing so, the
governmental unit can plan for the needs of the community while safeguarding natural
resources. To this end, it is the systematic assessment of land and water potential,
alternatives for land use, and economic and social conditions in order to select and adopt the
best land-use options (Young 2003)

7) Zoning Regulation tying in with land-use planning, this is the implementation aspect where
regulatory framework outlines how land areas are to be used, whether for agricultural
purposes, housing, protected area or otherwise

8) Integrated Development Planning the aim of this is to develop a strategic plan for the
development of an area which:
1) links, integrates and co-ordinates plans and takes into account proposals for the
development of the area;
2) aligns the resources and capacity of the municipality with the implementation of the
plan;
3) forms the policy framework and basis for the budget; and
4) is compatible with national and provincial development plans and legislation.
This, of course, considers how resources are going to be extracted, distributed and used.

9) Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) - ICZM is a dynamic, multidisciplinary and

iterative process to promote sustainable management of coastal zones. It covers the full
cycle of information collection, planning (in its broadest sense), decision making,
management and monitoring of implementation. ICZM uses the informed participation and
cooperation of all stakeholders to assess the societal goals in a given coastal area, and to
take actions towards meeting these objectives. ICZM seeks, over the long-term, to balance
environmental, economic, social, cultural and recreational objectives, all within the limits set
by natural dynamics. 'Integrated' in ICZM refers to the integration of objectives and also to
the integration of the many instruments needed to meet these objectives. It means
integration of all relevant policy areas, sectors, and levels of administration. It means
integration of the terrestrial and marine components of the target territory, in both time and
space. (European Commission, circa 1993)

ICZM is basically a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach,
regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in
an attempt to achieve sustainability. This concept of ICZM was born in 1992 during the Earth
Summit of Rio de Janeiro.

10) Environmental Impact Assessments this is the evaluation of the current status, as well as the
 potential short term and long term environmental (including physical, biological, social,
economic and more recently, political and technological) impacts of a proposed project on a
site.

11) Protected Area Systems

A protected area is a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and
managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values (International Union for the
Conservation of Nature 2008)

Protected areas, such as national parks, wilderness areas, community conserved areas,
nature reserves and so on, are a mainstay of biodiversity conservation, while also contributing
to peoples livelihoods, particularly at the local level. Protected areas are at the core of efforts
towards conserving nature and the services it provides us food, clean water supply,
medicines and protection from the impacts of natural disasters. Their role in helping mitigate
and adapt to climate change is also increasingly recognised; it has been estimated that the
global network of protected areas stores at least 15% of terrestrial carbon. Helping countries
and communities designate and manage systems of protected areas on land and in the
oceans, is one of IUCNs main areas of expertise. Together with species conservation, this
has been a key focus of attention of IUCNs work and of a vast majority of IUCN Member
organisations. Effectively managed systems of protected areas have been recognised as
critical instruments in achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and
the Millennium Development Goals.

The categories set out by the IUCN for protected areas are as follows:
Category Ia Strict Nature Reserve
Category Ib Wilderness Area
Category II National Park
Category III Natural Monument or Feature
Category IV Habitat/Species Management Area
Category V Protected Landscape/Seascape
Category VI Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources

Protected areas also play a role in ecotourism as they are natures wonders and become
attractions for local, regional and international visitors, and since resources are not used
consumptively, there is little to no damage done to the environment when people visit the area.

12) Community Based Natural Resource Management

participation by the community
monitoring by trained persons within the community
evaluation of progress over a period of time

13) Environmental legislation, policies and plans along with implementation and enforcement for
 example:
Sustainable Development Plans
National Environmental Action Plans (NEAP)
Forest Management Plans
Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plans (see #9)

14) Education, Training and Public awareness - When you know what youre doing wrong, you are
more inclined to do something about it. This can be done via the national
curriculum, seminars, multimedia advertisements, jingles, documentary videos, leaflets, etc.

According to Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 Education is critical for promoting sustainable

development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and
development issues. While basic education provides the underpinning for any environmental
and development education, the latter needs to be incorporated as an essential part of
learning. Both formal and non-formal education are indispensable to changing people's
attitudes so that they have the capacity to assess and address their sustainable development
concerns. It is also critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and
attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public
participation in decision-making. To be effective, environment and development education
should deal with the dynamics of both the physical/biological and socio-economic environment
and human (which may include spiritual) development, should be integrated in all disciplines,
and should employ formal and non-formal methods and effective means of communication.

15) Advocacy this is the act of standing up for a cause

16) International environmental and conservation agreements see below

International environmental and conservation agreements

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

This is a Rio Convention, one of three adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. This convention,
which entered into force on 21 March 1994, ultimately aims to stabilise greenhouse gas
concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference
with the climate system." It states that "such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient
to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not
threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner" (UNFCCC
2014). The idea is that, as they are the source of most past and current greenhouse gas emissions,
industrialised countries are expected to do the most to cut emissions on home ground. Furthermore,
industrialised nations agree under the Convention to support climate change activities in developing
countries by providing financial support for action on climate change-- above and beyond any
financial assistance they already provide to these countries. A system of grants and loans has been
set up through the Convention and is managed by the Global Environment Facility. Industrialised
countries also agree to share technology with less-advanced nations.

To keep tabs on what is being done, industrialised countries have to report regularly on their climate
change policies and measures, including issues governed by the Kyoto Protocol (for countries which
have ratified it). They must also submit an annual inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions,
including data for their base year (1990) and all the years since. Developing countries report in more
general terms on their actions both to address climate change and to adapt to its impacts - but less
regularly than Annex I Parties do, and their reporting is contingent on their getting funding for the
preparation of the reports, particularly in the case of the Least Developed Countries.

Today, the UNFCCC has near-universal membership. The 195 countries that have ratified the
Convention are called Parties to the Convention.

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction
targets. Recognising that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of
GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the
Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but
differentiated responsibilities. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December
1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules for the implementation of the
Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2001, and are referred to as the
"Marrakesh Accords." Its first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. Under the
Protocol, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the
Protocol also offers them an additional means to meet their targets by way of three market-based
mechanisms:

o International Emissions Trading

o Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
o Joint implementation (JI)

Under the Protocol, countries' actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be
kept of the trades carried out. Registry systems track and record transactions by Parties under the
mechanisms. The UN Climate Change Secretariat, based in Bonn, Germany, keeps an international
transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol. Reporting is
done by Parties by submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at
regular intervals. A compliance system ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps
them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so.

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)

The CBD is one of the three Rio Conventions, emerging from the UN Conference on Environment
and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It came into force
at the end of 1993, with the following objectives: The conservation of biological diversity, the
sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the
utilisation of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by
appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and
to technologies, and by appropriate funding.

There are currently 193 Parties to the Convention (192 countries and the European Union). In April
2002, the Parties to the Convention committed themselves to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction
of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to
poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. This target was subsequently endorsed by the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (the Rio + 10 summit) in Johannesburg, 2002, and by
the United Nations General Assembly. It was also incorporated as a new target under one of the
Millennium Development Goals Ensure Environmental Sustainability. The 2010 biodiversity target is
therefore a commitment from all governments, including those not party to the CBD.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest
challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994,
UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to
sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and
peoples can be found. In the 10-Year Strategy of the UNCCD (2008-2018) that was adopted in 2007,
Parties to the Convention further specified their goals: "to forge a global partnership to reverse and
prevent desertification/land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in
order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability".

The Conventions 195 parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to
maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought. The UNCCD is
particularly committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in
combating desertification and land degradation. The UNCCD secretariat facilitates cooperation
between developed and developing countries, particularly around knowledge and technology transfer
for sustainable land management.

As the dynamics of land, climate and biodiversity are intimately connected, the UNCCD collaborates
closely with the other two Rio Conventions; the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to meet these complex
challenges with an integrated approach and the best possible use of natural resources.

Specifically Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW)

The United Nations Environment Programmes Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP)

was established by Governments of the Wider Caribbean Region in 1986 and constitutes one of the
eighteen (18) Regional Seas Programmes of UNEP across the globe. Its mission is to promote
regional co-operation for the protection and sustainable development of the marine environment of
the 38 Member States and Territories that encompass this Region and this is achieved through the
implementation of activities that support the Cartagena Convention and its three Protocols.

The Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider
Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention, 1983) entered into force in 1986 and 25 Governments of
28 possible in the Wider Caribbean are Contracting Parties.

The Cartagena Convention is supplemented by three (3) specific legal agreements:

 The Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region
(Oils Spill Protocol, 1983);
The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW Protocol, 1990); and
The Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol,
1999).

In response to the objectives of the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols, the CEP has three
mutually supporting sub-programmes, one of which was SPAW. Adopted in Kingston, Jamaica by
the member governments of the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) on 18 January 1990, the
SPAW Protocol preceded other international environmental agreements in utilising an ecosystem
approach to conservation. The Protocol acts as a vehicle to assist with regional implementation of the
broader and more demanding global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The objective of the Protocol is to protect rare and fragile ecosystems and habitats, thereby protecting
the endangered and threatened species residing therein. The Caribbean Regional Co-ordinating Unit
(CAR/RCU) pursues this objective by assisting with the establishment and proper management of
Protected Areas (PAs), by promoting sustainable management (and use) of species to prevent their
endangerment and by providing assistance to the governments of the region in conserving their
coastal ecosystems. The SPAW Protocol achieves these objectives primarily through the four
mutually supporting programme elements.

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention was developed in the 1960s because of concerns over destruction of
wetlands and its impact on people and biodiversity especially waterbirds. On 2 February 1971, the
convention opened for signature in the town of Ramsar in Iran. It was the first of the modern global
intergovernmental environmental agreements. The Convention recognised the interconnectivity of all
wetlands.

The main aim of the RAMSAR Convention is for the conservation and wise use (sustainable use) of
wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation as a contribution
towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.

There are now 160 parties signed to this and 1904 Wetlands of International Importance (also known
as Ramsar sites), covering an area of 186 million hectares and providing the largest global network of
protected areas.

Marine Pollution (MARPOL)

Marpol 73/78 is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 as
modified by the Protocol of 1978. ("Marpol" is short for marine pollution and 73/78 short for the years
1973 and 1978.)
Marpol 73/78 is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions. It was
designed to minimise pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution. Its stated
object is to preserve the marine environment through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and
other harmful substances and the minimisation of accidental discharge of such substances.
The original MARPOL was signed on 17 February 1973, but did not come into force due to lack of
ratifications. The current convention is a combination of 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol. It
entered into force on 2 October 1983. As of May 2013, 152 states, representing 99.2 per cent of the
world's shipping tonnage, are parties to the convention
All ships flagged under countries that are signatories to MARPOL are subject to its requirements,
regardless of where they sail and member nations are responsible for vessels registered under their
respective nationalities