With most from the world’s renaming natural habitats surviving in underdeveloped countries, natural resource conservation strategies must consist of the interests of nearby human communities if they’re to be a success. Often when Western natural resource conservation experts draw up plans for nature reserves they neglect the requirements or traditions of the native human population. This often results in conflict between locals, reserve animals and officials. If local individuals are suddenly told they can no longer forage, hunt or gather in an area they previously relied on because a rare bird or plant has been discovered living there, they are likely to resent the natural resource conservation measures.

Some of the tiger reserves set up in India illustrate this point. Prior to the formation from the reserves, the villagers would rely on the dry forests for resources, such as firewood, fruit and honey. When the reserves had been created the locals were told they could no longer collect these from within the reserve, so they had to rely on gathering scraps from around the outside from the protected places, making their lives much harder.

Understandably after this treatment, the locals have little desire to protect the tiger or deter poachers. Nearby communities have frequently lived side-by-side with animals for hundreds of many years. They’re dependent on organic resources, and generally use the land in a sustainable fashion. New natural resource conservation projects in these regions ought to concentrate on involving the locals, taking their traditions into account. Their needs ought to be carefully studied, understood and accommodated in any new scheme in the region.

Swindling our inheritance

Maintaining biodiversity has emerged as the key focal goal of natural resource conservation efforts all over the world. It is now commonly accepted that merely keeping alive a few hundred members of each species in zoos or reserves is no great. To make sure the long-term achievement of life on our planet we must maintain large areas of natural habitats, protecting entire ecosystems, communities and populations. This will also make sure that genetic diversity and species diversity are guarded. Erosion of the globe’s biodiversity is not something that can be reversed rapidly or simply. Life on Earth most likely began 3.5 billion many years ago from a single typical ancestor, and diversified from then onwards. To achieve such diversity again would surely take billions of years.