Conservation is a concept of many meanings. Environmentalists visualize it as a moral issue tied up with man’s responsibility to safeguard certain resources for the use of future generations. Technology workers sometimes identify it with the physical techniques they use to retard soil erosion, plant trees or manage animals. The sportsman thinks of it in terms of better fishing or hunting. Politicians often treat it as a political ‘sacred cow’ closely allied with voter’s interest.
As applied to land resources however conservation can be defined as ‘the preservation in unimpaired efficiency of the resources of the earth, or in a condition so nearly impaired as the nature of the case or wise exhaustion will permit’. ‘Unimpaired efficiency’ implies the method of exploiting our resources over a long period of time in such a way that the environment is not damaged in the process of exploiting our resources. However the idea of preserving land resources intact for future use has never gained much popular acceptance. To be sure, many constitutions have stressed the need for saving certain resource for future use and some have probably overemphasized this point; they favour the saving of land resources, but only to the extent to which conservation policies are consistent with programmes of effective current use. Because of this rationale, much of the emphasis in conservation discussions is on the need for orderly and efficient resource use, the elimination of economic and social waste and the maximisation of such returns overtime.
From the economic and social point of view conservation can be defined as ‘the wise or prudent use of resources over time’. This definition however has the opinion of being vague and confusing – vague because of differences of opinion concerning what constitutes ‘wise use’, and confusing because conservation practices vary widely with different types of resource. Wise use means exploiting the resources over a period of time and gaining maximum returns over that period of time. This usually applies mostly to private operators of the land. Social wise, use is concerned with the preservation of a healthy environment and preserving resources for future generations. It should be noted that conservation is basically concerned with choices in the timing of resource use and thus it deals with public and private decisions concerning the allocation of resources between the present and future; which policies and actions that are designed to increase the future usable supplies of particular resources.
Conservation areas are what might be termed ‘standard condition’. This is because conversation is also one of the treatments given for the curing of urban blight, such areas are to be protected and maintained at least at their present state of development.
Generally speaking, conservation has more to do with societal issues; the first one is the question ‘does conservation pay?’ i.e. does it pay a country or an individual to practice conservation. The answer to this is influenced by the role of the decision maker who may be private or public operators while taking decisions relatively to utilization of land resources. If conservation is desirable there is need to identify the obstacles to it.
- Economic obstacle: if there was lack of capital it may lead to what is called early disinvestment of the resources i.e. the resources would be exploited in order to obtain the capital required to raise current income. This might lead to series of investment in the future.
- In economic instability: this tends to meet rapid exploitation of our resources which goes against the principle of rational conservation.
- Lack of knowledge and foresight: this involves the question of what quantity or how much of our resources are being depleted; the possible changes and moving to accommodate it.
- Institutional obstacle: basically, some of our customs and habits inhibit conservation, e.g use of firewood as a source of fuel for our rural and sub-urban dwellers. This has led to a rapid depletion of our forest reserve. Unfortunately our industries make more use of wood than the rural and sub-urban dwellers.
- Technological obstacle: our ability to manage, maintain and even increase our resources is limited by our level of technology .There is a school of thought however that says “necessity is the mother of invention” and so if we are exhausting our resources we need not panic because technology will help replenish our resources.
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