Bài giảng history of conservation biology

History of wildlife conservation• In the 1600’s, when the Europeans arrived, wildlife was plentiful and was able to meet the needs of the people.. • By the 1800’s, people began to see a

BRIEF HISTORY OF CONSERVATION

History of wildlife conservation

• In the 1600’s, when the Europeans arrived, wildlife was plentiful and was able to meet the needs of the people.

• Needs turned into wants, which led to

exploitation —the use of natural resources for profit.

• By the 1800’s, people began to see a need for conservation of our natural resources

Important Dates in Conservation

• Morrill Act of 1862

– Established colleges to teach

agriculture and conservation

– Made “land grant universities” such as

Virginia Tech

– Named for Vermont Congressman Justin

Morrill

• 1872 Yellowstone National Park formed

– First national park in the world

– Its purpose was to preserve the natural

resources of the area

– Located in Idaho, Montana & Wyoming

– 3,472 sq miles

– 2,221,773 sq acres

Important Dates in Conservation

Important Dates in Conservation

• 1901, the great hunter and outdoorsman,

Theodore Roosevelt, became president

• Used the bully pulpit to encourage protection

of natural resources

• Began the process of setting aside federal land for protection

Several federal agencies were established for the management of natural resources:

1 National Forest System – 1891

2 Division of Forestry of USDA – 1898

3 United States Bureau of Reclamation - 1902

4 United States National Wildlife Refuge system –

1903.

5 United States Forest Service – 1905

What are the national policies that impact wildlife conservation?

• Forest Service

– Part of the USDA that manages 156 forests

covering 191 million acres of forests and grassland

What are the national policies that impact wildlife

conservation?

• 1966 Wildlife Refuge System

– A system of wildlife refuges across

the United States

– A part of the US Fish and Wildlife

Service

What are the national policies that

impact wildlife conservation?

• 1973 Endangered Species Act

– Identifies and manages rare, threatened and

Historical People in Wildlife Conservation

• John James Audubon (1785–1851)

– Watched and studied birds

– Published a book about his bird studies

– 1905 the National Audubon Society was formed

Historical People in Wildlife Conservation

– Started the Sierra Club

– California forest named after him

Historical People in Wildlife Conservation

Historical People in Wildlife Conservation

• Aldo Leopold (1886–1948)

– Applied ecology to wildlife

• Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment.

– Wrote a book called Game Management that was

used to help further educate wildlife biologists

Historical People in Wildlife Conservation

• Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946)

– One of the first leaders of what is now the U.S Forest Service

– Wrote a book called The Fight for Conservation.

– His efforts focused on the conservation of forests

Conservation organizations in the world

International Union for the Conservation

Conservation efforts in Vietnam

• Conservation Biology was a response of scientists

to this biodiversity Crisis

• It was formalized in the 1980’s, but has a very long history

How was Conservation Biology born?

Conservation Biology is:

a synthetic field that applies science & other

academic fields to the conservation of biodiversity

fields include: ecology, biogeography, genetics,

economics, sociology, anthropology,

philosophy

Conservation Biology is:

a “crisis discipline”

an urgent reaction by the scientific community to the crisis of biodiversity loss

Reality creates many problems for conservation

biology – why? (e.g., reactive versus proactive

science, weak science)

Conservation Biology (3 principles)

(1) Evolutionary Framework (as for all of biology)

(2) Ecological “Theatre” is Dynamic and

Nonequilibrial

(3) A Human Presence Must be Acknowledged

Guiding Principles

Conservation Biology

A Human Presence Must be Acknowledged

• conservation biology without consideration of

humanswill have minimal impact

• humans have been an integral part of the earth’s biodiversity for 10,000’s of years

• indigenous peoples have a history of interaction with other organisms in areas of conservation

interest

Why is Conservation Biology difficult?

• politically- and economically-charged issues

• demand for rapid, unambiguous answers

• merges pure science with politics, social conflict

• very difficult situations to conduct strong

science

The “Precautionary Principle”

• we must acknowledge the scientific uncertainty inherent in managing natural systems

• it is usually easier to prevent environmental

damage than to repair it later