PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT Introduction

PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Introduction The protection and preservation of the environment is one of the most important issues facing humankind today. The centrality of this issue was demonstrated when the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 was awarded to AL Gore and the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change. There is an international movement today, cutting across the north-south divide, to protect and preserve the environment. International law forms a major part of this development. Within this body of international law, dealing with protection of the environment, there exists a current of thought which argues that right to a clean or healthy or satisfactory or good environment has attained the status of a human right. The logical corollary follows that human rights mechanism can be used to prevent the degradation of the environment.

• Conservation of environment simply implies the sustainable use as well as management of natural resources which include wildlife, water, air, and earth deposits. There are renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Conservation of natural resources generally focuses on the needs & interests of human beings, for instance the biological, economic, cultural and recreational values. Conservationists have the view that development is necessary for a better future, but only when the changes occur in ways that are not wasteful. Read on to know more about preservation and conservation of environment.

• As far as preservation of environment is concerned, it tries to maintain the present condition areas of the nature or Earth which are not yet touched by humans. This is because of the fat that mankind is encroaching onto the environment at such a rate that various wild landscapes are being given over to farming, industry, housing, tourism and other human developments. And we lose much of the natural areas. Preservationists also strongly support the protection of nature for purely human-centered reasons. However, some adopts less human-centered approach to environmental protection, placing a value on nature that does not relate to the needs and interests of human beings. But is a fact that by preserving and conserving environment we can make a healthy atmosphere to live in.

• Considering preservation and conservation of environment, the United States Environmental preservation is viewed or seen as the setting aside of earthly resources for preventing damage normally caused by contact with humans or by certain human activities, such as logging, mining, hunting, and fishing, only to replace them with new human activities such as tourism and recreation. Furthermore regulations and laws may be enacted for the preservation of natural resources. Being earth friendly is very essential as this will save our planet at the time making a better place to live in for us, for future generations.

• Environmental movement can simply be defined as a social and political movement mainly concerning with the conservation of environment as well as improving the state of environment. It can also be said as green and conservation movement. Generally, environmentalists favor the sustainable management of natural resources as well as the protection of the environment via changes in public policy and individual behavior. In its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered on ecology, health and human rights.

• . In the history of environmentalism, environmental ideas became more popular with the beginning of 20 th century. During this century efforts were being made to save wildlife and National Park Service was formed in 1916 by US president Woodrow Wilson. In 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the agricultural use of DDT. People become more concerned with the problems of air pollution and petroleum spills as well as environmental interest grew in larger number. In India Chipko movement was formed in the year 1970. In 1979, James Lovelock, the former NASA scientist, published Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. Now, environmentalism has also changed to deal with new issues such as global warming and genetic engineering