Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach, Forests, Wetlands, U.s. Land Conservation Efforts, The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites) - INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION

unep natural

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is designed to protect plant and animal species in danger of extinction. During the 1990s there was a growing concern that traditional methods of species protection, which take a species-by-species approach, were ineffective. Many alternatives were proposed. One of the most popular was a method variously termed the "habitat," "ecosystem," or "community" approach. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) defines an ecosystem as a "geographic area including all the living organisms (people, plants, animals, and microorganisms), their physical surroundings (such as soil, water, and air), and the natural cycles that sustain them." Central to the new approaches is a focus on conservation of large intact areas of habitat. It is hoped that by focusing on entire habitats, rather than individual species recovery, numerous species will be protected before they reach critically low population sizes.

INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established to address diverse environmental issues on an international level. Many of its conventions have been extremely valuable in protecting global biodiversity and natural resources. UNEP has also helped to regulate pollution and the use of toxic chemicals.

Additional Topics

Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach

Ecosystem conservation considers entire communities of species as well as their interactions with the physical environment and aims to develop integrated plans involving wildlife, physical resources, and sustainable use. Such an approach sometimes requires compromise between environmentalists and developers. This is the case for several Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) developed by the U.S. Fish …

Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - Forests

Forests perform a wide variety of social and ecological functions. They provide homes and sustenance for forest dwellers, protect and enrich soils, affect local and regional climate through the evaporation and storage of water, and help stabilize the global climate by processing carbon dioxide. Forests are broadly classified by latitude as either tropical, temperate, or boreal. Tropical forests, o…

Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - Wetlands

Wetlands are transitional areas between land and water bodies where water periodically floods the land or saturates the soil. The term wetland includes environments such as marshes, swamps, bogs, and estuaries. Wetlands may be covered in shallow water most of the year or be wet only seasonally. Plants and animals found in wetlands are uniquely adapted to these conditions. Wetlands in the United St…

Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - U.s. Land Conservation Efforts

The early American colonists were impressed by the abundance of natural resources they found in North America and by the vast expanses of land available for settlement. Settlers migrated to the West and South, building towns and developing land for agriculture and industry. New modes of transportation allowed access to areas previously undisturbed by humans. Widespread development and demand for f…

Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement administered under UNEP that regulates international trade in wildlife. CITES is perhaps the single most important international agreement relating to endangered species and has contrib critically to the protection of many threatened species. FIGURE 3.8 Terrestrial polar bear…

Citing this material

Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.

Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.

<a href="http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/3042/Habitat-Ecosystem-Conservation.html">Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach, Forests, Wetlands, U.s. Land Conservation Efforts, The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites) - INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION</a>

User Comments

Share this page:

Contact & About


Tweet Library Index » Science Encyclopedia Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach, Forests, Wetlands, U.s. Land Conservation Efforts, The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites) - INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION unep natural The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is designed to protect plant and animal species in danger of extinction. During the 1990s there was a growing concern that traditional methods of species protection, which take a species-by-species approach, were ineffective. Many alternatives were proposed. One of the most popular was a method variously termed the "habitat," "ecosystem," or "community" approach. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) defines an ecosystem as a "geographic area including all the living organisms (people, plants, animals, and microorganisms), their physical surroundings (such as soil, water, and air), and the natural cycles that sustain them." Central to the new approaches is a focus on conservation of large intact areas of habitat. It is hoped that by focusing on entire habitats, rather than individual species recovery, numerous species will be protected before they reach critically low population sizes. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established to address diverse environmental issues on an international level. Many of its conventions have been extremely valuable in protecting global biodiversity and natural resources. UNEP has also helped to regulate pollution and the use of toxic chemicals. Additional Topics Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach Ecosystem conservation considers entire communities of species as well as their interactions with the physical environment and aims to develop integrated plans involving wildlife, physical resources, and sustainable use. Such an approach sometimes requires compromise between environmentalists and developers. This is the case for several Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) developed by the U.S. Fish … Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - Forests Forests perform a wide variety of social and ecological functions. They provide homes and sustenance for forest dwellers, protect and enrich soils, affect local and regional climate through the evaporation and storage of water, and help stabilize the global climate by processing carbon dioxide. Forests are broadly classified by latitude as either tropical, temperate, or boreal. Tropical forests, o… Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - Wetlands Wetlands are transitional areas between land and water bodies where water periodically floods the land or saturates the soil. The term wetland includes environments such as marshes, swamps, bogs, and estuaries. Wetlands may be covered in shallow water most of the year or be wet only seasonally. Plants and animals found in wetlands are uniquely adapted to these conditions. Wetlands in the United St… Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - U.s. Land Conservation Efforts The early American colonists were impressed by the abundance of natural resources they found in North America and by the vast expanses of land available for settlement. Settlers migrated to the West and South, building towns and developing land for agriculture and industry. New modes of transportation allowed access to areas previously undisturbed by humans. Widespread development and demand for f… Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites) The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement administered under UNEP that regulates international trade in wildlife. CITES is perhaps the single most important international agreement relating to endangered species and has contrib critically to the protection of many threatened species. FIGURE 3.8 Terrestrial polar bear… The History of Genetics - Early Beliefs About Heredity, Cell Theory, A Farmer's Son Becomes The Father Ofgenetics Study [next] [back] Groundwater - A Vast Hidden Resource, How Groundwater Occurs, Groundwater Flow, Natural Characteristicsof Groundwater, Current Groundwater Use Citing this material Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information. Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document. <a href="http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/3042/Habitat-Ecosystem-Conservation.html">Habitat and Ecosystem Conservation - The Ecosystem Approach, Forests, Wetlands, U.s. Land Conservation Efforts, The Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species (cites) - INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT CONSERVATION</a> User Comments Name Email Your email address will be altered so spam harvesting bots can't read it easily. Hide my email completely instead? Body Cancel or Copyright © 2013 Net Industries and its Licensors – All Rights Reserved – Terms of Use Share this page: Tweet More To Explore	Contact & About Privacy Policy