In order to safeguard biodiversity, 44% of the Earth 's geographical cover, or 64 million square kilometers (24.7 million square miles), must be saved, according to new study published in the journal Science on June 3.
Dr. James R. Allan of the University of Amsterdam led a team that used powerful geospatial algorithms to find the finest locations throughout the world to rescue terrestrial species and ecosystems.
They also utilized spatially explicit land-use scenarios to estimate how much of this area will be threatened by human activity by 2030.
Earth requires conservation for future generations
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images
The finding has crucial policy implications since nations are presently negotiating a post-2020 global biodiversity strategy under the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will ideally come into force later this year, with new biodiversity objectives and targets, as per ScienceDaily.
This will establish the conservation agenda for at least the next decade, and countries will be required to regularly report on progress toward these goals.
According to co-author Dr. Kendall Jones, Conservation Planning Specialist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, governments set a global goal more than a decade ago to conserve at least 17% of terrestrial areas through protected areas and other site-based approaches for improving biodiversity and ecosystems.
While this is a positive beginning, the research implied that more aggressive objectives and strategies are needed to preserve ecological integrity beyond the 30% target.
If countries are serious about preserving biodiversity and the ecosystem services that support life on Earth, they must rapidly increase the scope and efficacy of their conservation activities.
According to the authors, the study provides critical data for conservation and development planning, as well as guidance for future national and global conservation agendas.
They also stressed that all of the selected lands should be maintained through a variety of species and ecosystem conservation techniques, including other successful area-based conservation measures, rather than being declared as protected areas.
Environmental conservation is the act of people rescuing the environment from extinction and ecosystem devastation, generally as a result of pollution and human activity.
Because we are all dependent on one another for survival, conservation is critical in conserving and aiding both animals and trees.
Trees help humans breathe and respire by converting carbon dioxide generated by industry into oxygen.
The extinction of species would imply that they would be gone forever, unable to be seen by curious eyes or studied by scholarly minds.
Furthermore, such ecological loss or annihilation would disturb the food web, causing the entire ecosystem to malfunction.
Despite their differences, environmental conservation and preservation are sometimes used interchangeably.
Conservation refers to the current and future judicious use of the environment and its resources.
Preservation, on either end, is a more stringent method in which the ecosystem, lands, and environmental assets are left in their natural condition rather than being consumed by humans.
