CONSERVING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
IN ENVIRONMENT. (Please, I need your comment concerning this article)

All the inhabitants of the earth rely on nature for foods, water, air, shelter etc. they also interact with their environment for energy needs.
Regardless of this, man is still destroying the natural environment. Nature conservation is of course one of the greatest challenges of our time since man cannot do without nature’s work. WHAT DO I MEAN BY NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION?
Natural resources can be defined as materials or areas considered useful or of value to a particular human culture. It is worth knowing that this must be a basic or primary material and not manufactured or processed goods.

CONSERVATION: Conservation simply means preservation or an act of protection from total depletion or the practice of saving things from loss or waste or efforts to use the land and natural resources for our present needs while also preserving them for the future usage. Therefore, conservation of nature means to use wisely all the resources nature has given man. However, I shall use the definition jointly put in use in 1980 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Conservation here is defined as the management for human use of the biosphere in such a way that it yields the greatest sustainable benefits to the present generation while maintaining its potentials to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations. Conservation of environment now means the preservation of the atmosphere, lithospheres, hydrosphere and biosphere which are the four layers of the earth against damage or destruction. Resources to be conserved are soil, water, forest, wildlife, coal, gas, and mineral ores. However, the following methods can be put to use for the conservation of the environment.
According to the world conservation strategy (WCS) conservation involves management of human use of the biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to the present generation, while maintaining it potentials to meet the needs and aspirations of future generation. It is positive, embracing preservation, sustainable utilization, restoration and enhancement of the natural environment.

SOIL: Soil is very essential and mostly needed for growing of plants which in turn provide food and fibre for mankind. Soil is made up of minerals and organics matter and it takes a long time for nature to form the rich top soil which covers much of the earth. Natural forces such as wind and rain gradually carry away the soil. This is term as erosion and can be reduced by using engineering and biological techniques. For example, the root system of trees and grasses hold the soil from being blowing or washed away. Trees also help to check erosion by their leaves absorbing the inputs of rain drops so that less of the soil around them are dislodge. Windbreak checks the force of wind at ground level and therefore reduces the possibility of soil being blown away. For effective preservation, indiscriminate removal of vegetable should be discourage.

WATER: We require water for various purposes such as drinking, cooking, washing, irrigation etc. therefore, we should conserved even though it is a renewable resources. There is need to protect our lakes and streams from pollution, learn to control flood, use and restore the underground water.

FOREST: In Nigeria, the bulk of forest management is government’s responsibility. There are agencies setup by the government to see about the conservation of our forests, i.e. the forest guards. Similarly there are government forest reserves. Where free exploitation of timber and animals are prohibited. Foresters aim at protecting forest from fires, diseases and pests and equally ensure that the reserves are taken good care of by taking such measures as:

1. the establishment of agencies responsibility for the conservation of forest Departments.
2. The enactment of laws guiding felling of trees (deforestation).
3. Prohibiting of the killing of games, that is the killing of animals in the zoo or in the game reserves.

WILDLIFE (Fauna and Floura): By wildlife I mean all the plants and animals species living in their natural habitats with little or no interference from man. It also refers to the many species of organisms that have not been domesticated or made to live under man’s structures. In other to preserve the growing number of endangered species, government has enacted laws like the Degree No. 11 of 1985 had been enacted to protect all endangered animals within the country. The most basic method of wildlife conservation is the preservation of their habitats.

AIR: The air we breath is vital to life and thus should be protected. The effect of air pollution are numerous ranging from smog, acid, rains, erosion of building structures, eye irritations and lungs and respiratory diseases to mention but a few.

MINERAL AND ENERGY- These are infact non-renewable materials e.g. petroleum, coal, gas and metal ors and can be classified thus:

i. Mineral fuel such as coal, oil and gas.
ii. The metallic minerals such as iron ores, gold, silver, and copper.
iii. The non metallic minerals (also label industrial mineral) e.g. clay, limestone and gypsum.

These are materials that cannot be replaced easily and should be conserved as much as possible. The only means is to develop alternative energy sources and discover other mineral deposits. We can partially conserve our present non-renewable resources by mining them wisely, and using materials effectively and efficiently, recycling scrapped metals and developing substitutes to take care of the present ones.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs and aspiration of the present without compromising the ability to meet those of the future. It is a process in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are in harmony and enhance both human needs and aspirations. Certain key elements of sustainable development are very important.

These are:

1. ecological integrity and sustainability.
2. Equity and distributive justice at all level (global, national, community and international).
3. Socially relevant economic productivity and technological developments.
4. Popular participation and collective autonomy.
5. Prevalence and institutionalization of human and democratic rights.

Sustainable development, therefore is a socio-economic and political concept, movement or strategy, which largely incorporate the twin objectives of human development and environmental protection. As a concept and a notion, sustainable development is concerned about development that is less harmful to the environment, development that is socially responsible recognizing the extensive nature of poverty, deprivation, classes, nation, and communities. The concept arouse out of the realization that man’s exploitation of nature continues to have unintended but damaging impacts on the environment.

ENVIRONMENT – According to Oxford Advance Learners
Dictionary, Environment refers to ‘Surroundings, circumstances and influence. The surrounding conditions, influence or force that modify the whole complex of climate, edaphic and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine it form and survival.

The definition of environment varies from one author to another depending on the areas of specialization and orientation at life. For instance to the geographer, the field may refer to the spatial distribution and interdependence of the physical , climate, demographic and other environmental elements and factors of the earth as a component of the solar system. To the regional planner environment mean the type that has to do with spatial organization, arrangement and management of structures and infrastructures such as buildings, roads and parks. To other scientists the environment is seen as the light of the branch of science of major interest. For example, the biologist may see it as the type that has to do with the type, distribution and interaction of plants and animals with their physical (aquatic and terrestrial ) environment.

A conventional definition of the term “environment’ to an environmentalist is that the environment comprises of the Land, water, air, and other physical structures observable around organisms. However, from and ecological viewpoint, environment is simply an ecosystem. An ecosystem is the basic functional unit in ecology and the term refers to any natural or artificial environment where living things (biotic components) are interacting with non-living things (a biotic components).

An environment may be physical, biological or socio-cultural in nature. The physical environment comprises of air, water, land, and other structures observable around us (non living things). These components of the physical environment are critical natural resources on which man’s socio-economic development and health depend. As a matter of fact, sustainable development in Nigeria can only be achieved with rational management and use of these natural resources in such a manner that the needs of current generation are satisfied while ensuring that future generations will not inherit a degrade environment with little or no natural resources.

The biological environment comprises all living things including man, animal (fauna ) and plants (flora) species (i.e. biological diversity) micro-organisms, pathogens (diseases –causing organisms) and parasites. Man depends on other animals and plants for its main food source, shelter and for medical herbal preparations. Human activities such as hunting, fishing and farming are impossible without a high biological diversity index. Negative environmental conservation practices have the greatest impact on the biological environment. For example, desertification, deforestation, drought, flooding, famine and even extinction of endangered plants and animal species are all possible environmental consequences of human activities.

In conclusion, we are all aware that environmental problems are global issues, the need to conserve and protect our natural environment is vital which all hands must be on deck to eradicate or reduce to its minimum all man-made activities such as desertification, gas flaring, excavation and deforestation which causes soil erosion, land encroachment, bush burning, pollution due to industrial machines, oil spillage and urbanization. There is also need to monitor and control human activities like, mining, quarrying, solid and liquid waste disposal system to avoid polluting our environment.
In the course of my studies, we base our learning, both theory and practical on preventive measures of the environmental problems, for example, some natural hazards (disasters) in our environment like wild wind, Tsunami, flood, tropical storm, earthquake, volcanic eruption, drought, hurricanes, epidemics and pestilence, chemical spills and industrial fires. It is recorded that earthquake which is said to be a motion of ground surface changing from a mild tremor to a wild motion capable to breaking buildings apart and causing gaping features to open in the ground and it’s a form of encry wave motion transmitted through the surface layer of the earth in widening circles from the point where the energy, got suddenly released has been occurring in different parts of the world, the most notable are those that occurred in Lisbon, Tokyo, Yokohama, San Francisco, Morocco, California, Mexico, Turkey, Nicaragua and Ghana in Africa. As expected, lives were lost and valuables worth billions of dollars destroyed and people were displaced. Mount Pinatubo in Philippines erupted last fifteen years, and it was reported as the highest and biggest volcanic eruption of the century. A landslide is a rapid sliding of a large mass of rock which may not disintegrate into debris of various sizes in the process. They occur in areas of very steep slopes, it is not too common in Nigeria. It has taken place in many parts of the world, including South Wales, British, Columbia, Honkong and the Cameroon. In Nigeria, the river-line areas of Rivers, Port Harcourt and delta States are threatened by riverbank erosion and landslides occurrences. The risk includes destruction of settlements, removal of forestlands and blockage of roads. These problems can be prevented or at least reduced to it minimum through proper legislations. There is also an urgent need for preventive measures to be taken, especially in the Niger Delta States of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Cross River and Edo to keep these states safe from hazards like gas flaring and oil spillages which is rampant in this areas. Also there is need for vast improvement in funding of research works in disaster management and preparedness, manpower development, enforcement of legislations, public enlightenments on the value of the natural environment and the creation of more awareness on effective protection of the environment through conservation and sustainable development.