CONSERVATION CRISIS
Our species have put all other species into a deep environmental crisis. Not only are we the reason that a large majority of populations are endangered or threatened, but we have already contributed to a mass extinction of plant and animal species. This is the sixth known mass extinction in Earth’s history, but the only one that has not been caused by natural events. Scientists believe our current rate of extinction is between 100 to 1,000 times faster than the Earth’s natural rate. This is not an issue that is below the human race, as a loss of biodiversity means a loss of food, medicine, industrial products, and ecosystem services, such as climate control and water purification. Habitat destruction and fragmentation is currently cited as the driving factor in environmental degradation (Sodhi and Ehrlich).
Conservation has a long history and has been pondered and used all over our world for centuries. There is evidence for writings about conservation as far back as 3000 YBP with the Pharaohs, as well as the Ancient Greece in 2000+ YBP, Poland in 1564, island of Rhodes in 1627, Mauritius Island in 1680 and 1769, and Tobago in the 1790s. You can also see the idea in many types of philosophy and religion, including Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Island, and Christianity, and Asian religions such as Chinese Taoism, Japanese Shinto, Indian Hinduism, and Buddhism (Ferraro).
There is also a long history of American conservation within the last two centuries and most of the contributors highlighted in textbooks will be male. Emerson and Thoreau discussed the beauty of nature and our society’s obligation to view it as something other than a commodity. Malthus first pointed out the idea of a carrying capacity and how populations will continuously rise until they have used all of their resources. John Muir, the Sierra Club founder, is credited with creating and saving the National Park System by giving nature an intrinsic value. Theodore Roosevelt is probably the president that regarded nature most highly. He made conservation a national issue, created conservation areas within the United States, and created legislation protecting our National Parks. He also emphasized the use of natural resources without misuse or waste. Aldo Leopold was an author who is credited with the notion of ecology, that Earth is a complex system comprised of interdependent processes. His observations and writings gave the field of conservation biology many ideas, as well as gave rise to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Conservation biology has evolved to become the study of the functions of our natural world and how humans are able to both positively and negatively affect it (Society for Conservation Biology). It is a multifaceted discipline that involves both biotic and abiotic resources. It is a completely crisis-driven field, in that conservation biologists mostly deal with minimizing loss as opposed to preventing it. The main goal of conservation biologists is to protect and maintain biological diversity, in genetic, species, ecosystem, and ecozone levels. The main task of conservation biologists for the public will be to “provide the intellectual and technological tools that will anticipate, prevent, minimize, and repair biological and ecological damage” (Ferraro). These goals are being implemented into many local, state, and federal organizations.
What is needed to help combat our current environmental crisis are two actions: education and policy. This website aims as a source for information about the history of conservation, with a particular emphasis on the main female contributors to the field. It is my hope that learning about these amazing women will help to inspire others like myself to join the cause. Women are vastly underrepresented in the sciences and the current global conservation crisis can serve as a platform for female conservationists to apply their knowledge and work ethic to help save our planet.