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Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology. ==History of the conservation movement== For much of human history, nature had been seen as a resource, one that could be controlled by the government and used for personal and economic gain. The idea was that plants only existed to feed animals and animals only existed to feed humans. The land itself had limited value only extending to the resources it could provide such as minerals and oil. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries social views started to change and scientific conservation principles were first practically applied to the forests of British India. The conservation ethic that began to evolve included three core principles: that human activity damaged the environment, that there was a civic duty to maintain the environment for future generations, and that scientific, empirically based methods should be applied to ensure this duty was carried out. Sir James Ranald Martin was prominent in promoting this ideology, publishing many medico-topographical reports that demonstrated the scale of damage wrought through large-scale deforestation and desiccation, and lobbying extensively for the institutionalization of forest conservation activities in British India through the establishment of Forest Departments.〔Stebbing, E.P (1922)''The forests of India'' vol. 1, pp. 72-81〕 The Madras Board of Revenue started local conservation efforts in 1842, headed by Alexander Gibson, a professional botanist who systematically adopted a forest conservation program based on scientific principles. This was the first case of state conservation management of forests in the world. Governor-General Lord Dalhousie introduced the first permanent and large-scale forest conservation program in the world in 1855, a model that soon spread to other colonies, as well the United States,〔(America has been the context for both the origins of conservation history and its modern form, environmental history ). Asiaticsociety.org.bd. Retrieved on 2011-09-01.〕 where Yellowstone National Park was opened in 1872 as the world’s first national park. Rather than focusing on the economic or material benefits associated with nature, humans began to appreciate the value of nature itself and the need to protect pristine wilderness. By the middle of the 20th century countries such as the United States, Canada, and Britain understood this appreciation and instigated laws and legislation in order to ensure that the most fragile and beautiful environments would be protected for generations to come. Today with the help of NGO’s, not-for profit organizations and governments world-wide there is a stronger movement taking place, with a deeper understanding of habitat conservation with the aim of protecting delicate habitats and preserving biodiversity on a global scale. The commitment and actions of small volunteering association in villages and towns, that endeavour to emulate the work done by well known Conservation Organisations, is paramount in ensuring generations that follow understand the importance of conserving natural resources. A village conservation group with the mission statement "We are committed to protecting and enhancing the natural environment in and around the adjoining villages of Ouston and Urpeth." may one day inspire a child who becomes the employee of a worldwide conservation organisation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Habitat conservation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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