Lecture Note 10

Do you consider yourself as:
1)CONSERVATIONIST
2)ENVIRONMENTALIST
3)PRESERVATIONIST
4)ECOLOGIST
Department of Biology
Faculty of Science And Mathematics
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
Conservationist:
Someone who advocates or practices the sensible and careful use of natural
resources.
Environmentalist:
Someone who is concerned about the impact of people on environmental
quality.
Preservationist:
Allowing some places and some creatures to exist without significant human
interference.
Ecologist:
A scientist who studies the relationships between organisms and their
environments.
CONSERVATION
“preservation or restoration from loss, damage or neglect”
Conservation biology: the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth’s
biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their
habitats and ecosystems from excessive rates of
extinction
An integrative approach to the protection and
management of biodiversity that uses appropriate
principles and experiences from basic biological
fields such as genetics and ecology, from natural
resources management fields such as fisheries and
wildlife, and from social sciences such as anthropology,
philosophy and economics
Interdisciplinary – science, economics, and management

Concerns:
A) Threats to biodiversity
- 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50
years
- climate change
- mass agriculture
- deforestation
- overgrazing
- slash-and-burn agriculture
- urban development
- wildlife trade
- pollution
- pesticide
- habitat fragmentation (lack of linked protected areas)
CONSERVATION ETHICS
Ethics = a limitation on freedom of action
Anthropocentrism
Judeo-Christian Stewardship
Non-Western Environmental Ethics
Biocentrism
Ecocentrism
Four Ethical Principle in Conservation
1. Biodiversity is desirable for both the biosphere and for humans.
2. Extinctions due to human actions are undesirable.
3. The complex interactions in ecosystems support biodiversity and are

therefore desirable.
4. Biodiversity from evolutionary change has value by it self regardless

of any practical benefit
Systematic conservation planning
1. Compile data on the biodiversity of the planning region
2. Identify conservation goals for the planning region
3. Review existing conservation areas
4. Select additional conservation areas
5. Implement conservation actions
6. Maintain the required values of conservation areas
Conservation may be classified as
1. in-situ conservation: protecting an endangered species in its natural

habitat.
- involves protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself

- defending the species from predators
2. ex-situ conservation: occurs outside the natural habitat
Categories of the IUCN Red List
Extinct:
There is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
Endangered:
Available scientific evidence indicates that it meet any of the criteria and it is therefore
considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Vulnerable:
Available scientific evidence indicates that it meet any of the criteria and it is therefore
considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Least Concern:
It has been evaluated against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically
Endangered or other categories.
Criteria for protected areas:
Ecological criteria
1. Diversity – richness of ecosystems, habitats, communities and species
2. Naturalness – lack of disturbance or degradation
3. Dependency – the degree to which a species depends on an area
4. Representativeness – the degree to which an area represents on natural

characteristic
5. Uniqueness
6. Integrity – an effective and self-sustaining ecological entity
7. Productivity – benefits to species or to human
8. Vulnerability – the degree an areas is susceptible to degradation

Criteria for protected areas:
Social criteria
1. Social acceptance
1. Public safety
1. Recreation
1. Culture
1. Aesthetics
1. Conflicts of interest
1. Accessibility
2. Research, Education and Public Awareness
RESERVE DESIGN:
6 design features for reserves based (Jared Diamond):
1.A large reserve will hold more species than a small reserve because of the
species-area relationship.
2.A single large reserve is preferable to several small reserves of equal total area,
assuming they all represent the ecosystem type.
3.If it is necessary to have multiple small reserve, they should be close to one
another to minimize isolation.
4.Arranging small reserves in a cluster, as opposed to a linear fashion, will also

facilitate movement among the reserves.
5.Connecting the reserves with corridors will make dispersal easier for many species
6.By making reserves as circular as possible, dispersal within the reserve will be
enhanced, and the negative effects of edges will be minimized.
National Policy on Biodiversity
(NPBD)
5 Principles:
PRINCIPLE 1
Heritage. Biological diversity is a national heritage and it must be sustainably
managed and wisely utilized today and conserved for future generations.
PRINCIPLE 2
Precautionary. The lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a
reason to postpone measures to minimize threats of significant loss of
biodiversity.
PRINCIPLE 3
Shared responsibility. The conservation and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity
are the shared responsibility of all sectors of society.
PRINCIPLE 4
Participatory. Planning & management of biodiversity must be carried out in a
participatory manner.
PRINCIPLE 5
Good governance. Good governance, including accountability and transparency
in decision- making, is crucial to biodiversity conservation.
Malaysia’s commitment:
Multilateral environmental agreements adopted by Malaysia:
Agreement Date of Date of Ratified

Agreement
Convention on Wetlands of International 02 Feb 1971 10 Dec 1994
Importance (Ramsar Convention)
Convention on International Trade in 03 Mar 1973 20 Oct 1977
Endangered Species of Wild Flora & Fauna
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the 22 Mar 1985 29 Aug 1989
Ozone Layer
Basel Convention on the Control of 22 Mar 1989 08 Oct 1993
Transboundary Movement of Hazardous
Wastes and their Disposa
Convention on Biological Diversity 05 Jun 1992 24 Jun 1994
United Nations Framework Convention on 09 May 1992 13 Jul 1994
Climate Change
Multilateral environmental agreements adopted by Malaysia:
Agreement Date of Date of Ratified

Agreement
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 14 Oct 1996 13 Nov 1996
Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC 11 Dec 1997 04 Sep 2002
Prior Informed Consent (Rotterdam 10 Sep 1998 04 Sep 2002
Convention)
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 29 Jan 2000 03 Sep 2003
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze 10 Jun 2002 03 Dec 2002
Protected areas of Malaysia

8 subcategories:
1.Protected areas of Sabah

2.Protected areas of Sarawak
3.Forest reserves of Malaysia Various agencies involved
4.National parks of Malaysia
5.Parks in Malaysia
6.Ramsar sites in Malaysia
7.Wildlife sanctuaries of Malaysia
8.World Heritage Sites in Malaysia
9.Marine park

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Do you consider yourself as:

“preservation or restoration from loss, damage or neglect”

Interdisciplinary – science, economics, and management

Non-Western Environmental Ethics

1. Biodiversity is desirable for both the biosphere and for humans.

2. Extinctions due to human actions are undesirable.

3. The complex interactions in ecosystems support biodiversity and are

4. Biodiversity from evolutionary change has value by it self regardless

1. Compile data on the biodiversity of the planning region

2. Identify conservation goals for the planning region

3. Review existing conservation areas

4. Select additional conservation areas

5. Implement conservation actions

6. Maintain the required values of conservation areas

1. in-situ conservation: protecting an endangered species in its natural

- involves protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself

2. ex-situ conservation: occurs outside the natural habitat

1. Diversity – richness of ecosystems, habitats, communities and species

2. Naturalness – lack of disturbance or degradation

3. Dependency – the degree to which a species depends on an area

4. Representativeness – the degree to which an area represents on natural

6. Integrity – an effective and self-sustaining ecological entity

7. Productivity – benefits to species or to human

8. Vulnerability – the degree an areas is susceptible to degradation

2. Research, Education and Public Awareness

4.Arranging small reserves in a cluster, as opposed to a linear fashion, will also

Agreement Date of Date of Ratified

Agreement Date of Date of Ratified

Protected areas of Malaysia

1.Protected areas of Sabah

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