Conservation vs Preservation: Definitions and Key Differences

Rewilding emerged in the 1980s from the 3C concept (carnivore corridors and core areas) and has since evolved into multiple schools of thought. Place-based rewilding focuses on restoring specific locations, trophic rewilding emphasizes predator-prey interactions, ecological rewilding prioritizes functional processes, and passive rewilding advocates minimal intervention. The IUCN defined rewilding in 2021 as rebuilding ecosystems after major human disturbance by restoring natural processes and complete food webs using species that would have been present. This definition acknowledges rewilding operates in social-ecological spaces requiring human consideration, distinguishing it from traditional restoration focused on compositional targets.

The concept of sustainable development evolved through key international milestones: (1) 1972 Stockholm Conference established environmental protection as a global priority and created UNEP; (2) 1987 Brundtland Commission Report 'Our Common Future' formally defined sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising future generations; (3) 1992 Rio Earth Summit produced the Rio Declaration with 27 principles including precautionary approach and polluter pays principle, along with Agenda 21 action plan and Forest Principles.

Rewilding originated in the early 1990s in North America as 'Wilderness Recovery,' focusing on large-scale projects like Yellowstone and Yukon with three core pillars: core areas, corridors, and carnivores. When this concept crossed to Europe, it had to be adapted due to smaller, more condensed landscapes with villages and cities throughout. In Ireland, a key principle is enabling wildlife to travel between rewilding projects of different sizes using smaller projects as stepping stones. This evolution demonstrates how environmental concepts must be adapted to local contexts while maintaining core principles.

Rewilding is defined as an approach to restoration that aims at restoring self-sustaining and complex ecosystems with intact ecological processes that promote each other, while minimizing human intervention. The concept evolved from early 'three Cs' discussions (cores, corridors, carnivores) in the US. Pleistocene rewilding proposed introducing functional equivalents of extinct species. Alternative approaches include passive rewilding leveraging European farmland abandonment, trophic rewilding focusing on species interactions, and considering livestock roles. A harmonized framework proposes 10 guiding principles placing rewilding on a continuum of human modification and naturalness. Three essential interacting processes are identified: dispersal/connectivity, stochastic disturbances, and trophic complexity, forming a restoration framework constrained by societal acceptability.

Ecological restoration has evolved from early unrealistic attempts to fully restore entire ecosystems to their original states toward more pragmatic approaches. Modern restoration recognizes that complete restoration to pristine conditions is often impossible or undesirable, instead focusing on assisting ecosystems to recover toward desired altered states. Key conceptual frameworks include active restoration (requiring deliberate human intervention like assisted regeneration and selective planting) and passive restoration (relying on natural recovery after removing degrading agents). Additional frameworks encompass rehabilitation (establishing functional elements without full recovery) and substitution (creating entirely new ecosystems with different structures and functions). This evolution reflects growing understanding that restoration must balance ecological goals with practical realities, human values, and resource limitations.

National park creation required violent dispossession of Native Americans during the Indian Wars. Glacier National Park exemplifies this: Blackfoot tribes were violently removed to create the park. This demonstrates how conservation efforts erased indigenous presence and history. Fortress conservation emerged as a response, removing all people from protected areas using legal and sometimes violent enforcement. Cronin critiques this model as counterproductive because it ignores that indigenous peoples often have sustainable relationships with their lands, and excluding people doesn't prevent environmental destruction—it just hides it.

Fortress conservation is a model of environmental protection that excludes local communities, particularly indigenous peoples, from their ancestral lands to create protected areas. This approach often involves hiring paramilitary-trained guards who may commit human rights violations against local populations. Critics argue this model fails to recognize indigenous peoples as effective conservationists and instead treats them as obstacles to be controlled.

Modern conservation emerged from the Yellowstone model during rapid 1800s industrialization, preserving nature as a museum while displacing Indigenous peoples who had governed those lands for generations. Similar patterns occurred globally with Maasai Mara, Serengeti, and other parks. Fortress conservation represents top-down approaches tied to power imbalances. Over 30-35 years, Indigenous peoples and civil society organizations have challenged these power structures. The traditional model creates isolated protected areas while allowing exploitation outside boundaries—a fragmented approach failing to address interconnected ecosystems and root causes of biodiversity loss.

The conservation controversy represents an international debate that has evolved over decades. The IUCN, since the 1970s, has recognized that many protected areas were created over traditional territories. By 2003, the World Parks Congress in Durban inaugurated a new paradigm viewing indigenous peoples as allies rather than threats. Contemporary critiques have emerged including Fortress Conservation, Green Violence, and accusations of neocolonialism through the 'conservation industry.' The first international congress on this subject occurred in 2023, with extensive bibliography focusing on Africa, Asia, and Australia, but little attention on Latin America or Brazil. Studies now recognize the intrinsic relationship between biological and cultural diversity, highlighting traditional knowledge's role in maintaining natural areas. This raises fundamental questions about whether nature protected in conservation units exists despite or thanks to traditional communities.

Fortress conservation holds deep systems of power and creates narratives of white savior mentality, often displacing local communities to create wildlife parks and game reserves for tourism purposes. The assessment identifies two lies that need to be overcome: (1) The concept of terra nullius (empty lands) no longer applies in the 21st century, as the only spaces available for biodiversity preservation are in the hands of indigenous peoples; and (2) The fallacy that local people do not know how to conserve their land. Local people actually conserve their land because they have symbiotic relationships with it, not merely for tourism profit but to preserve their indigenous knowledge systems and livelihoods. Displacing communities is therefore a wrong approach, as demonstrated by the National Masai Conservancy model which proves coexistence is possible.

Environmental policy addresses environmental problems through preventive measures based on four fundamental principles: (1) Polluter Pays Principle - those who cause environmental damage bear the costs; (2) Precautionary Principle - environmental impact assessments must be conducted before major projects; (3) Prevention Principle - preventive measures must be implemented if environmental damage is anticipated; (4) Cooperation Principle - international collaboration is essential for solving transboundary issues. The video presents case studies: New Zealand's Resource Management Act (1991) emphasizes public participation; Costa Rica has achieved remarkable biodiversity conservation through protected areas; Zimbabwe has implemented wildlife protection laws; Sweden has implemented carbon taxation and established environmental targets for 2020-2025; South Korea has invested heavily in clean energy infrastructure. These examples demonstrate that environmental protection and economic development can be complementary goals.

This section covers international environmental agreements including BBNJ Agreement (2023, biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, legally binding treaty), EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM, world's first carbon tax implemented 2026), and India's Algae Tree in Bhopal (first, captures CO2 equivalent to 25 trees). It also covers the Khairal App (Mizoram disaster management) and Amazon Stingless Bees (first insect with legal rights).

International environmental conventions are voluntary and binding agreements signed between the majority of countries worldwide to address diverse environmental issues including climate change, ecosystem diversity, sustainable development, ocean protection, and hazardous waste management. Key conventions include the Basel Convention on hazardous waste, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2004), the Vienna Convention on Ozone Layer Protection (1988), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (1993) with its protocols on biosafety and genetic resources.

This lecture covers key international environmental agreements including the Stockholm Conference (1972) which established UNEP, the Ramsar Convention (1971) for wetland conservation, the Stockholm Convention (2001) on Persistent Organic Pollutants, CITES (1973) for endangered species trade, the Minamata Convention (2013) on mercury, the Bonn Convention (1979) for migratory species, the Vienna Convention (1969) and Montreal Protocol (1987) for ozone layer protection, the Kigali Amendment (2016) for HFC phase-down, the UNCCD (1994) for desertification combat, UN-REDD (2008) for deforestation reduction, the Earth Summit (1992) producing Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and Forest Principles, the UNFCCC (1992) leading to Kyoto Protocol (1997) and Paris Agreement (2015), and the CBD (1992) with its Cartagena Protocol (2000) and Nagoya Protocol (2010) for biosafety and benefit-sharing respectively.

This segment explores major international environmental conventions including the Basel Convention (regulating hazardous waste transboundary movements) and the Stockholm Convention (addressing Persistent Organic Pollutants). It highlights conservation success stories, particularly Chilka Lake's removal from the Montreux Record in 2002 due to effective state and central government conservation efforts. The segment also covers the Bonn Challenge initiative for restoring degraded lands and India's smallest Ramsar site, Renuka Wetland in Maharashtra.