What is Soil Conservation?

Soils are essential for the continuity of life on earth since many ecosystems depend on
them for survival. Still, soils persist to face serious threats in so many ways. Soil erosion,
use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, unsustainable agricultural practices, excessive
farming, water pollution and land pollution are some of the aspects upsetting the natural
functions of the soil. This is where soil conservation comes in.Soil conservation is the
practice of protecting the soil against erosion or deterioration. It involves the activities
that can be undertaken to ensure our soils are at their optimum quality and health.

Soil conservation is the preventing of soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over

usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination.Slash-and-burn and other

unsustainable methods of subsistence farming are practiced in some lesser developed areas. A

sequel to the deforestation is typically large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes

total desertification. Techniques for improved soil conservation include crop rotation, cover

crops, conservation tillage and planted windbreaks and affect both erosion and fertility. When plants,

especially trees, die, they decay and become part of the soil. Farmers have practiced soil

conservation for millennia. In Europe, policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy are targeting

the application of best management practices such as reduced tillage, winter cover crops, plant

residues and grass margins in order to better address the soil conservation.Political and economic

action is further required to solve the erosion problem. A simple governance hurdle concerns how

we name and value the land and what we call it and this can be changed by cultural adaptation.
Water conservation

Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural
resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future
human demand. Population, household size, and growth and affluence all affect how much water is
used. Factors such as climate change have increased pressures on natural water resources especially
in manufacturing and agricultural irrigation. One strategy in water conservation is rain water
harvesting. Digging ponds, lakes, canals, expanding the water reservoir, and installing rain water
catching ducts and filtration systems on homes are different methods of harvesting rain
water. Harvested and filtered rain water could be used for toilets, home gardening, lawn irrigation,
and small scale agriculture.

Another strategy in water conservation is protecting groundwater resources.

When precipitation occurs, some infiltrates the soil and goes underground. Water in this saturation
zone is called groundwater. Contamination of groundwater causes the groundwater water supply to
not be able to be used as resource of fresh drinking water and the natural regeneration of
contaminated groundwater can takes years to replenish. Some examples of potential sources of
groundwater contamination include storage tanks, septic systems, uncontrolled hazardous
waste, landfills, atmospheric contaminants, chemicals, and road salts. Contamination of groundwater
decreases the replenishment of available freshwater so taking preventative measures by protecting
groundwater resources from contamination is an important aspect of water conservation. An
additional strategy to water conservation is practicing sustainable methods of utilizing groundwater
resources. Groundwater flows due to gravity and eventually discharges into streams. Excess
pumping of groundwater leads to a decrease in groundwater levels and if continued it can exhaust
the resource. Ground and surface waters are connected and overuse of groundwater can reduce
and, in extreme examples, diminish the water supply of lakes, rivers, and streams. In coastal
regions, over pumping groundwater can increase saltwater intrusion which results in the
contamination of groundwater water supply. Sustainable use of groundwater is essential in water
conservation.
A fundamental component to water conservation strategy is communication and education outreach
of different water programs. Developing communication that educates science to land managers,
policy makers, farmers, and the general public is another important strategy utilized in water
conservation. Communication of the science of how water systems work is an important aspect
when creating a management plan to conserve that system and is often used for ensuring the right
management plan to be put into action.
Forest conservation
Forest conservation is the practice of planting and maintaining forested areas for the benefit and
sustainability of future generations. The conservation of forest also stands & aims at a quick shift in the
composition of trees species and age distribution. Forest conservation involves the upkeep of the
natural resources within a forest that are beneficial to both humans and the environment. Forests are
vital for human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon &act as carbon
sink, produce oxygen which is vital for existence of life on the earth, so they are rightly called as earth
lung, help in regulating hydrological cycle, planetary climate, purify water, provide wild life habitat(50%
of the earth's biodiversity occurs in forests), reduce global warming, absorb toxic gases & noise, reduce
pollution, conserve soil,mitigate natural hazards such as floods& landslides & so on. But now-a-days,
forest cover is depleting rapidly due to many reasons such as an expansion of agriculture, timber
plantation, other land uses like pulp and paper plantations, urbanization, construction of roads,
industries, constitutes the biggest and severe threat to the forest causing serious environmental
damage. Thus, there is need of public awareness. This paper offers various strategies for the
conservation of forest & awareness to people, which plays a vital role for maintaining a proper balance
of environment. So, we must get involved in this national task.

Forests are influenced by climate, landform and soil composition and they exist in a wide variety of
forms in the tropical, temperate and boreal zones of the world. Each forest type, evergreen and
deciduous, coniferous and broadleaved, wet and dry, as well as closed and open canopy forests, has its
own uniqueness and together these forests complement one another and perform the various socio-
economic, ecological, environmental, cultural and spiritual functions.To enhance this networking and to
optimise the global representativeness of these biogeographic areas for the conservation of biological
diversity, a list of these areas based on mutually agreed terms by national governments should be
formulated. It should also include the identification of these biogeographic areas and the development
of joint mechanisms, as well as the quantification of the costs involved and the identification of sources
of fund needed to manage and conserve these areas. Joint mechanisms for possible international
cooperation to establish transboundary biogeographic areas should also be implemented.

Wildlife conservation

Wildlife Conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitat.
Wildlife plays an important role in balancing the environment and provides stability to different
natural processes of nature. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure that nature will be around
for future generations to enjoy and also to recognize the importance of wildlife and wildernessfor
humans and other species alike. Many nations have government agencies and NGO's dedicated to
wildlife conservation, which help to implement policies designed to protect wildlife. Numerous
independent non-profit organizations also promote various wildlife conservation causes. According
to the National Wildlife Federation(NWF), wildlife in the United States gets a majority of their funding
through appropriations from the federal budget, annual federal and state grants, and financial efforts
from programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Wildlife
Habitat Incentives Program.[3][4] Furthermore, a substantial amount of funding comes from the state
through the sale of hunting/fishing licenses, game tags, stamps, and excise taxes from the purchase
of hunting equipment and ammunition, which collects around $2000 million annually. Wildlife
conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human
activity on wildlife. An endangered species is defined as a population of a living species that is in the
danger of becoming extinct because the species has a very low or falling population, or because
they are threatened by the varying environmental or prepositional parameters.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 is our nation’s strongest law protecting wild plants and
animals. It is enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)and the National Marine
Fisheries Service. Under the ESA, a species can be designated as “threatened” or “endangered”.
Threatened and endangered species are protected under the provisions of the ESA, which restricts
human activities that may harm these species and their habitats. Due in part by protections under
the ESA, many species have been brought back from the brink of extinction.In order to survive, a
species requires adequate food, water, shelter, space, and opportunities to reproduce. In the United
States, as elsewhere in the world – habitat destruction is a primary threat to the continued survival of
species. Without the existence of suitable habitat, a species will eventually face extinction. Public
lands include parks managed by The National Park Service and national wildlife refuges operated by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These lands are set aside to be protected for animal and plant
species, as well as future generations.The introduction of invasive species from far away continents
introduced by humans can wreak havoc on native plant and animal species. The proliferation of
chemicals in the environment including pesticides, PCBs, and oil spills, has the potential to poison
wild animals and inhibit their reproductive capacities. Wild animal populations can also be
threatened by poaching, wildlife trafficking, and military weapons testing.