User:Beanzog/sandbox

= Nature Conservation =

Introduction
Conservation goals include conserving habitat, preventing deforestation, maintaining soil organic matter, halting species extinction, reducing overfishing, and mitigating climate change.

There is increasing interest in extending the responsibility for human well-being to include the welfare of sentient animals.  In 2022 the United Kingdom introduced the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act which lists all vertebrates, decapod crustaceans and cephalopods as sentient beings.

Terminology
The term "conservation" itself may cover the concepts such as cultural diversity, genetic diversity, and movements in environmental conservation, seedbank curation (preservation of seeds), and gene bank coordination (preservation of animals’ genetic material).

The small lifestyle changes that promote sustainability will eventually accumulate into the proliferation of biological diversity. Regulating the ecolabeling of products from fisheries, controlling for sustainable food production, or keeping the lights off during the day are some examples of sustainable living.

= Conservation biology =

Origins
The meeting was prompted due to concern over tropical deforestation, disappearing species, and eroding genetic diversity within species.

The cute bias
Flagship species are an exploitation of the cute bias by conservationists. Cute bias is the preference in research, media coverage, public interest, and government support for at risk organisms that can be easily anthropomorphized. Animals benefiting from the cute bias are often larger, colorful, dominantly cool-toned, and charismatic in nature. There is a similar preference for the conservation of native species over introduced species.

= Wildlife Conservation =

Habitat destruction
Whether one large or several small (SLOSS concept) protected areas are best suited for the conservation of biodiversity is a highly debated topic amongst conservationists. Current research suggests connectivity between protected areas is the most important factor for biodiversity when planning conservation projects.

Protected areas
Protection of natural ecosystems is important to conservation as it provides area that is relatively untouched by human activity where biodiversity is encouraged and essential ecosystem processes can be preserved. Protected areas that play structural roles, such as mangroves, can also serve to protect human settlements. Protected ocean areas are uniquely important for conservation and the maintenance of global food stocks due to the overflow effect. As of 2021, ~17% of land and ~8% of oceans were protected. The 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the effects of climate change and adaptation, identifies the need to protect 30% - 50% of the Earths terrestrial, freshwater and ocean areas by 2030.

= Biodiversity =

Habitat destruction
Habitat fragmentation is a form of habitat destruction that creates “islands” of protected land with little to no connectivity. This causes concepts from island biogeography theory to apply to connected terrestrial areas as species are sometimes physically and genetically isolated from one another. In 2021 the funding for wildlife corridors provided through the United States of Americas Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 was established to help address the connectivity issue. Conservation attempts to protect biodiversity harmed through habitat led to the development of the single large or several small (SLOSS) concept for protected areas. Recent research suggests connectivity between protected areas is the most important factor when mitigating habitat fragmentation caused biodiversity loss.