Integrated Approach to Environmental Conservation - Coursework Example

Integrated Approach to Environmental Conservation Introduction An integrated approach to environmental conservation involves protection of both biodiversity and the ecosystem. Recently in an effort to conserve the environment, most approaches environmentalists applied leaned towards biodiversity protection and completely ignoring ecosystems. However, in these approaches one could argue that they ultimately led to conservation of the ecosystem since biodiversity contributes to an ecosystem. A need has arose to conserve the species on earth as much as possible. However, to do this, a balanced approach needs to put in place to address issues such as carbon sequestration, waste dissipation, the hydrological balance, soil formation, health of local ecosystems, and a number of other issues not directly connected to biodiversity. This paper is going to look at the integrated approach to conservation of the environment and its effects on rural development. Rural development involves government or community-based initiatives that are aimed at improving the quality of life and the economic sustainability of the rural population. In its definition, one can conclude rural areas to have low population density, which is usually sparsely distributed[Gri08] . They also tend to have vast natural resources such as agricultural land, forests, rivers and minerals. Research shows that most countries underutilize their natural resources () . As such in rural development, the UK government is working on actively involving rural communities in the planning and implementing of policies that will enhance their social, economic and environmental standings. The UK government is not the only body involved in these initiatives. NGOs and international developmental organization also play a part in this endeavour in doing so, the government has implemented housing projects, created agricultural and resource-based incentives, improved the quality of education in rural settings, improved physical infrastructure in rural areas and enhanced economic development strategies that are produced locally. Integrated conservation and development projects are projects aimed at conserving biodiversity in rural development components. It combines social and economic development and conservation goals. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) introduced these projects to improve the quality of lives of rural people by integrating efficient management of natural resources with sustainable economic development[Pub11]. The government’s aim is to delegate as much power over the development of the protected areas to local governments but not delegate full ownership of the areas. National governments have a mandate to fund the local governments who in turn use the funds to benefit communities indigenous to the rural areas. Local governments therefore transfer the money to income-generating activities such as promoting tourism, creation of employment opportunities, improvement of social amenities as well as agricultural productivity. They also improve the rural infrastructure such as better housing, schools and roads. Environmental policy refers to the commitment of an organization or a country to a set of laws or regulations that address environmental issues. The environment consists of the air and water as well as soil, which constitutes the land, the ecosystem and wildlife. In formulating these policies, governments aim to conduct management of all waste, protection of the natural resources and endangered wildlife. Environmental conservation also deals with the regulation put in place to maintain biodiversity as well as maintaining the ecosystem. Environmental policies should also address the problems arising from human impact on the natural environment. Environmental instruments are tools that assist the government in implementing their policies. Such instruments include tax exemptions on companies that are environmentally friendly. Government may also chose to offer economic incentives to firm in the private sector that engage in waste management and disposal. They could also restrict or issue trading permits to companies that comply with set environmental policy. Another instrument that the government is keen on employing are bilateral agreements between itself and private firms. This entails non-governmental voluntary organizations that engage in environmental conservation projects. Governments also offer subsides to green companies to increase their purchasing power. However, in the quest to develop the countryside, there have been concerns on the effects this is going to have on the environment. Human activities are a major concern when it comes to environmental degradation. For instance, agriculture is a key developmental activity that rural populations practice to gain income in rural areas. Agricultural activities include farming, irrigational farming fishing, and meat production. This section of the paper will look at the adverse effects agricultural activities have on our environment in general. Fishing is a source of livelihood for many living close to water bodies. Issues such overfishing and sustainable fisheries may arise. However, marine scientists may feel that in order to preserve fish populations for protection of biodiversity and future consumption, some fishing grounds will have to reduce or cease their activities. This in turn puts many incomes on hold. In 2006, a study held on the prevailing trends in fishing indicated that by 2048 the world would have ran out of fish due to overfishing and pollution[Dep14]. Another key agricultural event that concerns environmentalist is the issue of irrigation. It may seem that this activity is key in helping farmers grow crops in arid and semi-arid areas. What concerns environmentalists is the issue of salination and waterlogging. Waterlogged soil has high acidity, which is not suitable for most agriculture. Another key irrigational concern is the use of irrigational technologies that involve high-powered water dams and pipelines. These are responsible for depleting fresh water from their sources, which are mostly rivers and fresh-water lakes. Most water bodies around irrigational schemes are running dry, which creates stress on the ecosystem and leads to the extinction of numerous aquatic species. Some of the tools used during agricultural activities are also a major environmental concern. For instance, farmers rely heavily on machinery for activities such as ploughing and harvesting. These machines often use fossil fuel to operate. This leads to the loss of topsoil and erosion due to gullies formed by the machines. With rural development, large-scale farming is encouraged in an effort to provide economic stability to farmers. The concern here would be the rate of loss of fertile topsoil would be greater than the rate of its formation. Over time, farmers will find themselves unable to meet the high demand for their products due to the unviability of their land. Livestock herding is also a key agricultural activity in rural areas. A study conducted in 2006 indicated that the livestock industry was one of greatest concerns in the issue of environmental degradation[Mos03]. Other studies also show that the meat industry contributed to eighteen percent of all greenhouse gases emissions. Production and consumption of meat also involves clearing of forests to build meat factories and with them come emission of greenhouse gases as well as sewage dumping into water bodies. The meat industry involves raising animals for meat. This involves herding large numbers of livestock and hence overgrazing. Overgrazing leads to soil erosion as the animals trample and consume vegetative cover leaving the land bare. Scientific study into the nutritional patterns of animals, plants and human beings indicated that animals that feed on grain had higher water consumption than crops. This would not be a major concern in a sustainable ecosystem. However, the ecosystem if under a lot of strains which, in turn leads to the survival of the fittest phenomenon. A similar study also showed that in keeping up with a healthy diet, human being need more protein in their daily meals. However, rearing of animals as a source of protein was less efficient than growing crops such as legumes, which are proteins that are more efficient[Nei09]. The meat industry therefore leads to air pollution, global warming, land degradation and loss of biodiversity. Government initiatives in rural development involves providing better housing for their rural population. Studies indicate that there are positive impacts associated with the building of second and holiday homes in rural areas is their contribution to the conservation of the rural housing stock, bringing empty and redundant properties back into use, and enhancing the visual quality of rural areas [Nei09]. In recent years, the reduction in Council Tax discount for second homeowners has been a source of potential revenue for local authorities to gain money to use on affordable housing schemes and finance the problems associated with second home ownership. It is expected this extra council tax income should be used to fund affordable housing in the area, which it is collected rather than become part of the council’s usual income. To protect sustainability of communities, especially concerning services, there is a case for controls in certain localities aimed at limiting the rise in proportion of homes not in use full time in the most affected communities. The purpose being to control this through a new Use Class for second homes, applied in communities where there is evidence of significant impact. To be effective, the rules would need to be applied to holiday lets as well as second homes, since they have similar impacts. This would mean that planning permission would be needed to turn a full time home over to part-time occupation or holiday letting. Regional Planning Authorities currently do not consider second homes in their housing plans. This is something that needs to be considered if one study that claims the number of second homes will rise by twenty-four per cent by 2015 is found to be true[Chi12]. However, housing projects usually involve cutting down of trees not only to clear land to build homes but also for timber used in their construction. Logging of trees is a major environmental concern as it not only depletes the world’s forest cover, it also aids in the desertification process. Desertification has adverse effects on the human population because in decreases the food production activities and renders land economically arable. Government Policies The government approaches solving some of the issues that farmers face in rural areas changes in the way the government formulates policies is observed in the way it uses quasi-market research approaches to reward farmers behaviour as well as encourage them to be innovative. Quasi-market incentives involve assessing the participation rates of farmers and cumulative rates of enrolment in order to encourage enough farmers to join to make a difference. This enables the government to assess the suitability of scheme conditions with a farmer’s situation. A behavioural approach is more effective however focuses on the attitudes, motives and values for a particular farmer in order to influence a farmer’s decision in agricultural approach. This approach has been used in the analysis and uptake of agricultural innovations. Policy-makers also assess the level of resistance a particular project will face once they introduce it to farmers based on the knowledge they collect from the behavioural research done on the farmers. The England Rural Development I the main instrument, which the government uses to fulfil its mandate to rural developmental schemes, fashioned after European Union Regulation. Under this development scheme, the UK government employs several programmes. One of those programmes is the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, which provides funding to farmers and other land managers in order for them to employ effective environmental management to land. This encourages more farmers to deliver more environmentally friendly uses for their land[Con07]. Another scheme is the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Under this scheme, the government provided funding to farmers and other land managers who enhance and shape their lands I order to conserve English landscapes. Their main aim is to preserve England’s wildlife and history for future generations. However, this scheme is not open to every farmer in rural areas unlike the Environmental Stewardship. In fact, application to new applicants has been revoked under this development scheme. Another significant scheme is the Environmental Sensitive Areas Scheme is similar to the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and is limited in its membership. Under this scheme, the government made payments to farmers and land owners who adopted agricultural practices that enhanced and safeguard England’s countryside that ad high landscapes, areas of historical value and endangered wildlife. The Farm Woodlands Premium Scheme is a scheme that provide annual financial incentives encouraging them to transform less agriculturally productive land to woodland. This scheme also has limited membership and the entry of new applicants is curtailed. The objective of his scheme is to balance the ecosystem. Increasing the country’s woodlands improves the country’s landscape and providing new habitats to biotic life thereby enhancing its biodiversity. The UK government in a similar scheme, the Woodland Grant Scheme, granted grants to establish more woodlands. The English Woodland Grant Scheme provided grants aimed at sustaining existing and increasing public benefits from creation of new woodlands. This provides additional public interest in establishing new woodlands. Under the Organic Farming Scheme, the government provided incentives to farmers and other land managers to convert conventional farming methods to organic farming methods. The Hill Farm Allowance aims at maintaining the social fabric in upland communities by ensuring that farmers land in Less Favourable Areas manage in a more productive way. The more significant scheme that also has limited membership is the Rural Enterprise Scheme provided support to projects that aid in developing a more diversified and sustainable rural economies. This scheme helped farmers to adapt to changing markets and develop better business practices. This ensured diversified rural economies that supported community heritage and protected the environment. A more modern approach to this scheme is the Processing and Marketing Scheme, which provided capital investments to farmers that, allowed framers to have prices that are more competitive in the market. This helps them add value for their products. Between the years 2007-2013, the EU council agreed to a voluntary modulation of the above schemes, which focused on making payments to farmers to funding Rural Development Programmes. The England Rural Developments of 2007-2013 assessed this programs likely impact on the environment and came up with several proposals. One of them was that the government was going to provide advisory services to both the framers and forest holders. It also provided support to enterprises that provided farm management services, advisory services and farm relief programmes to farmers and forest holders. Agricultural holdings were also modernized under this development scheme. The government also promoted cooperation for the development of new technologies, new manufacturing processes and new products. The government also made investments in infrastructure that aided in the development of agricultural practices and forestry. Under the Axis II of the England Rural Development, the government provides support for farming in Less Favourable Areas. It also provides support to farmers that practice agri-environmental schemes. The government also provides support to farmer who practise short-crop rotation on agricultural land and establishment of permanent woodland. It also provides support of existing woods and forests. Under the Axis III, the government encouraged the creation and development of micro-enterprises. The government provision of better basic services for the economy and the rural population. The also encouraged the conservation and enhancement of rural heritage. The government also provided support to skills acquisition of animation with an aim of preparing and implementing a local development strategy. Despite the strong economic standing of the rural areas, researchers[Kri15] identified a gap in the productivity between rural and urban areas. Rural areas ted to be isolated from major economic activity settings and thus productivity is decreased because of this. Rural growth include knowledge transfer and proliferation of labour markets in rural areas. However, there is a limited access to supplier and consumer markets in rural areas. Specific market failures such as barriers in the growth sector in the rural development. The tourism industry for instance focuses on investing in their own destinations markets. This will therefore render productivity from rural null and void. However, destination management can enable higher incomes in rural areas to advertise local products. It attracts more visitors to the local destination bringing more benefits of the wider rural scope. Conclusion Integrated approach to environmental conservation involves biodiversity conservation and ecosystem maintenance. Rural development involves government initiatives that aid farmer get more value for their products. The government provides incentives to farmers and landowners to develop woodlands forests and maintain English landscapes. The European Council have set up guidelines that have aided European countries to set rural development plans. The European Rural Development sets up farmers in order for them to be competitive in the market prices. It also improves infrastructure that improves the farmer and other land managers’ chances transporting their products. Rural developments also pose an environmental threat through release of greenhouse gases, land degradation through housing projects and overgrazing. Bibliography Gri08: , (Griffiths, et al., 2008), Pub11: , (Anon., 2011), Dep14: , (Affairs, 2014), Mos03: , (Moseley, 2003), Nei09: , (Neil & Brown, 2009), Nei09: , (Neil & Brown, 2009), Chi12: , (Chigbu, 2012), Con07: , (Anon., 2007), Kri15: , (Kristof & Hronridge, 2015), Read More