Introduction to Conservation Biology

What is Conservation Biology?

a new, synthetic field that applies the

principles of ecology, biogeography,population genetics, economics,sociology, anthropology, philosophy.

What do Conservation Biologists Do?

Conservation biologists strive to preserve diversity among genes, populations, species, habitats, ecosystems, and landscapes, and the processes carried out by them.

Characteristics of the Discipline

• reactive rather than proactive

• views nature as having inherent value

• academic bias

• recognizes the contributions that need to be made by nonscientists

The Crisis

Global Human Population ~5.7 billion

Growing at 95 million/year or 260,000/day

Sustainability & Overpopulation

• Sustainability is unattainable with the current overpopulation problem

• $16,000/year- average income in developed nations (1.2 billion people)

• $900/year- average income in undeveloped nations (4.4 billion)

Evidence of Growth• 7 infants born each second

• 4 people die each second

• 1 in 5 infants in the world are malnourished

Results of Overpopulation• Urban growth and decay• Resource depletion• Joblessness• Homelessness• Violence and genocide• Loss of freedoms• Unequal distribution of wealth

Reasons for Optimism• Some countries are slowing their

population growth rates.

• Environmental destruction is due mostly to where people live and what resources they consume.

• Birth rates are high where there are strong economic incentives for large families.

Human Population Growth Can Be Humanely Controlled

• gender equity

• access to education

• equitable distribution of rural income

• rural economies based on other than exploitation of natural resources