Conservation and Restoration

For over a decade, human population increase rapidly to the point where ton of resources
are continuously extracted from earth and because of this, the earth is being required to offer
more land, water and basically everything. The World Counts state that the world has already
lost 80% of its forest and we're continually losing them at a rate of 375 km2 per day. 1 The human
population growth created a massive impact on the environment which gives the very reason for
establishing Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology which aims to retain Earth's
biodiversity2. Both are well-established scientific disciplines, with their own professional
societies, regional chapters, journals, websites, newsletters, and international conferences. The
fields are intended to bridge the gaps among science, practice, and policy. The aim of
Conservation biology as a discipline is to answer specific question that can applied to
management decisions. Conservation biology aim to establish workable methods for preserving
species and their biological communities. However Restoration ecology projects aims to
establish ecosystems composed of native species and it also attempt to restore, improve, or create
particular ecosystem functions and those are pollination and erosion control. Here we have some
pattern of different kinds of restorations3.
1. Revegetation- the establishment of vegetation on sites where it has been
previously lost, often with erosion control as the primary goal. For example,
vegetated buffers are strips of vegetation that protect water quality in riparian
ecosystems from urban or agricultural runoff.
2. Habitat enhancement- the process of increasing the suitability of a site as habitat
for some desired species.
3. Remediation: improving an existing ecosystem or creating a new one with the aim
of replacing another that has deteriorated or been destroyed.
4. Mitigation: legally mandated remediation for loss of protected species or
ecosystems.
Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology are still being wrestled with the problem
of uncontrollable rate and potential magnitude of environmental change, it also threaten to
destroy the fabric of the natural systems that both of this discipline have been striving to
maintain. So Conservation and Restoration address this issue by combining their complementary
strengths. Restoration Ecology focuses on repairing disturbed ecosystem and finds a way to
actively reverse world’s dreadful conditions. While on the other hand, Conservation Biology is
more on preventing ongoing degradation align with its two central goals:
1. To evaluate human impacts on biological diversity
2. To develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of species and maintain the
integrity of ecosystems.4
1
The World Counts, accessed November 19, 2021,
https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/consequences_of_depletion_of_natural_resources.
2
John A. Wiens, “Integrating Conservation and Restoration in a Changing World ,” Academic.oup.com,
last modified February 26, 2015, accessed November 19, 2021,
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/65/3/302/237580.
3
Nature News (Nature Publishing Group, n.d.), accessed November 20, 2021,
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/restoration-ecology-13339059/.
4
Nature News (Nature Publishing Group, n.d.), accessed November 19, 2021,
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/conservation-and-restoration-13228126/.
Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism
Environmental racism can be defined as: Racial discrimination in environmental policy
making and the enforcement of regulations and laws; the deliberate targeting of people of Colour
communities for toxic and hazardous waste facilities; the official sanctioning of the life-
threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities; and the history of excluding
people of colour from the leadership of the environmental movement. Some simply says that we
can also refer Environmental Racism as failure action by any government or institution that has a
negative environmental impact which cause harms to every individual, groups, or communities
based on race or color.

In 2013, almost 100 container vans arrived in batches at the Manila International
Container Port (MICP)5. The shipping company Chronic Plastics Incorporated (CPI) from
Canada managed to import the vans by stating that they contain recyclable plastic scrap
materials. It was the year 2014 when the Philippine government found out that the company
violated the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste and Control Act of 1990
(Republic Act 6969) because the containers are full of disposable garbage like plastic bottles,
used adult diapers and plastic bags. Despite the protests of Filipinos, the container vans still
managed to stay in the country. When Duterte became the president, he was able to ship back the
trash to Canada6. This phenomena is an example of environmental racism. Environmental racism
is the oppression of people of color and class through exploitation of their land 7. Since the
Philippines is a third world country and known to be polluted, it gave way for Canada, a first
world country, to make the country a dumpsite.  

To combat this, environmental justice is a movement  which aims to achieve equality and
give everyone the right to be protected and have a clean and healthy environment. With this, the
government must reevaluate and consider  each and everyone free from any form of
discrimination before implementing laws and regulations. Environmental justice ensures that 
everyone is not being deprived of having secure access to natural resources, most especially the
indigenous people 8. The movement also promotes sustainable development to end poverty and
provide the future generation a healthy environment. 

Here we have the 3 main principle of Environmental Justice9

5
Jodesz Gavilan, “Timeline: Canada Garbage Shipped to the Philippines,” Rappler (Rappler, November 16,
2017), last modified November 16, 2017, accessed November 19, 2021,
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/timeline-canada-garbage-philippines.
6
Ronn Bautista, “Philippines Sends Trash Back to Canada after Duterte Escalates Row,” Reuters (Thomson
Reuters, May 31, 2019), last modified May 31, 2019, accessed November 19, 2021,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-canada-waste-idUSKCN1T10BQ.
7
Dr Deborah M. Robinson, “Environmental Racism: Old Wine in a New Bottle,” 17 - Environmental
Racism: Old Wine in a New Bottle, accessed November 19, 2021, http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/echoes/echoes-
17-02.html.
8
“Environmental Justice Comparative Experiences - UNDP,” accessed November 19, 2021,
https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Access%20to%20Justice%20and
%20Rule%20of%20Law/Environmental-Justice-Comparative-Experiences.pdf.
9
About RinkeshA true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the sole motto of
providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment. Unless you strongly believe in Elon
 1. Environmental Justice asserts that mother earth is sacred, that everything on earth is
connected ecologically and is interdependent, and that every species has a right to
freedom from ecological destruction.

2. Environmental Justice requires all public policies to be founded on justice and mutual

3. Environmental justice advocates for the right to use land and renewable

 Gavilan, Jodesz. “Timeline: Canada Garbage Shipped to the Philippines.” Rappler. Rappler,
November 16, 2017. Last modified November 16, 2017. Accessed November 19, 2021.
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/timeline-canada-garbage-philippines.

Bautista, Ronn. “Philippines Sends Trash Back to Canada after Duterte Escalates Row.” Reuters.
Thomson Reuters, May 31, 2019. Last modified May 31, 2019. Accessed November 19,
2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-canada-waste-idUSKCN1T10BQ.

Nature News. Nature Publishing Group, n.d. Accessed November 20, 2021.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/restoration-ecology-13339059/.

Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another h , “What Is Environmental Justice: Principles, Importance and Examples,”
Conserve Energy Future, accessed November 19, 2021, https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/environmental-
justice-principles-importance-examples.php.https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/environmental-justice-
principles-importance-examples.php
Robinson, Dr Deborah M. “Environmental Racism: Old Wine in a New Bottle.” 17 -
Environmental Racism: Old Wine in a New Bottle. Accessed November 19, 2021.
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/echoes/echoes-17-02.html.

About RinkeshA true environmentalist by heart ❤️. Founded Conserve Energy Future with the
sole motto of providing helpful information related to our rapidly depleting environment.
Unless you strongly believe in Elon Musk‘s idea of making Mars as another h. “What Is
Environmental Justice: Principles, Importance and Examples.” Conserve Energy Future.
Accessed November 19, 2021. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/environmental-
justice-principles-importance-examples.php.

“Environmental Justice Comparative Experiences - UNDP.” Accessed November 19, 2021.

The World Counts. Accessed November 19, 2021.

Wiens, John A. “Integrating Conservation and Restoration in a Changing World .”