Conservation aims to protect species and habitats, but it often faces practical, economic and ethical problems.Conflict with human needs: protected land cannot be used for farming, housing, logging or mining. For people in poorer countries a reserve can mean lost income and food, and animals such as elephants or big cats may raid crops or kill livestock. Conservation works best when local people benefit, for example through ecotourism jobs or sustainable harvesting.Cost and enforcement: reserves need money for staff, fences and anti-poaching patrols, and poaching continues where rewards are high, such as for rhino horn and ivory.Size: many reserves are too small or isolated to support viable populations of large animals, and species cannot move between them as the climate changes.Problems with captive breeding:
• captive populations are small, so genetic diversity is low and inbreeding can reduce fitness; zoos use studbooks to choose unrelated mates;
• some animals do not breed well in captivity;
• animals may lose natural behaviours such as hunting or avoiding predators, or pick up diseases, so reintroduction to the wild often fails;
• reintroduction is pointless if the habitat has gone or the original threat remains.Choosing what to protect: resources are limited, so decisions must be made about which species to save. Large, appealing mammals attract more funding than insects, fungi or plants, even though these may matter more to their ecosystem.Political problems: many species migrate across borders, so international agreement is needed.
• captive populations are small, so genetic diversity is low and inbreeding can reduce fitness; zoos use studbooks to choose unrelated mates;
• some animals do not breed well in captivity;
• animals may lose natural behaviours such as hunting or avoiding predators, or pick up diseases, so reintroduction to the wild often fails;
• reintroduction is pointless if the habitat has gone or the original threat remains.Choosing what to protect: resources are limited, so decisions must be made about which species to save. Large, appealing mammals attract more funding than insects, fungi or plants, even though these may matter more to their ecosystem.Political problems: many species migrate across borders, so international agreement is needed.