Methods of Conservation
NCERT Class 12 • Biology • Chapter "Biodiversity and Conservation" | NCERT Class 10 • Science • Chapter "Forest and Wildlife Resources"
Methods of Conservation
Conservation works in two ways. In situ conservation protects a species where it naturally lives, keeping the whole habitat intact. Ex situ conservation protects it outside its habitat, which is a fallback when the natural home is too degraded to be saved in time.
In Situ Conservation
- In situ means protecting the species in its own natural habitat, along with everything else living there.
- National parks give the strictest protection, with no grazing, cultivation or private rights allowed.
- Wildlife sanctuaries protect species while permitting some regulated human activity.
- Biosphere reserves protect an entire ecosystem and have a core zone with no human activity, a buffer zone for research and education, and a transition zone for regulated settlement.
- Sacred groves are patches of forest protected by local communities on religious grounds, and they have preserved rare species for centuries.
- Reserved and protected forests provide legal cover over large areas of forest land.
- In situ conservation is preferred because it protects the species along with its ecological relationships.
Ex Situ Conservation and Community Effort
- Ex situ means conserving a species outside its natural habitat under controlled conditions.
- Zoological parks and botanical gardens maintain living collections and run breeding programmes.
- Seed banks and gene banks preserve seeds, pollen and genetic material for very long periods.
- Cryopreservation stores gametes and tissue at extremely low temperature.
- Captive breeding raises numbers so that individuals can later be released back into the wild.
- Community conservation has protected the blackbuck near Bishnoi villages and the birds of sacred groves for generations.
- Joint forest management gives local communities a share in forest produce so that protecting the forest becomes their own interest.
| Approach | Where | Example |
|---|---|---|
| In situ | In the natural habitat | National park, biosphere reserve |
| Ex situ | Outside the habitat | Zoo, botanical garden, seed bank |
| Community | Local people protect | Sacred grove, blackbuck protection |
In situ conservation — the protection of a species within its own natural habitat along with the rest of its ecosystem.
Exam me kaise aata hai
- Conservation in the natural habitat is called — in situ
- A seed bank is an example of — ex situ conservation
- Which zone of a biosphere reserve has no human activity — the core zone
- Forest patches protected on religious grounds are — sacred groves
UPSC/State PSC ke liye
- In situ conservation is preferred because a species preserved in a zoo loses the ecological relationships that shaped it, and cannot simply be returned to a habitat that no longer exists.
- Joint forest management works because it aligns the community's income with the health of the forest instead of with its clearance.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ A zoo is in situ conservation | A zoo is ex situ conservation | ✓
✗ Sanctuary protection is stricter than a national park | A national park is stricter | ✓
✗ Ex situ conservation can replace in situ | It is a fallback, not a substitute for protecting habitat | ✓
Ek nazar me
- In situ protects a species in its own habitat; ex situ protects it outside.
- National park is strictest, then sanctuary, then biosphere reserve for whole ecosystems.
- Zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks and cryopreservation are ex situ methods.
- Sacred groves and joint forest management show community conservation at work.