ABSTRACT
Conservation implies an attitude of mind as much as a process — a philosophy as well as a technique. The concepts, aims and methods of conservation developed from a concern for the way in which humans were misusing and depleting their natural resources by overexploitation, leading to the simplification and impoverishment of plant and animal life accompanied by reduction of biological production and, in extreme cases, the destruction of organic resources. Until the Second World War conservation policies and techniques had progressed more rapidly in the USA than elsewhere and were mainly concerned with problems of forest and soil use. Since the initiation of the Conservation Movement the principles and policies have evolved as the problems of what to conserve, how to conserve and for what purpose or what end should nature conservation be pursued have become more complex as human demands on the biosphere have increased.
