ABSTRACT
In the last years of the twentieth century, the human race became acutely aware of the effect of their activities on the world around them. Issues of habitat loss, environmental contamination, and endangered species preservation have become focal topics for members of the public throughout the developed world, and although not necessarily affording the same priority, significant awareness of these issues exists throughout the developing world. However, this awareness has come far too late to save some species that have been driven past, or to the verge of, extinction. Conservation biology has emerged as a multidisciplinary science aimed at redressing this balance across all the facets of the problem. However, issues in conservation go beyond science, and therefore conservation biology must also involve input from economists, the social sciences, and politics. Many developing countries have to balance the needs of wildlife conservation with responsibilities to sustain their human population. However, these are often the very same countries with the greatest richness of biodiversity; in these instances, conservation policies may ideally be linked with activities that attract foreign visitors and welcome investment. Viewed in this way, the value of conservation changes from a kindly and philanthropic activity to one that can provide tangible benefit to the poorest communities.
