The ecosystem was first defined by A.G Tansley in 1935. As per Tansley, the ecosystem has two major components and there is an interaction between and within the components. The ecosystem reaches an equilibrium state through interactions, The following are two components:
- Biotic components comprise living organisms such as plants, animals, and microorganisms.
- Abiotic components or physical environment such as land, water, air, inorganic nutrients, light, temperature, etc.
There are two types of ecosystems:
- Terrestrial ecosystem
- Aquatic ecosystem
Ecosystem Management:
- We have already discussed the many types of problems that arise in the ecosystem mainly due to human activities at both regional and global levels; in order to prevent degradation and ecological imbalance, management of the ecosystem is needed.
- Management of the ecosystem means managing human activities and changing some activities which are not sustainable.
- The main philosophy of ecosystem management is to maintain long-term sustainability for the production of goods and services of the ecosystem.
Management vs Conservation:
Conservation is the end result while management is the means. We can say, Ecosystem management and conservation means "Managing human activities to conserve the ecosystem and prevent the ecosystem from degradation".
The following are the way to manage the ecosystem:
- Conserve the habitat of living organisms through afforestation, reforestation, a biosphere reserve.
- Improve biodiversity.
- Switch to organic farming.
- Limit the human population
- Encourage renewable sources of energy like Solar, hydel, wind, etc.
- Use of less polluting fuels such as CNG, Hydrogen fuel.
- Reduce, recycle, and reuse the waste
- Use the system approach to conserve the whole biosphere on a totality basis as each component of the environment is interconnected.
- Encourage research on the development of eco-friendly technologies and green chemicals.
From another perspective based on habitat conservation, there are two methods of conservation:
- In-Situ Conservation
- Ex-situ conservation
In-situ conservation;
Species are conserved in their original habitat where they belong.
For example,
- Biosphere reserve
- National Park
- Wildlife sanctuary
Ex-Situ conservation:
Ex-situ conservation means conserving the species outside of their original habitat.
For example,
- Zoological park
- Botanical garden
- Genetic resource center
Try to solve the following questions:
- Explain the ecosystem approach to environmental management and highlight its advantages and disadvantages. (UPSC 2018, 200 words, 15 marks)
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