2. Destruction of Habitat and Wildlife and Methods of Conservation

Habitats are among the most important of natural spaces, as human life and survival depend indirectly on them. A great majority of food crops, water, and oxygen consumed by humans - even in urban areas – represent the output of ecosystems.  Environmental destruction and manipulation (such as the clearing of forest, grassland, wetland, and protected areas) is widespread, and proceeds at a rapid clip in Iran. The continuation of this process will soon supplant land with desert – not a place suitable for living. Simultaneously, wildlife and habitat may represent themselves a source of considerable profit: developing plans for ecotourism could promise both job and wealth creation. Thus it is that we will take up the following themes for examination and discussion in this course: the importance of ecosystems, wildlife, and their function; reasons for their destruction; methods of conserving them collectively; and reasonable, sustainable methods of making use of them.