Conservation on the brink?

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Despite the fact that global warming and a call for “greener” living have gained significant national attention, a new report published in a National Academy of Sciences journal says people are spending less time outside and have less contact with nature.

And this trend does not bode well for conservation efforts, University of Illinois biology researchers Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zaradic said in their report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers examined visitation statistics for national and state parks and the requests for hunting, fishing and camping permits. They discovered that, after 50 years of increases, per capita visits to national parks have declined steadily since 1987. Similar declines were noted at state parks and national forests, and for hunting, fishing and camping permits.

“All major lines of evidence point to an ongoing and fundamental shift away from nature-based recreation,” the researchers concluded.

This shift occurred during a period when the popularity of video games and access to cable and other expanded TV services increased. And the increases in these diversions more closely match the decreases in outdoor pursuits than do income levels, the amounts of vacation time available and concerns about park overcrowding, the researchers said.

Overall, they say, this seeming disinterest in nature “will greatly reduce the value people place on biodiversity conservation.”

Their concerns are valid. People who don’t regularly experience nature aren’t likely to note the importance of biodiversity and would be hard-pressed to make conservation decisions that would have positive effects on habitats and ecological systems.

An area that loses its biodiversity, for example, can fall prey to widespread erosion or fail to be useful for growing crops. Local economies that rely on outdoor recreation and visitation could suffer if the areas in which those activities take place fall to ruin. Healthy wetlands keep our water supplies clean and flooding in check.

The perils of this continuing trend could be momentous. Thankfully, the remedy for reconnecting with nature is relatively simple: Turn off the electronic toys and go outside. Nature in real life is better than nature in high definition.