Talking about conservation

Conservation is defined as an action of saving and conserving the environment. This, by all means, is certain to contribute to the world’s safe atmosphere. What’s more, conservation activities are being on the impulse.

It seems obvious that we need to “conserve” such things. However, a few oddball suggestions were included as well: history, culture, and even disasters. What exactly did we mean when we said we wanted to conserve history and culture?

Truthfully, I’ve been a bit troubled by the whole exercise ever since. I’ve been asking myself: To what is the idea of conservation even opposed? What makes “conservation” a unique concept, and how does it inform our actions? If we were forced to set up a dichotomy between conservation and anything else, for the sake of understanding, what would we say? “Growth”? “Preservation”? “Development”? Is the idea of conservation even a useful one if it forces us to think in opposition to development (i.e. becoming different)? How should we think about conservation?

This, to me, illustrates the difference between preservation and conservation. If Dholavira was “conserved” as environmentalists often talk about conserving wildlife, when they actually mean “preserving” them, I would not have been able to explore the site as I did. I would have only been able to walk along fenced-in corridors, to view those things that interested me from afar. Instead, Dholavira is “conserved” in the way that I hope we will come to think of conservation in general. I was able to interact with those things that interested me, touching stones that were shaped by ancient hands and crawling through dim tunnels designed by ancient minds. The situation became real for me, and I learned far more than I would have otherwise. The idea is the same for both education and conservation: people will only care about something, and will only truly wish to conserve it, if they can form an emotive relationship to it through interaction. This is the most important lesson on conservation I have ever learned. It's very important