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A Necessary Balance
A busy airport in a major city is but one example of how human
development has crowded and squeezed wildlife and habitats.
Land is continuously in high demand for housing, office buildings,
strip malls, parking lots, recreation facilities, and industrial sites,
as well as for energy production and road building. As land is
cleared for these and other types of infrastructure development,
fragmentation, degradation, or complete
destruction of wildlife habitat is the in-
evitable result. The WWF writes: “A road
cuts through pristine rainforest to give
a community access to the city. A dam
creates a reservoir to provide freshwa-
ter to a growing town. A platform that is
miles from the shoreline gives access to
oil reserves deep below the ocean floor.
These are all examples of infrastructure—
physical structures that provide the un-
derpinnings for modern society.”
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Al-
though infrastructure development is a
crucial part of a growing population and makes modern life and
convenience possible, without careful planning it has the potential
to devastate the natural world.
A high priority for wildlife scientists is conceiving ways to
lessen the impact of human development on wildlife habitats.
There are many situations when environmentally sound practices
can be part of early development planning, rather than having
to cope with mistakes later. “Environmental concerns are not al-
ways considered during the design, planning and construction of
infrastructure projects,”
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says the WWF. Conservation scientists
from the WWF and other environmental groups work with gov-
ernments, industry, and other leaders to encourage that sustain-
ability be considered in the early planning phases of any kind of
development. This could result in minimal environmental impact
and protection of delicate habitat that could easily be destroyed
without careful planning in advance.
WORDS IN
CONTEXT
infrastructure
Physical structures
that enable a society
to grow and pros-
per, including roads,
railways, and water
and gas pipelines.
