the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management.
a district, river, forest, etc., under such supervision.
the careful utilization of a natural resource in order to prevent depletion.
the restoration and preservation of works of art.
Origin of conservation
1350–1400;Middle Englishconservacioun < Latinconservātiōn- (stem of conservātiō), equivalent to conservāt(us) (past participle of conservāre to conserve; see -ate1) + -iōn--ion
Related formscon·ser·va·tion·al, adjectivean·ti·con·ser·va·tion, noun, adjectivenon·con·ser·va·tion, nounnon·con·ser·va·tion·al, adjectivepro·con·ser·va·tion, adjectiveself-con·ser·va·tion, noun
late 14c., conservacioun, "preservation of one's health and soundness," from Latin conservationem (nominative conservatio) "a keeping, preserving, conserving," noun of action from past participle stem of conservare (see conserve). Meaning "preservation of existing conditions" in any sense is from mid-15c. Since late 15c., in reference to English municipal authorities who had charge of rivers, sewers, forests, fisheries, etc. Specifically of the environment from 1922.
The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that inhabit them. Conservation is generally held to include the management of human use of natural resources for current public benefit and sustainable social and economic utilization.
