Wilderness

Wilderness, a term that is commonly used, a term that most people feel they know and understand, but how would you define it?

You could possibly define it as 'an area of open space'? Or maybe as 'an area of woodland and forest'? Perhaps even a combination of the two, 'a mixture of open space and forestry combining to form a landscape known as wilderness'? But these are all less-correct, but not wrong, than the definition that is most frequently used by geographers and conservationists around the world which is 'a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity'.

Areas of wilderness status are often areas of outstanding natural beauty, or of great interests to scientists, locals, conservationists, natural biologists etc. Such areas can often contain flora or fauna that is hard to replicate in zoos or is endemic to the area. However wilderness doesn’t mean that the area has never been discovered or disturbed by humans, which is almost impossible now. Wilderness can be said to be wilderness if natural processes occur without human interference. This is the only type of wilderness thought to be left on our planet.



Wilderness at Monument Valley, Utah, USA



Preserving wilderness has become such a problem that governments have had to start passing laws on certain areas to stop the growth of human activity, a negative effect of our currently booming world population. But should the wilderness be conserved or preserved? The difference is that conservationists would allow the land to be used but heavily regulated, whereas preservationists would insist that the land is 100% preserved with no human interference. Which is better? Many say that preserving the few natural wonders left in the world is vital, however, with the growing population the space is going to need to be conserved and a balance will need to be struck.





Wilderness at Biogradska Gora National Park, Montenegro