The philosophy, even the ethos, that underlies conservation thinking and drives conservation action has evolved over time and continues to evolve - in some cases rather dramatically. For The Nature Conservancy, the defining principles that propelled us for decades could be summed up in one simple phrase: We buy land to preserve it. But as we expanded geographically, as conservation science advanced, as we worked with governments to manage public lands, as we moved into conservation of marine and freshwater systems, and as we faced the sobering limitations - and very high cost - of buying land, we diversified. Today land acquisition is just one of the increasing variety of tools we use to secure tangible, lasting conservation results. Similarly, whenthe concept of the national park was born in the United States more than 130 years ago, it was a romantic notion of nature "set aside" for the recreational pleasure of people. In time, the role of national parks, in the United States and around the world, broadened to include protection of species and natural habitats. Now we are seeing an emerging precept that parks should also be valued for the contribution they make to human well-being. (See "A New Perspective on Parks," page 20.) We might say that parks have diversified. The evolution of thinking creates new challenges but also exciting opportunities.
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