Wildlife conservation

Conifers are one of the world's most important resources of timber. If managed wisely and used sustainably, these resources will provide wood for a multitude of purposes, virtually indefinitely. Additional products include resins and their derivatives, and even medicinal extracts, for example taxol now used in the treatment of cancer. Conifers occur on all continents except Antarctica.

The eight species of bear live in more than 65 countries or autonomous regions in four continents, in a variety of habitats from tropical rainforests to arctic ice. Numerous human cultures around the world symbolically or physically try to incorporate the power of bears into their people.

The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats is one of the major issues in wildlife management and conservation. Habitat "corridors" are sometimes proposed as an important element within a conservation strategy. Examples are given of corridors both as pathways and as habitats in their own right.