The work of man preying on the natural environment, reflected in the felling of forests, hunting of endangered animals, the destruction of birds, the use of pesticides, water pollution, among other activities, was his reply in actions aimed at the protection of ecosystems. Social organizations demanded solutions to preserve animal and plant species and natural beauty of the planet. It then created ecological reserves, which are protected natural areas by humans, with the objective of conserving the ecosystems that developed there. These areas include national parks, reserves and natural monuments. These areas, created and regulated through legislation in each country, preserve the fauna, flora and blank spaces, and contribute to scientific research in the respective regions.
Among the protected species include the American bison, jaguar, puma, white rhinoceros, the whale, the panda and gorilla.
There are currently about 930 million hectares of protected land worldwide that correspond to 10,000 protected reserves, approximately, in addition to the biosphere reserves, controlled by UNESCO. They exceed 200 million hectares.