Our ancestors destroyed moot of our natural areas before anyone had a chance to study or to try to understand them. As a result, we have lost the opportunity to learn about this areas and the benefits and opportunities they might have yielded. Today our remaining natural areas serve important roles in the study of ecology, botany, zoology, geology, and soil science. They provide controls for comparison against managed or exploited resources. They also provide educational and cultural information important in the study of science, local history, conservation, and nature studies such as bird-watching, insect study, and tree identification.

    Preservation of natural areas also provides many practical benefits. For example, natural areas contain the biological raw materials necessary for the development of products that could greatly benefit the health and well-being of a man. A new wonder drug or fine industrial product may exist now only in some inconspicuous organism harboured in a nature preserve. Up to approximately half of the drugs currently in use contain derivatives of wild plants, yet only a small percentage of all plants have been investigated for their potential in such uses. The need to protect the remaining 98 percent of natural areas until they can be researched is obvious.

    From a genealogical standpoint, we have roots linking us to our ancestors. With so many of our natural areas now gone, those that remain are a vital link to the past. They can help us and future generations better understand the landscape and natural resources from which the pioneers molded their lives.

    Certainly, one of the most important benefits to be derived from natural areas is the perceptive-recreational benefit they provide. This is evidenced by the increasing numbers of people turning to the nature preserve in order to escape briefly from the hustle-bustle of fast-paced society. The quiet environment of nature calms the monotony in our daily lives whether from skyscrapers and pavement or unbroken horizons of corn and beans. Healthy natural areas can offer substantial economic benefits to our communities as well. Wetlands, for example, help with flood protection and the removal of pollutants from our water supply.

The organizational pattern of passage is ....

( SOAL SBMPTN 2016)