Javan rhino, amur leopard, Sunda island tiger, mountain gorilla, black rhino, African forest elephants - these are just some of the animals that are on the threatened species list. Maybe wildlife protection sounds too big a task to be accomplished by individual actions, but we’ll see how each of us can take part in the conservation of wildlife.
The World Wildlife Fund’s 2022 Living Planet Report stated that global wildlife populations have decreased by 69% on average since 1970. Nowadays there are more than 41,000 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Behind these numbers are a lot of animals that are disappearing, resulting in a big effect on our environment.
We, humans, are the main part of that problem. For example, climate change, led by human activities, is causing a lot of trouble and contributing to making the threatened species list grow. In this article we will explore the conservation of wildlife, why it’s key to protecting our lives and our environment, and how we can make a significant change with pretty small actions.
What’s the conservation of wildlife about?
Wildlife conservation is about protecting and preserving animals, plants, and their habitats. If we do so with the current species that live on Earth, we’ll be making sure that they have an environment in which to thrive. Wildlife protection is on us. Let’s see why.
The human population has been growing exponentially over the past 200 years. This growth means that we need more resources to live: from houses to energy. In getting some of the things we need to live, we generate greenhouse gases that contribute significantly to climate change and global warming.
These factors directly affect the environments where animals and plants live. One common effect is that plants and animals are displaced and, as you can imagine, this has a great impact on their life cycle. Plus, there are other human actions that put them in danger: habitat change, pollution, poaching, fishing, and hunting are just some of them.
Understanding how human behavior affects the environment is the first step to comprehending what we can do to help with the conservation of plants and animals. The second one is understanding how both animal and plant species interact within their ecosystems.
Some birds fly to get to new places, bears hibernate during certain seasons, and flowers bloom in spring. They do everything in their ecosystems.
One thing before we move on: it’s pretty cool that there’s a name to call the study of how the biological world times these “routines”: phenology.
Now let’s continue.
Plants and animals' life cycles are in accordance with various elements such as temperature, precipitation and sunlight. Plus, plants and animals harness predictable yearly climate variations to know when they should hibernate, get food, migrate or bloom.
With that being said, it’s easy to see how climate change and global warming significantly affect their lives, and that of plant species. It completely changes the timing of wildlife natural events. Flowers can bloom earlier, birds can fly from their wintering grounds earlier, among other effects.
Scientists say that studying phenology is key to better understanding the approach that we should all take when thinking about the conservation of wildlife. Why? Because it’s the only way we can fully understand the patterns that animals and plants follow, and how they’re following them in certain ecosystems.
There are some national and international organizations that are behind wildlife conservation. World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the United Nations, and the Wildlife Conservation Society are some of them.
Their job is to work side by side with the government to establish and protect public areas such as national parks, as well as helping with legislation writing. A well-known one in the U.S. is the republic act 9147 or ra 9147, which focuses on wildlife resources and habitat protection. It also deals with the creation of laws to prosecute wildlife crimes. We also have to say that they support education of wildlife protection in order to explain to the world what’s going on and what we can do. But why does this all matter?
5 reasons why wildlife protection is important
Just in case you’re wondering why the conservation of wildlife should be a concern for each of us, we’ve created this list. There are a lot of reasons why it’s key to save wildlife, but we have chosen 5 that highlight its importance.
Wildlife protection is essential ecosystem balance and, thus, human wellbeing
Wildlife is key in terms of ecosystem balance. Each living organism plays an important role in an ecosystem. Wildlife protection is of utmost importance for maintaining ecosystem balance and ultimately ensuring human well-being. Ecosystems rely on the intricate interplay between various plant and animal species, where each organism plays a crucial role. By safeguarding wildlife, we preserve biodiversity, which is the foundation of stable ecosystems. Wildlife contributes to pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, and pest control, all of which directly or indirectly impact human agriculture, food security, and overall ecological health. Furthermore, wildlife provides recreational and cultural value, promoting our connection with nature. Hence, prioritizing wildlife protection is not only a moral imperative but also a practical necessity for sustaining ecosystem services and enhancing our own quality of life.
Let’s check it out with a well-known example: the food chain. If one organism is endangered or extinct, the entire food chain can be destabilized and that can put the whole environment at risk. Moreover, the integrity of ecosystems depends on all the locally adapted species. Removal of large mammals, for example, might have profound impacts on plant diversity and distribution.
If you want to discover wildlife, the environment that surrounds it, and support their conservation, explore this in our app. Download it here for iOS and for Android.
Wildlife plays a role in medicine too
It does this in two ways. The first one is connected to plants being a source of medications. Therefore, wildlife preservation turns out to be essential for medicinal research and even helps pharmaceutical industries ensure their long-term viability.
The other way is related to pandemic prevention. We experienced one not too long ago. The truth is that protecting wildlife and its environments helps reduce the chances of diseases spreading from animals to humans (zoonosis). Note that animals are accountable for 60% of infectious diseases.
Wildlife preservation is key for agriculture and farming
There are at least two processes in which wildlife helps agriculture and farming stay balanced. Let’s start with the first one: pollination. Pollination is essential for the production of fruits and vegetables because plants produce them thanks to that process.
Pollen grains from male flowers are transferred to female flowers. The result is the generation of fruits that contain seeds. Wildlife has more to do with this because, besides the wind pollination, birds, bats, bees, and other insects are the ones that take those pollen grains from male flowers to female flowers for many species.
Plus, wildlife is key in other processes too: soil fertility and health, thanks to the fact that animal dung and urine in the soil boost it with minerals. This ends up in soil being much richer in nutrients. They can even help with nutrient flow in other ways. For example, hippo grazing in grasslands at night puts nutrients into the river through their dung, and this increases plants, algae, and fish productivity.
But too many hippos and nutrients might lead to water eutrophication, which in turn can deteriorate water quality and deplete dissolved oxygen in water bodies. This example highlights that single-species preservation might be bad for the environment and that the preservation of balanced species communities is important.
Wildlife protection helps with job creation
Just in the U.S alone, conservation and parks development generate more jobs than oil and gas. We can add another example to that one: a large conservation and sustainable management project in Honduras created over 8,000 jobs and increased community income levels by more than 300%. So when it comes to countries' economies, wildlife can truly help too.
Wildlife has cultural significance
From religious beliefs to food, animals and plants have always influenced human culture. For example, sage is considered an essential herb for religious ceremonies. Plus, many regional dishes are made from ingredients that can be found in certain places. They all collaborate with the preservation of memories and traditions while strengthening the relationship between the members of a community. Therefore, protecting wildlife is a way of protecting our culture and our traditions.
Top 12 ways to protect threatened species
You don’t need to run a conservation center to help protect wildlife. Just like we’ve seen, small actions can be taken to help reduce climate change, and the same is true for the conservation of wildlife.
We’ve selected 10 top ways you can lend a hand in the conservation of forests and wildlife. Let’s explore each of them.
Study the endangered species that lives near you
If you don’t know where to start, start locally. Explore which species live close to your home, and are in danger, as well as discover how important they are for the ecosystem.
Pose questions such as how they help your community get indispensable services like clean air and water, food and medicinal sources, and even commercial and recreational benefits.
After you gather all this information, share it with your friends and family. They’ll be amazed by all the wonderful wildlife that lives a few meters from you.
Get involved with a local nature center or wildlife refuge
Visit a wildlife refuge, park, or other similar space. This will give you a 360 view of all the native wildlife, birds, fish, and plants that live there and need to be protected.
You can also go wildlife or bird watching in parks that are near you. After you feel truly connected with the wildlife and have collected the information you need, you’re ready to commit to a local nature center or wildlife refuge.
Keep herbicides and pesticides away from your yard
Maybe they help you make your yard look great but they’re really dangerous to the pollution process because they act like hazardous pollutants. Plus, a lot of herbicides and pesticides stay in the soil for a long time and they can even end up affecting the food chain.
Some predators like owls and coyotes can consume animals that are poisoned with herbicides and pesticides. Amphibians and other groups of animals are especially vulnerable to those pollutants too.
Is your home “wildlife-friendly” enough?
If not, here are some things you can do:
- Make sure your garbage is secure.
- Feed your pets indoors and lock pet doors at night so your pets don’t catch the attention of wild animals so they’re not tempted to get into your home. Also make sure your pets don't hunt wild animals, which is a growing threat to ecosystems.
- Put decals on windows in order to reduce bird collisions as millions of birds die every year because of collisions with windows.
- Reduce and avoid disease transmission by disinfecting bird baths.
Don’t drive fast
Apart from being dangerous for you, it’s also dangerous for animals that live near where you’re driving, even when you’re in urban areas. This is a product of the fact that many animals now live in developed areas.
One of the reasons for this situation is what happens with roads. Roads divide habitat from human construction and represent one of the biggest obstacles to wildlife. Therefore, when you’re driving, make sure you slow down so if there’s any animal that wants to cross from one way to another, you both stay safe.
Attract native insects to pollinate native plants
Native insects can help you pollinate your plants, and plants can provide food and shelter for native wildlife. It’s key to make clear that we’re talking about native plants because non-native species can have a negative impact on native populations because they can compete against each other for resources and habitat.
Don’t purchase products that you know come from threatened or endangered species
Sometimes when we’re on vacation it might sound like a great idea to buy a souvenir that has coral. But by doing so we would be supporting an industry that puts species at risk.
Although it might be pretty obvious, we have to say that you should also avoid supporting illegal wildlife markets. This includes buying fur from tigers, polar bears, sea otters, crocodile skin, live monkeys or apes, and medicinal products made from rhinos, tigers, or Asiatic black bears, among others.
Recycle and make sure you choose sustainable products when you have the chance
Some great examples are: buying recycled paper and sustainable products made from bamboo. Whichever is your choice, never go with products made from wood found in rainforests.
Another good action in terms of recycling, is recycling your cell phone. Why? Because a mineral used in smartphones and other electronic devices is mined in gorilla habitats.
One more before we go: minimize your consumption of palm oil because forests where tigers live are being cleared to plant palm plantations.
Protect wildlife habitat
This is the essential part to helping with the conservation of wildlife. Scientists agree that this is the best way to protect endangered species. When we protect their habitats we’re making sure that they have a place to find food, raise their young, and stay under a shelter.
So how can you help protect their habitat? By leaving behind oil and gas as sources of energy, and products created by logging activities, because oil, gas, and logging contribute to habitat destruction. You can also open spaces for wildlife protection discussion in your community, and make sure all parks, wildlife refuges, and other open spaces are protected in your hometown.
Don’t let illegal activities take place
It’s important that you report any activity that’s harassing wildlife. Among those activities is hunting, trapping, or forcing a threatened or endangered animal into captivity. All of these activities contribute significantly to extinction. You can report them to your local state or federal wildlife enforcement office.
Get politically involved
Raise your voice, support conservation initiatives, and engage with lawmakers to drive positive change and ensure the implementation of effective measures for their preservation.
Reduce your consumption and energy use to safeguard habitats and species.
Excessive consumption, such as consuming excessive amounts of meat for example,, contributes to habitat degradation. By adopting sustainable and conscious choices in what we consume and how we use energy, we can mitigate the negative impact on ecosystems and help preserve the delicate balance of nature.
Taking care of wildlife is taking care of our planet
We’re losing wildlife at an alarming rate. Preserving wildlife is key to preserving life on Earth. Therefore we should act every day to do so by making the conservation of wildlife part of our daily routine. There’s also a need to spark a conversation about this situation with our families and friends so we make sure they join us on this path.
It’s time to commit to our Earth and make sure both humans and wildlife can coexist in peace. If you’re looking to learn more about our Planet and its wildlife, download our app. It’s available for iOS and Android. Don’t hesitate and join us in a sustainable way of helping protect the world.
by lemu · v0.1.7 · Boana cinerascens