Friday, August 2, 2019
Wildlife Resources: A Global Account of Economic Use Essay
Earth Wildlife Extinction Introduction            Conservation of wildlife (wild living resources), is important for the development of any nation. The extinction of the wildlife has therefore become the agenda in American and other Nations in dealing with preservation of wildlife. For instance, all but a small handful of countries have national parks. However, the most challenges facing nations today is wildlife extinction. It is no longer about the government and other agencies deciding whether conservation is a good idea, but rather implementing those ideas for the benefit of people locally, regionally and internationally. The following part is an interview with Jean-Christophe, one of Deputy Director of Global wildlife protection Program me (IUCN’s), and who oversees many of diverse regional and global biodiversity. Interview Me: How do you see this ‘big’ issue of extinction of wildlife? Are they endangered or critically endangered? Is the issue getting worse? Moreover, is it under control or out of control? Jean-Christophe: Despite alarming situation of wildlife extinction globally every year, it appears that the situation is almost not under control. Following report from all groups we have monitored, there is continued decline of species fast towards extinction. What is making me more worried is that the extinction is moving rapidly into list of most endangered species. CK: I heard about your Red list rankings of the threatened Species category but did not understand how it works. Tell me how it works Jean-Christophe: Okay. Any of threatened species, are put under three categories; Vulnerable, Endangered and lastly Critically Endangered species. For instance, those found in a threatened category, it means that it went not just slow decline but through quite a serious decline. However, it less serious considered to Endangered or Critically Endangered species. On the Red List, species listed as endangered species are just like the â€Å"ice berg†but are of most conservation concern. CK: Can, and should all species be saved from extinction? If not, which ones ‘must’ be saved? Jean-Christophe: This is the discussion, many people would like to have in the conservation community; it is what we call triage. People think that some species are useful to people and should be saved; while others not. However, it is not so important trying to have consensus on that question than finding a proper solution to save species. Background information            Since the beginning of the man, there has been Endangered Wildlife .Four thousand of years, the wild plants, the animals and the ocean creatures have made every inch of earth as their home. With man being exceedingly populated, has dropped the number of wildlife drastically. In the same way, many of species have become. It is notable that animals, water living creatures, and wild plants are becoming rarer in these times. For the last centuries, the extinction was at a slower rate but today, the extinction has quickly risen. Taking United States as an example, in the last 200 years, it has lost many birds as compared to other areas of its comparable size (McGavin, p.23). Causes of wildlife extinction            According to Evers (p.4), to the question to wildlife extinction, Human beings are held responsible. Through human activities, many of the species have become extinct. The first activity, which is the major reason for extinction, is the interference of natural habitats through deforestation, creation of wetlands and draining of water marshes. In addition, it is evident that cities and towns are converting most grassland. The second major cause of extinction is commercial hunting and poaching. A poacher can be defined as the person who hunts and kills important species for profit. Often times, poachers hunt neither for legalized games nor for food.            Taking example from the current scope, Currently, Lake Malawi (Central Africa) holds over 500 cichlid fish species with 99 % of them endemic. Comparing with other regions, the lake is only one-seventh the size of great lakes in North America’s with just 173 species, less than 11% of which are endemic. In the last 20 years, Western Ecuador is said to have contained around 9,000 to 10,000 plant species, some 60 per cent of them endemic. In addition, given between 15 and 30 animal species, which present for each plant species in similar areas, it is evident that perhaps western Ecuador contained about 200,000 species around 1970.Since then, the western Ecuador forests have been destroyed to pave way for oil wells, banana plantations, and human settlements. Although is difficult to judge, the number of species in this region may have dropped with about 55,000 within the duration. Taking Pantanal in Brazil yet another example, which cont ains about 120,000 square kilometers of wetlands and classified as â€Å"international importance†by UNESCO, it greatly suffers increased earth extinction. This is from dam construction, agricultural expansion and other forms of disruptive development (Kotpal, 46). Major agencies            All the endangered species are found under the â€Å"Endangered Species Act (ESA).†The act, deals with responsibility of protection of the wildlife worldwide. One of well-known agency is â€Å"Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).†The major function of the agency is primarily management of species found on land .Another well known agency is the â€Å"National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).†The agency protects and manages all the marine species in our seas and oceans. However, there is confusion existing between the two agencies when it comes to protecting species that are found in land and sea. These agencies are also found in each of the Nation worldwide. For instance, In United States, there is â€Å"National Sea Turtle Coordination(NSTC) â€Å" which deals with protection of seven sea turtle species listed as threatened species under the ESA( Kaufman,22). Action plans to save wildlife            Currently, much is being done according to the conditions in each of the country to help save the endangered species. Considering the Zoos, found in almost all Nations, they help to governments as well as other agencies in protection and preservation of animals and environments. In addition, well remarkable action plan is reduction of deadly diseases and viruses in the wild animals .An example is the SD Zoo, which deals with Virology and Immunology deals with protection of wild animals from deadly viruses and diseases. in the world animal population .Another well known action plan was establishment of the Reproductive Physiology department in United States which deals with study of preservation, semen evaluation, embryo transfer and artificial insemination techniques .Lastly, is the Pathology department, working to determine the cause of many death in animals and action plan to prevent it (Roth,53) Red list            Any of threatened species, are put under three categories; Vulnerable, Endangered and lastly Critically Endangered species. For instance, those found in a threatened category, it means that it went not just slow decline but through quite a serious decline. However, the rate of decline of threatened species is less serious considered to Endangered or Critically Endangered species. On the Red List, species listed as endangered species are just like the â€Å"ice berg†but are of most conservation concern. Taking red-cockaded as example, it requires the wood that is around sixty – seventy years old to make it a home. In the top of the Red list, freshwater fish species are marked as extinct or being in a state of dangerous incline of about 25% .On the list are birds, which are threatened with extinction as well. Close to the list of animals facing dangerous extinction are bears, rhinos and tigers. The extinction has I most cases being associated with habitat loss. There are 25 most endangered species found on red line, unfortunately, some of these species are already completely .As mentioned earlier, birds are the most endangered species. The following are the most endangered species in Red line top list;waiian Monk Seal, Hawaiian Crow, Kakapo Brazilian ,Merganser Sumatran and Rhinoceros Vaquita Consequences of wildlife extinction            According to Adams (12), when any of elements is removed from a fragile ecosystem, it has long lasting and far reaching effects on biodiversity. Consider this; from the extinction of wolves, there is no check on numbers on other animals and these results to prey populations grew larger. For instance, when exploding elk populations in U.S wiped out so many riparian plants and willows, songbirds no longer had enough cover or food. This caused their extinction consequently increasing numbers of insects such as mosquito’s. On the other hand, loss of large iconic species such as like the tiger, wolf, and rhino may make more of stimulating news, more than the extinction of mussels and moths. It is more important to note that even small species, can significantly affect the ecosystems in different ways. Conclusion            There is high expectation to the protection of wildlife from the action plans, agencies, and the policies in place. For instance, Wildlife crime policies have set, globally objective to the sustainable of wildlife protection and conservation. It is working hard to the spirit of Vision 2030.This is through jeopardizing the wildlife tourism industry. One of the tools that have so far proved most effective is enforcement of wildlife management law. However, more important is not to losing insight to the ultimate point view of resource management in objective of law enforcement. References Adams, William. Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation. London: Earthscan, 2004. Internet resource Evers, David C. A Guide to Michigan’s Endangered Wildlife. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992. Print. Kaufman, Les, and Kenneth Mallory. The Last Extinction. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993. Print Kotpal, R L. Modern Text Book of Zoology Vertebrates: Animal Diversity-Ii. New Delhi: Global Media Publications, 2010. Internet resource. McGavin, George. Endangered: Wildlife on the Brink of Extinction. Buffalo, N.Y: Firefly Books, 2006. Print Roth, Harald H, and Günter Merz. Wildlife Resources: A Global Account of Economic Use. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1996. Print. Source document
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