Wildlife conservation is a serious matter as humans are the main reason for the devastation of wildlife and their habitats. According to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2020, the population size of wildlife, both on land and in the sea, has on average decreased by 68% since 1970. The world is growing, but we must find a way to preserve wildlife habitats for the animals.
Different parts of the world’s wildlife are being affected and changed at different rates. The biodiversity in Europe and Central Asia has been preserved most successfully and has only decreased around 24%. While regions like Latin America & The Caribbean have decreased by 94% because of things such as destroying habitats and climate change. In this region alone, 30 amphibian species have gone extinct because of disease.
Every region affects wildlife in different ways but some of the biggest reasons are habitat loss, hunting, disease, pollution, and climate change. They all play a part in the destruction of wildlife and most directly linked to the actions of humans. On average, 50% of the fault for a decrease in wildlife is because of changes in land, habitat loss, and degradation. Following that at 27% is the out-of-control hunting and poaching of wildlife for things such as fur, ivory, and food consumption. These are things that can easily be controlled and managed by humans. We have the power to change and preserve wildlife. By just changing and controlling these two threats to biodiversity, we can decrease the threats, on average, by 77%.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, around 96 species of animals are in danger of going extinctsuch as the Orangutan and Sumatran Elephant. The orangutan is an example of a species that is being affected by the loss of habitat and change in the landscape because of the harvest of trees. Elephants are being affected by illegal poaching and harvest of the ivory from their tusks. Most endangered species that roam on land are affected by habitat and illegal poaching, whereas endangered species underwater are affected by pollution, invasive species, as well as hunting and harvest. Lots of water species get caught in fishnets from large fishing boats by accident. Those who work in the fishing industry need to be more aware of the wildlife they catch.
Wildlife conservation groups, like the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society, are always doing research, tracking wildlife species and their habitat, and finding ways to preserve and protect them. The Wildlife Conservation Society, “conserves the world’s largest wild places in 14 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the world’s biodiversity.” We need to be more educated about how our actions affect wildlife and their habitats. As well as how we can help to preserve and keep wildlife safe. We can not let our actions be the devastation of wildlife. As Bindi Irwin always says, “be a wildlife warrior.”
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