Does Killing and Destroying Wildlife and Deforestation Hurt Us?

Are we killing ourselves and chances for our future generations by killing the wildlife and forests? Earth has so many creatures living on it. The term wildlife not only caters to wild animals but also takes into account all undomesticated life forms including birds, plants, insects, fungi and even microscopic organisms. With the passage of time these creatures became less numbered due to many reasons.

There extinction affected our ecosystem which is a biological community of interacting organisms in the physical environment.

Since these species have a direct effect on our ecosystem therefore Science struggled to find its effects and to study them. For science to study them, we need them to save them somewhere which is safe and sound and centered location. The species are marked as endangered to help them breed, grow and become more in number.

This paper includes the study of these species and their effect on our ecosystem. From Amur leopards to vaquitas, there are many endangered species that are at risk of extinction. It means that we are risk of losing these animals completely. The cause of their extinction are the humans, their habitat destruction and fragmentation, climate change, air and water pollution, the spread of invasive species and overfishing caused the loss of species since the loss of dinosaurs.

We can save the species for many purposes such for the enjoyment of future generation. It is because we get pleasure in seeing these animals and interacting with them. We need to save them for the environment and other animals. This is because extinction of one animal upset the other one resulting in an unbalanced connection between them. These species are saved and protect for another important purpose which is its use in the medicine.

They are studied and many application and uses are derived from them. To help these endangered species we can protect wildlife habitat which is one of the biggest causes of extinction. We can educate others because people are more likely to save the animals.  Staying away from pesticides and herbicides can also lead to help reduce the extinction of the endangered species [1]. Being an ethical tourist will lead to think about these endangered species and their importance. The study is mainly centered on the species marked as endangered in New York City. A detail on these species as done in the past are discussed below.

In class when studied about sustainable developments goals I read about saving these wild animals and how they save our ecosystem. In SDG goals  #15 goal suggest that Protection of forest and terrestrial ecosystems is on the rise, and forest loss has slowed. Killing these animals is hurting us in a way that will be hard for us to get over in the near future. Destroying these wildlife and deforestation is hurting both the humans and these wild animals.

Biodiversity contributes  to  many of  products that we consume  and ecosystem  services  that sustain  human  well-being, including  water and air purification, timber  also provision of oxygen and medicine. Wild animals are an integral part of biodiversity, and play an important role in ecological processes. In class we also talked about how imbalance of ecosystem can hurt us very badly and destroying the wildlife and deforestation is hurting us in that way.

Above picture from UN official website shows us that how destroying these wild animals has created a massive amount of decline in biodiversity.[9] We also learned about the importance of wildlife from our guest lecturer in class Professor Alvaro where he talked about how we are slaughtering animals for our food source and the benefit of for humans to survive today. He also showed us that how if we keep destroying forests and killing the wildlife we are getting closer and closer to extinction.

These wild animals and the forests are the ones that keeps our environment and ecosystem stable. Professor Alvaro also talked about the probable solution for this problem which could be By using less stuff, eating sustainable food, and choosing recycled or certified sustainable wood products, we can all be part of the movement towards zero deforestation.

Many studies were done to save the wildlife due to their effects on our ecosystem. Dr. Gloria and her associate did their study on the sacred species [2] in which they considered many organisms from different classes of biology and provided first basic data on sacred species. They outlined issues on sacred values and illustrated knowledge by considering many animals, plants and mushrooms too. They concluded with the finding that it was very rare that humans were the cause of the extinction of plants and animals. This was possible due to the awareness of the people in this regard.

Another study by Richard frankham [3] in his paper showed that species living on the islands are at greater risk and that there must be proper measures taken in order to save them. He compared both the species of mainland with the specie living on the islands and concluded that species living on islands are prone to fast extinction than those living on land. The primary reason he discussed was leaving and ignoring the islands around us.

To research on such species and restore the one prone to more extinction, an organization was formed in July 2012 meant only for the purpose of the restoration of the giant tortoises. According to their study on tortoise [4] there were about 200,000 giant tortoises more than two centuries ago and now only 10 percent of them remains which is an alarming figure. In their report by the organization the cause of their extinction was the overexploitation by whalers who used them for food on their long voyages in the 1800s.

In New York recently a group namely the Group for the east end uploaded their findings on their website saying that there are about 185 species in New York that will be locally extinct in ten years, unless urgent conservation actions are taken. Most of them are on eastern long island. They searched for the answers and discussed some factors for the cause of their rapid extinction which includes overdevelopment, loss of habitat, lack of government funding, little or no media coverage or not informing the public about this alarming situation of these species [5].

In order to overcome this problem of the loss of these species, ideas were proposed to save them in different safe areas where these species can be saved and increase their generation which will help science to study them with no fear of their loss. Many different areas were proposed for their safe sites. One of the key places where some aquatic life was saved is the Pacific Kelp Forest. In it the sea otters rate declined to about 1000 species in 1977 but due to special precaution and other measures, their rate increased up to 3090 in 2018. The need for these species resulted in special measures to save them in different areas.

To find and correct wildlife problems another organization in the New York City came to forefront. DEC Endangered species Program [6] focuses mainly on the species that are marked as endangered. The organization finds and corrects the problems occurring with the wildlife and their protection. Their primary mission is to perpetuate and restore native animal life in New York State for the use of current and future generations.

Many protective measures are proposed specially for the long-eared bats in the north of NY City, suggesting a number of specific conservation measures. Projects are required NLEB (Northern long-ear bat) occupied habitat [7]. Such projects would encourage others only if exposure is given to them. Their location as per their periods is given under:

Most of the elite community is found in fishing and hunting without taking into consideration their need for our ecosystem. There shall be laws in the constitution to protect wildlife by applying penalties through proper legislation. The greater demand of the people living in the shores of the sea has reduced the number of some unique species of fishes which needs to be protected.  Each and every species of wildlife needs to be studied so that they can be saved by categorizing according to their alarming number. Species that can be saved are Hawaiian hawk, Yaqui topminnow, Golden cheeked warbler, Gray bat etc. these species can be saved in many ways like adopting them.

Symbolic adoptions will help fund organizations. Individuals can volunteer if they have no money to fund the organizations. They can take part in programs as volunteers in zoo etc. Visiting Zoo or wildlife parks will help us see them, motivated, thrilled and aware of the point that these species need to be saved. Speaking up for them and their responsibilities on us can help others to know about them. Buying the responsibility of not taking the overcoats and other wearable’s made from their Fur. Habitat destruction is the main threat to 85 percent of all threatened and endangered species. Planting trees can help reduce this destruction of habitat.

The research was New York centered and many species were studied. America has the wealth of some unique species in the entire region especially in New York State. Currently there are safe places proposed for their safe living which resulted in the increase number of these species. Their importance in different sectors was one of the reasons to save them. Many points were highlighted to raise the issue and help the contents of this topic. This approach describes their existence more important to us and reveals the impacts of the wildlife on our lives. Saving them will help the Science to study their genetic variations, find their ancestors and for medicinal purposes. These endangered species are important for America’s social and economic wellbeing.

References:

1. Warley, J. (2018, March 09). Why should we save endangered animals? - One Kind Planet. Retrieved from https://onekindplanet.org/save-endangered-animals/
2. Preliminary Literature Review on Sacred Species - IUCN. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/preliminary_literature_review_on_sacred_species__3_.pdf
3. Frankham, R. (2008, July 07). Inbreeding and Extinction: Island Populations. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1998.96456.x
4. BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION - Galapagos Conservancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.galapagos.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Wildlife-Ecosystem-Restoration-2016.pdf
5. Rare & Endangered Species | Group for the East End. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.groupfortheeastend.org/what-we-do/conservation/rare-endangered-species/
6. Endangered Species - NYS Dept. of ... -dec.ny.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7181.html
7. Protection of Northern Long-eared Bats - NYS Dept. of ... (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/106090.html
8. List of Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Fish & Wildlife Species of New York State. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7494.html
9. Overview - SDG Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2018/overview/

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