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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Wildlife, Problems of Wildlife & Wildlife Conservation

– UPSC
by LotusArise January 8, 2021 0 Comments

IN this article, You will read about Wildlife, Problems of Wildlife, and Wildlife Conservation for
UPSC(Biogeography).

Wildlife
Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated animal species but has come to include all
plants, fungi, and other organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced
by humans.
Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, forests, rain forests, plains, grasslands, and
other areas including the most developed urban areas, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While
the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most
scientists agree that much wildlife is affected by human activities.
Biologists estimate there are between 5 and 15 million species of plants, animals, and micro-
organisms existing on Earth today, of which only about 1.5 million have been described and
named. The estimated total includes around 300,000 plant species, between 4 and 8 million
insects, and about 50,000 vertebrate species (of which about 10,000 are birds and 4,000 are
mammals).

Problems of Wildlife
Today, about 23% (1,130 species) of mammals and 12% (1,194 species) of birds are
considered as threatened by IUCN.
According to various surveys and reports, our planet has lost more than 58% of its wildlife
since 1970 and is experiencing the sixth mass extinction. The 2016 Living Planet
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reveals the troubling extent of this and other environmental crises around the world, but
it also sheds light on the ways we can still protect and rehabilitate what’s left. An index
compiled with data from the Zoological Society of London to measure the abundance of
biodiversity was down 58 percent from 1970 to 2012 and would fall 67 percent by 2020
on current trends, the WWF said in a report.
In 1972, The Wildlife Conservation Act was passed by the Government of India. In 1980,
The World Conservation Strategy was developed by the “International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources” (IUCN) with assistance from The United
Nations Environment Program and the World Wildlife Fund and in collaboration with the
Food and Agriculture Organization of UN and the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Global biodiversity is being lost much faster than natural extinction due to changes in
land use, unsustainable use of natural resources, invasive alien species, climate change,
and pollution among others. Land conversion by humans, resulting in natural habitat loss, is
most evident in tropical forests and is less intensive in temperate, boreal, and arctic regions.
Pollution from atmospheric nitrogen deposition is most severe in northern temperate areas
close to urban centers, and the introduction of damaging alien species is usually brought
about through patterns of human activity.
Species loss is also compounded by:
The ongoing growth of human populations and unsustainable consumer lifestyles
Increasing production of waste and pollutants
Urban development
International conflict.
Fewer natural wildlife habitat areas remain each year. Moreover, the habitat that remains
has often been degraded to bear little resemblance to the wild areas which existed in the
past. Habitat loss due to destruction, fragmentation, and degradation of habitat is the
primary threat to the survival of wildlife.
Climate Change: Global warming is making hot days hotter, rainfall and flooding heavier,
hurricanes stronger and droughts more severe. This intensification of weather and climate
extremes will be the most visible impact of global warming in our everyday lives. It is also
causing dangerous changes to the landscape of our world, adding stress to wildlife species
and their habitat. Since many types of plants and animals have specific habitatGo to Store
requirements, climate change could cause a disastrous loss of wildlife species. A slight
drop or rise in average rainfall will translate into large seasonal changes. Hibernating
mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are harmed and disturbed. Plants and wildlife
are sensitive to moisture change so, they will be harmed by any change in moisture level.
Natural phenomena like floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, and forest fires also
affect wildlife.
Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching cause a major
threat to wildlife. Along with this, mismanagement of the forest department and forest
guards triggers this problem.
Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of
organisms. Pesticides and toxic chemicals being widely used, making the environment toxic
to certain plants, insects, and rodents.
Over-exploitation: Overexploitation is the overuse of wildlife and plant species by people
for food, clothing, pets, medicine, sport, and many other purposes. People have always
depended on wildlife and plants for food, clothing, medicine, shelter, and many other needs.
More resources are being consumed than the natural world can supply. The danger is that if
too many individuals of a species are taken from their natural environment, the species may
no longer be able to survive. The loss of one species can affect many other species in an
ecosystem. The hunting, trapping, collecting, and fishing of wildlife at unsustainable levels
is not something new. The passenger pigeon was hunted to extinction, early in the last
century, and over-hunting nearly caused the extinction of the American bison and several
species of whales.
Deforestation: Humans are continually expanding and developing, leading to an invasion of
wildlife habitats. As humans continue to grow, they clear forested land to create more
space. This stresses wildlife populations as there are fewer homes and food sources for
wildlife to survive.
Population: The increasing population of human beings is a major threat to wildlife. More
people on the globe means more consumption of food, water, and fuel, therefore more
waste is generated. Major threats to wildlife are directly related to the increasing population
of human beings. A low population of humans results in less disturbance to wildlife.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil
society organizations. Go to Store
 Created in 1948, it is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the
measures needed to safeguard it.
It is headquartered in Switzerland.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive
inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
It uses a set of quantitative criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of species.
These criteria are relevant to most species and all regions of the world.
The IUCN Red List Categories define the extinction risk of species
assessed. Nine categories extend from NE (Not Evaluated) to EX (Extinct).
Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU) species are
considered to be threatened with extinction.
It is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological
diversity.
It is also a key indicator for the SDGs and Aichi Targets.

Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their
habitat. Wildlife plays an important role in balancing the ecosystem and provides stability to
different natural processes of nature. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure that nature
will be around for future generations to enjoy and also to recognize the importance of wildlife
and wilderness for humans and other species alike. Many nations have government agencies
and NGO’s dedicated to wildlife conservation, which help to implement policies designed to
protect wildlife. Numerous independent non-profit organizations also promote various wildlife
conservation causes.
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Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects
of human activity on wildlife. An endangered species is defined as a population of a living
species that are in the danger of becoming extinct because the species has a very low or falling
population, or because they are threatened by the varying environmental or prepositional
parameters.
In 1972, the Government of India enacted a law called the Wild Life (Protection) Act. In
America, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects some U.S. species that were in danger
from overexploitation, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Fauna and Flora (CITES) works to prevent the global trade of wildlife, but there are many
species that are not protected from being illegally traded or being over-harvested.
The World Conservation Strategy was developed in 1980 by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) with advice, cooperation, and financial
assistance of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Wildlife Fund and
in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)” The strategy aims
to “provide an intellectual framework and practical guidance for conservation actions.” This
thorough guidebook covers everything from the intended “users” of the strategy to its very
priorities. It even includes a map section containing areas that have large seafood consumption
and are therefore endangered by overfishing.

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