The Importance of Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife is defined as the natural life around us on planet Earth. This includes the natural environment of the plants, animals, and the decomposers that live there. It has evolved over time since the conception of life on earth. Today wildlife shows itself in the form of forests, natural plains and the living things within it.

The ecosystems on our planet are very fragile and heavily interconnected. Any small change to one aspect of the ecosystem can drastically affect other life on the planet. For example, bees are an important part of our wildlife ecosystem. Imagine a hypothetical scenario where bees don’t exist any more. It will create a significant imbalance in our agriculture ecosystem resulting in world wide crop failures and famines for humans and all other wildlife.

Resources from plants and animals can also help create medicines to benefit humans. This is one way it can affect human health. In the Global Vision International’s article How Does Wildlife Conservation Benefit Humans also adds “Numerous plant and animal species serve as sources of medicinal compounds”. The following quote implies wildlife is essential to the field of medicine. Our wildlife holds cures along resources to prevent so many diseases whether they are small or life threatening. Lovastatin is one of the many such medicines (used to lower cholesterol) that have been derived from a compound found in oyster mushrooms, a prominent part of our wildlife.

We humans have been expanding our territories by encroaching into wildlife areas for centuries. This has significantly reduced the population of many important species contributing to Earth’s biodiversity. Removal of forests causes soil erosion, increases in CO2 emission and low grade water etc. Removal of certain species of wildlife from certain areas can cause a cascading imbalance in the ecology of the area.

Soil erosion is one of the most immediate effects of deforestation. Forests are a huge part of wildlife conservation, but are also a huge part of the economy. Wood is used to build houses, and trees are cut down for land. The roots are like fingers stretching deep into the Earth. And like fingers, they grip the soil they penetrate. Hence, when the trees are cut down, the roots release the grip on the soil, causing the area to be more prone to soil erosion. Schmidt’s page, Rusty Red Waters in Madagascar mentions “Iron-rich sediment colors the red-orange waters of the Betsiboka River”. This is due to the soil erosion from deforestation in that area.

Wildlife conservation is important for our atmosphere as well. The United States Environmental Protection Agency includes in their article Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, “CO2 can also be emitted from direct human-induced impacts on forestry and other land use, such as through deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, and degradation of soils. Likewise, land can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soils, and other activities.” With wildlife conservation, these carbon dioxide emissions can be drastically countered.

The FOTA Wildlife Park’s page incorporates, “Forests provide us with oxygen, while oceans and land give us food. If these ecosystems are destroyed, they will be gone forever”. If forests are gone, the animals will not be able to live there, leading to a disruption in other areas. There is a very delicate balance in the environment. If all those animals die off, it will affect us humans drastically.

Wildlife is responsible for the earth’s biodiversity which supports our economy in the form of tourism. It is an essential component to sustain our climate. Wildlife must be protected at all costs.

So what can we do to preserve and protect our wildlife? Supporting our national and state parks goes a long way in wildlife conservation. Practicing living sustainably can indirectly help wildlife. Planting native species, avoiding pesticides, donating to conservation organizations such as Terra Green Project and others, and volunteering are a few more ways to help. Educating others about wildlife conservation can immensely help. Trash is extremely harmful to animals, so picking up trash may be small, but helpful. Avoid buying animal derived products as well. Wildlife should be protected, so don’t buy products that harm it. Joining a conservation organization also helps. Whether it’s something small or big, it counts.

While some may argue that with modern technology, we can find a way without wildlife conservation, we humans do not yet have the capability to do so. Even if humans could, the risks and the costs outweigh the potential gains from these.

Wildlife must be protected at all costs for us humans to continue living a sustainable life. Just the natural beauty of the wilderness around us and being one with nature help our minds immensely. Let us together work towards sustaining our ecosystem for us and future generations to come.