Wildlife Conservation and Management

Wildlife conservation aims to halt the loss in the earths biodiversity by taking into consideration ecological principles such as carrying capacity, disturbance and succession and environmental conditions such as physical geography, pedology and hydrology with the aim of balancing the needs of wildlife with the needs of people.. Most wildlife is concerned with the preservation and improvement of habitats though increasingly reinstatement is being used. Techniques can include reforestation, pest control, nitrification and denitrification, irrigation, coppicing and hedge laying.
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting endangered plant and animal speciesand their habitats. Among the goals of wildlife conservation are to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and to recognize the importance of wildlife andwilderness lands to humans.[1] Many nations have government agencies dedicated to wildlife conservation, which help to implement policies designed to protect wildlife. Numerous independent nonprofit organizations also promote various wildlife conservation causes.[2] Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human activity on wildlife. The science of conservation biology plays a part in wildlife conservation. The ethic of conservation, in addition to lobbying by conservationists, has made it an important environmental issue.

Endangered Species
Endangered species in India comprise large varieties of rare species of wild animals, aquatic animals and insects. Indian wildlife consists of numerous species of birds, mammals, reptiles etc., and is well known for comprising one of the richest varieties in the world. The Indian wildlife also contains several endangered species that are living critically on the verge of extinction. An endangered species is defined as a population of a living being that is at the danger of becoming extinct because of several reasons. Either they are few in number or are threatened by the varying environmental or predation parameters. The endangered species in India have been identified by different national and international organisations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Statistics of endangered species in India As per the official records, in India, there are over 130000 endangered animal species, although some experts believe that the number may be even more than the projected figures. However, some claim that the number is actually much more. The number of endangered species in India

accounts for around 8.86 % of the worlds mammals. The mammals are extended over 186 genera, 45 families and 13 orders out of which around 89 species are listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN 2006). Types of endangered species in India The endangered species in India have been divided into 4 main categories

Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU) and Threatened.

This classification was done by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII), in the year 2004. The population of the endangered species has been decreasing every passing minute. Critically endangered species in India Among the endangered species in India, one of the most critically endangered one is the Siberian Tiger. This is a rare subspecies of tiger and they are an endangered species in India. The Asian Elephants found in India have also become the victims to the ever famous ivory poaching. However, the main cause behind their demur is considered to be the loss of habitat. Another endangered species in India is one of the big cats, the Golden Leopard with black marks. The number of this species has been reduced to as low as 14,000, in India. The main reasons behind the decline of Leopard population in India have been the loss of habitat and also human population pressure on wildlife reserves in India. These reasons are also a matter of great concern for the other endangered species in India. The major reason behind the habitat loss is the spread of agriculture. The Royal Bengal Tigers were also extensively being captured for pet trade, zoos and research, as well as for use in Oriental medicine, in the past. Further, the Critically Endangered species in India, as identified by the IUCN and WII, include the Jenkins Shrew, Malabar Large-spotted Civet, Namdapha Flying Squirrel, Pygmy Hog, Salim Ali`s Fruit Bats, Snow Leopard, Sumatran Rhinoceros, and the Wroughton`s Free-tailed Bat. The list of Endangered species in India include the Asiatic Lion, Asiatic Black Bear, Desert Cat, Great Indian Rhinoceros, Hispid Hare, Hoolock Gibbon, Kashmir Stag, Lion-Tailed Macaque, Markhor, Nayan Ovis, Nilgiri Leaf Monkey, Andaman Shrew, Andaman Spiny Shrew, Indian Elephant or Asian Elephant, Banteng, Blue Whale, Capped Leaf Monkey, Chiru, Fin Whale, Ganges River Dolphin, Golden Leaf Monkey, Asian arowana, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Hoolock Gibbon, Indus River Dolphin, Kondana Soft-furred Rat, Lion-Tailed Macaque, Marsh Mongoose, Nicobar Tree Shrew, Nilgiri Tahr, Parti-coloured Flying Squirrel, Peter`s Tube-nosed Bat, Red Panda, Sei Whale, Servant Mouse, Tiger, Wild Water Buffalo, and the Woolly Flying Squirrel.

Major Threats to Wildlife

Major threats to wildlife can be categorized as below: Habitat loss: 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.

Climate change: Because many types of plants and animals have specific habitat requirements, climate change could cause disastrous loss of wildlife species. A slight insects are harmed and disturbed. Plants and wildlife are sensitive to moisture change so, they will be harmed by any change in moisture level.

Pesticides and toxic chemical: Widely used, making the environment toxic to certain plants, insects, and rodents.

Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching causes a major threat to wildlife. Along with this, mismanagement of forest department and forest guards triggers this problem.

Natural phenomena: Floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, forest fires.

Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms. Over-exploitation of resources: Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example). Accidental deaths: Car collisions, air collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales), etc.

North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is considered to be one the most successful conservation models in world.[citation needed] It has its origins in 19th century conservation movements, the near extinction of several species of wildlife (including the American Bison) and the rise of sportsmen with the middle class.[3][4] Beginning in the 1860s sportsmen began to organize and advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas and wildlife. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation rests on two basic principles fish and wildlife are for the non-commercial use of citizens, and should be managed such that they are available at optimum population levels forever. These core principles are elaborated upon in the seven major tenets of the model. Public trust doctrine

In the North American Model, wildlife is held in the public trust. This means that fish and wildlife are held by the public through state and federal governments. In other words, though an individual may own the land up which wildlife resides, that individual does not own said wildlife. Instead, the wildlife is owned by all citizens. With origins in Roman times and English Common law, the public trust doctrine has at its heart the 1842 Supreme Court ruling Martin V. Waddell.[4]
[5]

Non-frivolous use Under the North American Model, the killing of game must be done only for food, fur, selfdefense, and the protection of property (including livestock). In other words, it is broadly regarded as unlawful and unethical to kill fish or wildlife (even with a license) without making all reasonable effort to retrieve and make reasonable use of the resource.[6][7] Wildlife as an international resource As wildlife do exist only within fixed political boundaries, effective management of these resources must be done internationally, through treaties and the cooperation of management agencies

Government Involvement
The Wildlife Conservation Act was enacted by the Government of India in 1972. Soon after the trend of policy makers enacting regulations on conservation a strategy was developed to allow actors, both government and non-government, to follow a detailed "framework" to successful conservation. 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 Programme (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)"[8] The strategy aims to "provide an intellectual framework and practical guidance for conservation actions."[8] This thorough guidebook covers everything from the intended "users" of the strategy to its very priorities and even a map section containing areas that have large seafood consumption therefore endangering the area to over fishing. The main sections are as follows:

The objectives of conservation and requirements for their achievement: 1. 2. 3. Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life-support systems. Preservation of genetic diversity. Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.

Priorities for national action: 1. 2. 3. A framework for national and subnational conservation strategies. Policy making and the integration of conservation and development. Environmental planning and rational use allocation.

Priorities for international action: 1. 2. 3. International action: law and assistance. Tropical forests and drylands. A global programme for the protection of genetic resource areas.

Map sections: 1. 2. Tropical forests Deserts and areas subject to desertification.

Non-government Involvement
As major development agencies became discouraged with the public sector of environmental conservation in the late 1980s, these agencies began to lean their support towards the private sector or non-government organizations (NGOs).[9] In a World Bank Discussion Paper it is made apparent that the explosive emergence of nongovernmental organizations was widely known to government policy makers. Seeing this rise in NGO support, the U.S. Congress made amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act in 1979 and 1986 earmarking U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds for biodiversity.[9] From 1990 moving through recent years environmental conservation in the NGO sector has become increasingly more focused on the political and economic impact of USAID given towards the Environment and Natural Resources.[10] After the terror attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001 and the start of former President Bushs War on Terror, maintaining and improving the quality of the environment and natural resources became a priority to prevent international tensions according to the Legislation on Foreign Relations Through 2002 [10] and section 117 of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act.[10] Furthermore in 2002 U.S. Congress modified the section on endangered species of the previously amended Foreign Assistance Act.
Sec. 119.100 Endangered Species: (a) The Congress finds the survival of many animals and plant species is endangered by over hunting, by the presence of toxic chemicals in water, air and soil, and by the destruction of habitats. The

Congress further finds that the extinction of animal and plant species is an irreparable loss with potentially serious environmental and economic consequences for developing and developed countries alike. Accordingly, the preservation of animal and plant species through the regulation of the hunting and trade in endangered species, through limitations on the pollution of natural ecosystems, and through the protection of wildlife habitats should be an important objective of the United States development assistance. (b) 100 In order to preserve biological diversity, the President is authorized to furnish assistance under this part, notwithstanding section 660,101 to assist countries in protecting and maintaining wildlife habitats and in developing sound wildlife management and plant conservation programs. Special efforts should be made to establish and maintain wildlife sanctuaries, reserves, and parks; to enact and enforce anti-poaching measures; and to identify, study, and catalog animal and plant species, especially in tropical environments.[10]

The amendments to the section also included modifications on the section concerning "PVOs and other Nongovernmental Organizations."[10] The section requires that PVOs and NGOs "to the fullest extent possible involve local people with all stages of design and implementation."[10] These amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act and the recent[when?] rise in USAID funding towards foreign environmental conservation have led to several disagreements in terms of NGOs' role in foreign development.

Active Non-government organizations

Many NGOs exist to actively promote, or be involved with wildlife conservation: The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.[11]

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 90 countries, supporting around 1300[4] conservation and environmental projects around the world. It is a charity, with approximately 60% of its funding coming from voluntary donations by private individuals. 45% of the fund's income comes from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.[12]

Wildlife Conservation Society Audubon Society

Traffic (conservation programme) Safari Club International

Wildlife conservation is the science of analyzing and protecting the Earths biological diversity, which is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity on the Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species. Wildlife conservation is the process of individuals and organization to protect and preserves these species through conservation education, preservation of habitat and management of fish and wildlife. There are many wildlife conservation societies and organizations that work tirelessly to save wild lands and wildlife through international conservation and education. These groups strive to change attitudes toward nature and to protect natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species. They also work to promote more efficient use of the Earths resources and energy to reduce pollution. Environmental preservation, mainly within the United States, is the strict setting aside of natural resources to prevent damage caused by contact with humans or by human activities, such as logging, mining, hunting and fishing. This differs somewhat from conservation in that conservation allows for some degree of industrial development, within sustainable limits. In other parts of the world, preservation and conservation are often used interchangeably. Human influence over the Earths ecosystems has been so extensive within the last 10,000 years that scientists have difficulty estimating the total number of species lost in this era. The rates of deforestation, reef destruction, wetlands filling and other human acts are proceeding much faster than human assessment of the Earth's species. The matter of ongoing species loss is made more complex by the fact that most of the Earth's species have not been described or evaluated for endangerment. Overpopulation of humans on the Earth has been the main threat. With overpopulation comes mass agriculture, deforestation, overgrazing, slash and burn urban development, pesticide use and global warming. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is few in numbers and/or is threatened by changing environment. Many countries have laws offering protection to these species. Wildlife conservation societies can be local, regional, national or global. They can be private or government run and almost every country across the world has its share of environmental activism. Wildlife environmentalists fall into three different groups: Dark, Light and Bright Greens. Light Greens see protecting the environment as a personal responsibility. They do not seek fundamental political reform, but instead focus on environmentalism as a lifestyle choice. In contrast, Dark Greens believe that environmental problems are an inherent part of industrialized capitalism and they seek radical political change. Bright Greens, the most recent

group to develop, believe that radical changes are needed in the economic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better designs, new technologies and more widely distributed social innovations are the means to make those changes.

Wildlife Management

Wildlife management is a general term for the process of keeping wild species at desirable levels which are determined by the wildlife managers. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control. Wildlife management has become an integrated science using disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results.
Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control. Wildlife management has become an integrated science using disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results.[1] Wildlife conservation aims to halt the loss in the earths biodiversity[2][3] by taking into consideration ecological principles such ascarrying capacity, disturbance and succession and environmental conditions such as physical geography, pedology and hydrology with the aim of balancing the needs of wildlife with the needs of people.[4][5][6][7] Most wildlife biologists are concerned with the preservation and improvement of habitats although reinstatement is increasingly being used. Techniques can include reforestation, pest control,nitrification and denitrification, irrigation, coppicing and hedge laying. Game keeping is the management or control of wildlife for the well being of game and may include killing other animals which share the same niche or predators to maintain a high population of the more profitable species, such as pheasants introduced into woodland. In his 1933 book Game Management, Aldo Leopold, one of the pioneers of wildlife management as a science, defined it as "the art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreational use".

Pest control is the control of real or perceived pests and can be for the benefit of wildlife, farmers, game keepers or safety reasons. In the United States, wildlife management practices are often implemented by a governmental agency to uphold a law, such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Many wildlife managers are employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by state governments. In the United Kingdom, wildlife management undertaken by several organizations including government bodies such as the Forestry Commission, Charities such as the RSPB and The Wildlife Trusts and privately hired gamekeepers and contractors. Legislation has also been passed to protect wildlife such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The UK government also give farmers subsidiesthrough the Countryside Stewardship Scheme to improve the conservation value of their farms.

History
Although wildlife management in the U.S. did not emerge as a profession until the 1930s, there were some early attempts at management. The earliest game law dates back to 1839, when Rhode Island closed the hunting season for white-tailed deer from May to November.[8] Other regulations during this time focused primarily on restricting hunting. At this time, lawmakers did not consider population sizes or the need for preservation or restoration of wildlife habitats.[8] The profession of wildlife management was established in the United States in the 1920s and '30s by Aldo Leopold and others who sought to transcend the purely restrictive policies of the previous generation of conservationists, such as anti-hunting activist William T. Hornaday. Leopold and his close associate Herbert Stoddard, who had both been trained in scientific forestry, argued that modern science and technology could be used to restore and improve wildlife habitat and thus produce abundant "crops" of ducks, deer, and other valued wild animals. The institutional foundations of the profession of wildlife management were established in the 1930s, when Leopold was granted the first university professorship in wildlife management (1933, University of Wisconsin, Madison), when Leopold's textbook 'Game Management' was published (1933), when The Wildlife Society was founded, when the Journal of Wildlife Management began publishing, and when the first Cooperative Wildlife Research Units were established. Conservationists planned many projects throughout the 1940s. Some of which included the harvesting of female mammals such as deer to decrease rising populations. Others included waterfowl and wetland research. The Fish and Wildlife Management Act was put in place to urge farmers to plant food for wildlife and to provide cover for them. In 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act) was passed in the U.S.. This law was an important advancement in the field of wildlife

management. It placed a 10% tax on sales of guns and ammunition. The funds generated were then distributed to the states for use in wildlife management activities and research. This law is still in effect today. Wildlife management grew after World War II with the help of the GI Bill and a postwar boom in recreational hunting. An important step in wildlife management in the United States national parks occurred after several years of public controversy regarding the forced reduction of the elk population in Yellowstone National Park. In 1963, United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall appointed an advisory board to collect scientific data to inform future wildlife management. In a paper known as the Leopold Report, the committee observed that culling programs at other national parks had been ineffective, and recommended active management of Yellowstone's elk population.[9] Elk overpopulation in Yellowstone is thought by many wildlife biologists, such as Douglas Smith, to have been primarily caused by the extripation of wolves from the park and surrounding environs. After wolves were removed, elk herds increased in population, reaching new highs during the mid-1930s. The increased number of elk apparently resulted in overgrazing in parts of Yellowstone. Park officials decided that the elk herd should be managed. For approximately thirty years, the park elk herds were culled: Each year some were captured and shipped to other locations, a certain number were killed by park rangers, and hunters were allowed to take more elk that migrated outside the park. By the late 1960s the herd populations dropped to historic lows (less than 4,000 for the Northern Range herd). This caused outrage among both conservationists and hunters. The park service stopped culling elk in 1968. The elk population then rebounded. Twenty years later there were 19,000 elk in the Northern Range herd, an historic high. Since the tumultuous 1970s, when animal rights activists and environmentalists began to challenge some aspects of wildlife management, the profession has been overshadowed by the rise of conservation biology. Although wildlife managers remain central to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act and other wildlife conservation policies, conservation biologists have shifted the focus of conservation away from wildlife management's concern with the protection and restoration of single species and toward the maintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Types of wildlife management

There are two general types of wildlife management: Manipulative management acts on a population, either changing its numbers by direct means or influencing numbers by the indirect means of altering food supply, habitat, density of predators, or prevalence of disease. This is appropriate when a population is to be

harvested, or when it slides to an unacceptably low density or increases to an unacceptably high level. Such densities are inevitably the subjective view of the land owner, and may be disputed by animal welfare interests. Custodial management is preventive or protective. The aim is to minimize external influences on the population and its habitat. It is appropriate in a national park where one of the stated goals is to protect ecological processes. It is also appropriate for conservation of a threatened species where the threat is of external origin rather than being intrinsic to the system.

Opposition
'The control of wildlife through culling and hunting has been criticized by animal rights and animal welfare activists.[10] Critics object to the real or perceived cruelty involved in some forms of wildlife management. Environmentalists have also opposed hunting where they believe it is unnecessary or will negatively affect biodiversity.[11] Critics of game keeping note that habitat manipulation and predator control are often used to maintain artificially inflated populations of valuable game animals (including introduced exotics) without regard to the ecological integrity of the habitat. Game keepers in the UK claim it to be necessary for wildlife conservation as the amount of countryside they look after exceeds by a factor of nine the amount in nature reserves and national parks.

Management of hunting season

Wildlife management studies, research and lobbying by interest groups help designate times of the year when certain wildlife species can be legally hunted, allowing for surplus animals to be removed. In the United States, hunting season and bag limits are determined by guidelines set by the US Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for migratory game such as waterfowl and other migratory gamebirds. The hunting season and bag limits for state regulated game species such as deer are usually determined by State game Commissions, which are made up of representatives from various interest groups, wildlife biologists, and researchers. Open and closed season on deer in the UK is legislated for in the Deer Act 1991 and the Deer Act (Scotland) 1996

Open season
Open season is when wildlife is allowed to be hunted by law and is usually during the breeding season. Hunters may be restricted by sex, age or class of animal, for instance there may be an open season for any male deer with 4 points or better on at least one side.

Limited entry
Where the number of animals taken is to be tightly controlled, managers may have a type of lottery system called limited. Many apply, few are chosen. These hunts may still have age, sex or class restrictions.

Closed season
Closed season is when wildlife is protected from hunting and is usually during its breeding season. Closed season is enforced by law, any hunting during closed season is punishable by law and termed as illegal hunting or poaching.

Type of weapon used

In the wildlife management one of the conservation strategy is that the weapon used for hunting should be the one that cause the least damage to the individual and that it should be an advanced weapon so that it may not miss the target and may not hit another individual. This is very important if the trophy hunting is the case. Given State and Local laws, types of weapon can also vary depending on type, size, sex of game and also the geographical layout of that specific hunting area.