Habitat Destruction

Today, where fewer and fewer people are aware of

the consequences of their actions have on habitats
and species around the world, the number of
endangered species at the risk of extinction is rapidly
increasing. There are many reasons why habitat
destruction is taking placing, the main ones being
clearing out space for farmland, agricultural land, harvesting natural resource and climate change.
 Clearing out area for agriculture is a large factor due to the never-ending demand for food items such
as dairy products, meats (especially beef) and resource demanding foods such as avocados and soy all
require land resulting in illegal deforestation. A large % of current available land is already agricultural
and this land is normally illegally obtained by destroying habitats to make room for crops. A
prominent example is the amazon rainforest where it is being harvested to make way for crops,
especially avocadoes and soy. The worst part is that substantial amounts of this land isn't being
chopped down, instead it is being burnt down which normally gets out of control, destroying more
land than was needed/intended. There are few ways to prevent this as you can't starve a nation
deliberately, it is extremely unlikely that a whole nation would willingly go vegan and if they do what
will happen to the existing animals, farms and land? The most viable option is to tax the meats and
foods with a high impact on habitats so people would be persuaded to eat less of those foods
however it is uncertain of how effective this will be. In the long term we should look to try produce a
vegan equivalent to these instead so people would happily eat these substitutes instead of the
environmentally draining equivalent.

 Natural Resources is also a large factor as many companies over harvest wood, natural resources in
the ground and many people are forced to make a living off illegally harvesting resources, especially
the amazon rainforest which contains a lot of quality wood which can be sold for a higher price.
However, this takes a toll on the environment as many habitats are destroyed in the process. This
problem’s origin is elsewhere: unemployment rates are rising in developing countries, forcing people
 to find work elsewhere. Unfortunately, these people are normally forced into criminal activities such
as illegal deforestation. The short-term fix could be to deploy police officers all over the worst
affected areas, however this is extremely unpractical as these areas can be millions of acres large
meaning that it would cost most to fund these projects than it would be to just pay these offending
citizens what they would get from crimes otherwise. In the long run we should look to improving
these affected areas with high rates of unemployment and provide more employment opportunities
in these developing countries, again easier said than done however this is more promising than losing
hundreds of acres full of endangered species.

 Climate Change and Global Warming is also a large factor in the destruction of habitats. This can be in
areas where it becomes too hot/cold for animals to thrive, but this is mainly related to the melting of
ice caps. Over 5,500 species live in the ice caps and these are constantly becoming increasingly at risk
as greenhouse gases are constantly on the rise as not only fossil fuels are being burnt but also farm
animal release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This induces global warming, causing ice caps
to melt. Not only this destroys many habitats, but it also allows methane trapped under ice sheets to
escape, accelerating climate change even more. Nation meetings such as COP26 will help to prevent
this as countries introduce restrictions on fossil fuels however these meeting normally will prove
ineffective as sometimes the worst offenders are not even present or will not agree to restraining
rules (normally with good reason). In the long run we need to take larger steps towards reducing
national emissions for example by limiting cattle consumption, reducing vehicles on the roads, and
reducing fossil fuel usage. However, this still will not be enough unless it is a global effort to fix a
global problem, and this is worrying with many countries refusing to adhere to the needed changes as
these rules imposed prevents them from doing stuff which is a necessity for them to do and is
something which they can't easily get change of and hence continue to release greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere.
In conclusion, this is an international problem with thousands of species on the verge of extinction
and it is up to us to save them. Change is needed immediately and I fear that by the time all the
needed changes are put in action (if they even will be) it will be too late as by them many species will
have been wiped off the face of the earth.