Wild Life Conservation

Earth is Not Only for ‘US’

Nagurvali, EswarManas, Amuruta Varshi,

Gowtham, Venkata Krishna and Manoradh
worked on it.
INDEX
 Wildlife conservation
•The process of safeguarding wild species and their
habitats in order to sustain healthy wildlife species or
populations and to restore, conserve, or enhance natural
ecosystems is referred to as wildlife conservation.
Habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation,
overexploitation, poaching, pollution, and climate
change are all major hazards to wildlife.
•The International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 27,000 of
the species examined are endangered. A
UN report on biodiversity published in
2019 increased this estimate to a million
species when it included all existing
species. It is also recognised that a growing
number of habitats on Earth that contain
endangered species are disappearing.
National and international government
attempts to conserve Earth's wildlife have
been made in response to these concerns.
 •The 1973 Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) and the 1992 Convention on Biological
Diversity are two of the most significant
conservation agreements (CBD). [1][2] The
Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and
Conservation International are just a few
examples of nongovernmental organizations
(NGO's) that are dedicated to conservation.

World Wildlife Day

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
decided on December 20, 2013, at its 68th
session, to declare March 3 as World Wildlife
Day, commemorating the adoption of the
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) on the planet in 1973 to raise awareness
and benefit fauna and flora. Thailand proposed
the event to honour and increase awareness of
the world's wild wildlife and plants.
 Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

•The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 was

enacted by the Indian Parliament to conserve
plant and animal species. India had only five
recognised national parks before to 1972. The
Act, among other things, created schedules for
protected plant and animal species, making
hunting and harvesting of these species mainly
illegal. The Act protects wild animals, birds,
and plants, as well as matters related to,
ancillary to, or incidental to their preservation.
It covers the entire country of India.It is divided
into six schedules, each of which provides
increasing levels of protection. Schedule I and
part II of Schedule II guarantee absolute
protection, with the most severe punishments
stipulated for offences committed under these
sections. Schedule III and IV species are
likewise protected, but the penalties are less
severe
 are likewise protected, but the consequences
are far less severe. Schedule V animals, such as
common crows, fruit bats, rats, and mice, are
legally deemed vermin and may be hunted
without restriction. Cultivation and planting of
the indigenous plants listed in Schedule VI is
forbidden. Under this Schedule, the
Enforcement authorities have the authority to
compound offences (i.e. they impose fines on
the offenders). There have been 16 convictions
under this statute linked to the death of tigers as
of April 2010.

•In 1972, the Indian Parliament passed the

"Wild Life (Protection) Act" to protect animals,
birds, and plants, as well as topics related to
them.
 Threats to wildlife
Habitat
destruction
•The number of areas in which wildlife can
reside is reduced as habitats are destroyed.
Habitat fragmentation divides big wildlife
populations into multiple smaller ones by
severing a continuous swath of habitat. [3]
Species reductions and extinctions are largely
driven by habitat loss and fragmentation caused
by humans. Deforestation, agricultural
expansion, and urbanisation are all examples of
habitat loss brought on by humans. Habitat
degradation and fragmentation can make
wildlife populations more vulnerable by limiting
the amount of space and resources available to
them and raising the risk of human conflict.
Furthermore, habitat fragmentation and
degradation reduce habitat size. Smaller
ecosystems sustain smaller populations, which
are more prone to extinction.
 Overexploitation

• Overexploitation occurs when animals

and plants are harvested at a rate that
exceeds the species' ability to
recuperate. Overexploitation can affect
a variety of animals, including
mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles,
and plants, and is commonly related
with overfishing.  Overexploitation
poses the risk that if too many
individuals of a species are taken, the
species will perish. Overfishing of top
marine predatory fish like tuna and
salmon, for example, has resulted in a
fall in both fish size and population
during the last century. Confiscated
animal pelts from the illegal wildlife
 Conservation genetics
•Conservation genetics is the study of genetic
phenomena that influence a species' survival.
Although most conservation efforts are geared
around assuring population growth, genetic
diversity has a significant impact on species
survival. High genetic variety improves survival
by allowing individuals to adjust to future
environmental changes. Meanwhile, impacts
linked with low genetic variety, such as
inbreeding depression and loss of diversity due
to genetic drift, might reduce a species' ability
to adapt or increase the frequency of genetic
disorders, limiting its chances of survival.
Certain species are endangered due to a lack of
genetic diversity, albeit this isn't always the
case. As a result, restoring their genetic variety
would be the ideal conservation strategy.
 Florida panther

•The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) is a subspecies

of puma that lives in the state of Florida and is currently
endangered. Historically, the range of the Florida panther
included the whole southeastern United States. Only a
single population of 20-25 individuals remained in the
early 1990s. The population had very little genetic
diversity, was heavily inbred, and had a variety of genetic
problems such as kinked tails, heart abnormalities, and
low fecundity. In 1995, the Florida population was
introduced to eight female Texas pumas. By transferring
genes from a second, unrelated puma population, the
intention was to boost genetic diversity. By 2007, the
Florida panther population had tripled, and children from
people from both Florida and Texas had higher fertility and
fewer genetic issues. The United States Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) published a report in 2015 that According
to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service, there were 230
adult Florida panthers in 2017, with indicators that the
population's territory was growing within the state.
 Conservation methods
Wildlife population monitoring
•Wildlife population monitoring is an important
aspect of conservation because it allows
managers to collect information about the status
of threatened species and assess the success of
management techniques. Monitoring can be
done on a local, regional, or range-wide scale,
and it can involve one or many people. Although
many other metrics may be employed,
population numbers, regional dispersion, and
genetic diversity are routinely acquired during
monitoring.The methods of monitoring can be
classified as "direct" or "indirect." Direct
methods rely on seeing or hearing the creatures
directly, whereas indirect methods rely on
"signs" indicating the presence of the animals.
Direct observation, mark-recapture, transects,
and variable plot surveys are all common direct
monitoring strategies for terrestrial animals.
Track stations, faecal counts, food removal, and
open or closed techniques are examples of
indirect approaches.
•Burrow counts, runaway counts, knockout cards,
snow tracks, and answers to audio calls are all
examples of closed burrow-opening counts.For big
terrestrial animals, a frequent way for population
estimation is to employ video traps in conjunction
with mark-recapture procedures. Tigers, black
bears, and a variety of other animals have all been
successfully trained using this method. Sound,
infrared sensors, and other devices can be used to
trigger trail cameras remotely and automatically. To
automate such sight-resight calculations, computer
vision-based animal individual re-identification
algorithms have been created. Genetic data from
non-invasive hair or faeces samples is also
employed with mark-recapture procedures. To get
a more complete picture of population viability,
such data can be evaluated alone or in conjunction
with photographic approaches. Burrow counts,
runaway counts, knockdown cards, snow tracks, or
responses to closed burrow-opening counts,
burrow counts, runaway counts, knockdown cards,
snow tracks, or responses .
•For big terrestrial animals, a frequent way for
population estimation is to employ video traps in
conjunction with mark-recapture procedures.
Tigers, black bears, and a variety of other
animals have all been successfully trained using
this method. Sound, infrared sensors, and other
devices can be used to trigger trail cameras
remotely and automatically. To automate such
sight-resight calculations, computer vision-based
animal individual re-identification algorithms
have been created. Genetic data from non-
invasive hair or faeces samples is also employed
with mark-recapture procedures. To get a more
complete picture of population viability, such
data can be evaluated alone or in conjunction
with photographic approaches.
 Government involvement
•The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was
created in the United States to safeguard
species that were designated endangered. The
country was losing species that were
scientifically, culturally, and educationally
significant at the time. The Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of
Fauna and Flora (CITES) was passed in the
same year as part of an international
agreement to stop the global trade in
endangered species. The IUCN produced the
World Conservation Strategy in 1980 with
assistance from the United Nations
Environmental Programme, World Wildlife
Fund, United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization, and UNESCO. Its goal was to
encourage the preservation of vital living
resources for people. The Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed in 1992 at
the United Nations.
•The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (also known
as the Rio Earth Summit) is an international
agreement that aims to safeguard the Earth's
biological diversity and resources. According
to the National Wildlife Federation, the
majority of funding for wildlife conservation in
the United States comes from federal budget
appropriations, annual federal and state
grants, and financial contributions from
programmes like the Conservation Reserve
Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, and
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. The sale
of hunting/fishing permits, game tags, stamps,
and excise taxes on the purchase of hunting
equipment and ammunition provide a
significant amount of funding.
Non-government involvement
•People began supporting private sector conservation
activities, which included various non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), in the late 1980s, as the public
became disillusioned with government environmental
conservation efforts. In 1979 and 1986, the US Congress
amended the Foreign Assistance Act to "earmark US
Agency for International Development (USAID) monies for
[biodiversity]" in response to this increase in assistance for
NGOs. Environmental conservation NGOs have become
increasingly focused on the political and economic
implications of USAID grants disbursed for environmental
and natural resource preservation since 1990. Following
the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the start of former President
George W. Bush's War on Terror, maintaining and
strengthening the environment's quality and natural
resources became a "priority" to "avoid international
tensions," according to the Section 117 of the 1961 Foreign
Assistance Act and the Foreign Relations Legislation
Through 2002 Section 117 of the 1961 Foreign Assistance
Act and the Foreign Relations Legislation Through 2002