Wildlife Conservation Efforts Really Do Work - Faunalytics (2024)
Summary By: Sara Streeter | Original Study By: Bolam F.C., Mair L., Angelico M., et al. (2021) | Published: June 29, 2021
It’s always hard to measure something that hasn’t happened, such as the success of preventative efforts. In this case, experts agree that conservation efforts are preventing wildlife extinctions.
Across the globe, wildlife is under increasing threat. Humanity is expanding its footprint into ever more remote regions. We are destroying habitats, polluting land, air, and water, overfishing, and hunting animals past the point of no return. To counter this looming catastrophe, in 1992, 150 government leaders signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This multi-lateral treaty was designed to promote global sustainable development.
To enhance their efforts, CBD signatories created the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This 2010 document established 20 targets to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and promote ecosystem conservation. In this study, researchers focus on Target 12, which states that, “By 2020, the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.”
To see how close we’ve come to meeting this target, researchers used the Delphi method to quantify the number of bird and mammal species saved from extinction. The Delphi Method uses opinions from a group of experts to answer a question. During the process, the experts learn what others in the group have to say. They then revise and refine their own opinions until they reach a conclusion. For this investigation, researchers surveyed experts regarding the effects of conservation efforts on a select set of bird and mammal species for the periods 1993 – 2020 and 2010-2020. (These periods corresponded to the life of the CBD and Aichi Target 12, respectively.)
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species was used to identify candidate species for the study. To be included, a species had to be near extinction and be the subject of conservation actions that could avert that extinction. A total of 39 bird and 21 mammal species were part of the final analysis for the 1993-2020 period. Another 23 bird and 17 mammal species were included for 2010-2020. Results indicated that 21-32 bird and 7-16 mammal species were saved from extinction after 1993. From 2010 forward, these figures were 9-18 bird and 2-7 mammal species. Given that 10 bird and five mammal species did go extinct after 1993, extinction rates were between a quarter and a third of what they would have been absent conservation activities.
Wild animals go extinct for a variety of reasons. For the birds in this study, the primary threats were invasive species, followed by habitat loss from agriculture and aquaculture, and hunting. The same threats applied to the mammal species in the study, but in reverse order. Conservation efforts for birds included invasive species control, in situ conservation, and area protection. For mammals, actions included legislation, reintroduction, and in situ conservation.
The message here for animal advocates is a hopeful one. This study not only quantifies the impact of conservation efforts but identifies the most effective conservation activities. These results can help us to secure funding and to focus future efforts, knowing that the science says we are making a difference.
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In its first 50 years, the ESA has been credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction thanks to the collaborative actions of federal agencies, state, local and Tribal governments, conservation organizations and private citizens. Here are some of the notable successes.
The meta-analysis found that conservation actions—including the establishment and management of protected areas, the eradication and control of invasive species, the sustainable management of ecosystems, habitat loss reduction, and restoration—improved the state of biodiversity or slowed its decline in most cases (66%) ...
The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure the wise use and management of renewable resources without wasting them. Preservation saves natural resources with no consumptive use of them. Both are necessary to sustain resources for future generations.
Regulated hunting is one of the most effective tools that state wildlife agencies can use to address the overpopulation of a species, Peterson said. “It removes the excess number of animals.”
Conservation helps to ensure we not only save species from destruction. but help preserve the environment we ourselves live in. The cons are that we have limited resources. Also it can be hard to choose where to focus our efforts.
Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting animal species and their habitats. It is achieved partially through legislation such as the Endangered Species Act, the establishment and protection of public lands, and responsible public practices that conserve wild animal populations.
Climate Change: The most significant challenge, climate change, impacts all aspects of conservation. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and altered precipitation patterns threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being.
Conservation efforts are more effective when there are multiple groups involved in the management of the natural resources as this limits the influence others can have on the conservation.
By conserving wildlife, we're ensuring that future generations can enjoy our natural world and the incredible species that live within it. To help protect wildlife, it's important to understand how species interact within their ecosystems, and how they're affected by environmental and human influences.
Wildlife conservation efforts focused on protecting vulnerable species and preserving their habitats can help ensure their survival and maintain ecosystem balance. This, in turn, benefits humans by safeguarding the essential ecosystem services that these species provide.
Conservation is the careful maintenance and upkeep of a natural resource to prevent it from disappearing. A natural resource is the physical supply of something that exists in nature, such as soil, water, air, plants, animals, and energy.
World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people.
In the U.S., conservation is implemented by many entities, including federal, state and local agencies, private landowners, businesses and non-profits. Taken as a whole, the non-hunting public contributes far more financially than hunters and anglers to conservation activities undertaken collectively by these entities.
Hunting is an important management tool. For many wildlife species, hunting helps to maintain populations at levels compatible with human activity, land use, and available habitat. For example, hunting helps limit deer browse in agricultural areas and deer-car collisions.
The answer to such a question is yes and no. If hunters do what they do in moderation, they provide significant benefits to their ecosystems by participating in the food chain. However, overhunting can have irreparable consequences that destroy the balance of the world.
Advocating for increased funding for federal and state conservation programs that benefit endangered species. Protecting, restoring, and connecting the habitats on which endangered species and other wildlife depend for their survival, and encouraging wildlife-friendly land management practices.
Efforts to conserve species have resulted in saving at least 48 mammals and birds from extinction since the early 1990s. The rates of extinction would have been three or four times higher if actions like captive breeding hadn't been taken, according to a recent study in Conservation Letters.
The Endangered Species Program administers the Endangered Species Act. The program aims to enable the recovery of species on the Endangered Species List and to prevent more species from being added to the list through proactive conservation efforts.
Biodiversity protection requires money. But conservation groups often struggle to find reliable sources of funding that can ensure long-term success of their conservation initiatives.
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