the world of living

7/29/2019 The World of Living

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The world of living

Chapter 7: The conservation of forest and wildlife

What children know??

1. How animals adapt according to the environment/climate?2. Why forests are crucial?

WHOM TO CONSERVE AND WHY.

Imagine you woke up one day to find there were no more elephants left in this

world.

As we look around we can find that we are sharing this planet with a lot of other

organism from the tiniest bacteria to the blue whale. But now our planet is facing a big

problem, problem of extinction of species of flora [plants] and fauna [animals]. So we

have to think about certain issues in the classroom. To motivate the children you can

begin with the questions given below:

Is the world a safe place for all animals and plants? Why or why not?

What does it mean for a species to be endangered?

What, if anything, do you know about this topic?

What animal or plant species do you know of that are endangered or extinct?

Accept all reasonable answers in an effort to create a broad-ranged and free-

flowing discussion of students' ideas and feelings about these ongoing, global

dilemma/issues.

The main objective of this chapter is to draw the attention of the children

towards the need of conservation of animals and forests. They should be able to think

that how cutting of trees in an uncontrolled manner going to affect us, our ecosystem

and the wildlife. And what are the steps has been taken out by our government to

conserve the endangered species.

So we will deal with these issues under this chapter.

1. Whom to conserve and why?

2. Reasons behind the extinction of forest as well as wildlife?

3.How are they inter related?

4. What our Government is doing to conserve them: sanctuaries, national parks

and biosphere reserve and laws.


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5. How can we help endangered species: plant as well as wildlife?

You can talk about how animals and trees are important in our life, directly and

indirectly. After having a discussion, you can tabulate them simultaneously on the blackboard. You can tell them that how tigers, ants and even vultures help in maintaining the

ecosystem balance. Then you can initiate the talk that what will happen if one day, the

specie of any particular animal vanishes from the earth.

After this you can talk them about the species which are vulnerable, endangered and

critically endangered and also which are extinct.

Extinct The last individual has

been died.

Dodo, dinosaurs

Critically endangered Extremely high risk of

extinction in the

immediate future

Mountain gorilla, arakan

forest turtle, Ethiopian

wolf.

Endangered Faces a very high risk of

extinction in the near

future.

Tiger, Indian rhinoceros,

orangutan, blue whale,

African wild dog, snow

leopard, giant panda.

Vulnerable Faces a high risk of

extinction in the medium-

term.

Polar bear, komodo dragon,

cheetah, lion, African

golden cat, sloth bear.

Now the question arises why they are all in danger. There are many reasons why a

particular species may become endangered. Although these factors can be analyzed and

grouped, there are many causes that appear repeatedly. Below are several factors

leading to endangerment:

Human Being: The biggest enemy

In todays world humans are mainly responsible for animals and plants becoming

extinct or endangered. Animals are killed not only for their meat, but also for their skin,

teeth, horns and claws. People use them to make jewellery and expensive leather and fur

coats. Some people even kill animals for sport. They collect animal horns and skin as

trophies and display them at their homes. Human are also destroying the homes of the


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animals by cutting down the trees and polluting the rivers and seas with poisonous

chemicals.

a. Hunting animals for different reasons.

b. Destroying the natural habitats (cutting enormous amount of trees) for

farming, housing, industries and houses.

c. Pollution: disturbing wildlife as well as polluting soil leads to droughts and

infertility of the soil.

Habitat destruction (hostile climate): Our planet is continually changing, causing

habitats to be altered and modified. Natural changes tend to occur at a gradual pace,

usually causing only a slight impact on individual species. However, when changes occur at

a fast pace, there is little or no time for individual species to react and adjust to new

circumstances. This can create disastrous results, and for this reason, rapid habitat loss

is the primary cause of species endangerment. The strongest forces in rapid habitat loss

are human beings. Nearly every region of the earth has been affected by human activity,

particularly during this past century. The loss of microbes in soils that formerly

supported tropical forests, the extinction of fish and various aquatic species in polluted

habitats, and changes in global climate brought about by the release of greenhousegases are all results of human activity.

It can be difficult for an individual to recognize the effects that humans have had

on specific species. It is hard to identify or predict human effects on individual species

and habitats, especially during a human lifetime. But it is quite apparent that human

activity has greatly contributed to species endangerment. For example, although tropical

forests may look as though they are lush, they are actually highly susceptible to

destruction. This is because the soils in which they grow are lacking in nutrients. It may

take Centuries to re-grow a forest that was cut down by humans or destroyed by fire,

and many of the world's severely threatened animals and plants live in these forests. If

the current rate of forest loss continues, huge quantities of plant and animal species will

disappear.

Alien invasion (exotic species): Native species are those plants and animals that

are part of a specific geographic area, and have ordinarily been a part of that particular

biological landscape for a lengthy period of time. They are well adapted to their local


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environment and are accustomed to the presence of other native species within the

same general habitat. Exotic species, however, are interlopers. These species are

introduced into new environments by way of human activities, either intentionally or

accidentally. These interlopers are viewed by the native species as foreign elements.

They may cause no obvious problems and may eventual be considered as natural as any

native species in the habitat. However, exotic species may also seriously disrupt delicate

ecological balances and may produce a plethora of unintended yet harmful consequences.

The worst of these unintended yet harmful consequences arise when introduced exotic

species put native species in jeopardy by preying on them. This can alter the natural

habitat and can cause a greater competition for food. Species have been biologically

introduced to environments all over the world, and the most destructive effects have

occurred on islands. Introduced insects, rats, pigs, cats, and other foreign species have

actually caused the endangerment and extinction of hundreds of species during the past

five centuries. Exotic species are certainly a factor leading to endangerment.

Over exploitation: A species that faces overexploitation is one that may become

severely endangered or even extinct due to the rate in which the species is being used.

Unrestricted whaling during the 20th

century is an example of overexploitation, and thewhaling industry brought many species of whales to extremely low population sizes. Due

to this moratorium, some whale species, such as the grey whale, have made remarkable

comebacks, while others remain threatened or endangered.

Due to the trade in animal parts, many species continue to suffer high rates of

exploitation. Even today, there are demands for items such as rhino horns and tiger

bones in several areas of Asia. It is here that there exists a strong market for

traditional medicines made from these animal parts.

More factors: Disease, pollution, and limited distribution are more factors that

threaten various plant and animal species. If a species does not have the natural genetic

protection against particular pathogens, an introduced disease can have severe effects

on that specie. For example, rabies and canine distemper viruses are presently

destroying carnivore populations in East Africa. Domestic animals often transmit the

diseases that affect wild populations, demonstrating again how human activities lie at

the root of most causes of endangerment. Pollution has seriously affected multiple


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terrestrial and aquatic species, and limited distributions are frequently a consequence

of other threats; populations confined to few small areas due to of habitat loss, for

example, may be disastrously affected by random factors.

DISEASE

By our definition, diseases occur naturally. We are not talking about diseases that

animals get because of pesticides or pollution. It is a part of nature that animals get

diseases. But sometimes humans introduce diseases and problems into a species. The

most publicized example is DDT. An insecticide that was used all over the U.S., it was

found in water & soil and eventually worked its way up the food chain from small water

feeders to the fish who ate the plant life in the water and the animals and humans who

ate the fish! When DDT was left into the water it eventually broke down and became

DDE. These toxic substances (along with others like PCB's) caused eagles and peregrine

falcons to produce eggs that had shells so thin that they broke just from the mother

sitting on them.

How animals and plants interrelated?

Forest and animals are dependent on each other. And extinction of any one is

affecting other. Tropical Rainforests presently give a place to call home for 50% - 90%

of all organisms that can live no place but the rich rainforests (World Rainforest

Movement 16). Not only are other species at risk, but the human race also benefits

from what the trees give. The forests give life, not only to other species, but they help

to prolong the human race.

The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it.

Trees improve the quality of the air that species breathe by trapping carbon and other

particles produced by pollution. Trees determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere.

As more water gets put back in the atmosphere, clouds form and provide another way

to block out the suns heat. Trees are what cool and regulates the earths climate in

conjunction with other such valuable services as preventing erosion, landslides, and

making the most infertile soil rich with life.

Deforestation or cutting the trees is causing a loss of biological diversity on an

unprecedented scale. Although tropical forests cover only six percent of Earths land

surface, they happen to contain between 70% and 90% of all of the worlds species
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(Myers, 12). As a result of deforestation, we are losing between 50 and 100 animal and

plant species each day (Myers 12). Inevitably, the loss of species entails a loss of

genetic resources. Many of these species now facing the possibility of extinction, are of

enormous potential to humans in many areas especially medicine.

Why to conserve species?

Under this topic you can discuss with children that why we should conserve

these species.

Plants and animals hold medicinal, agricultural, ecological, commercial and

aesthetic/recreational value. Endangered species must be protected and saved so that

future generations can experience their presence and value.

Medicinal: Plants and animals are responsible for a variety of useful medications. In

fact, about forty percent of all prescriptions written today are composed from the

natural compounds of different species.. Unfortunately, only 5% of known plant species

have been screened for their medicinal values, although we continue to lose up to 100

species daily.

Agricultural: There are an estimated 80,000 edible plants in the world. Humans depend

upon only 20 species of these plants, such as wheat and corn, to provide 90% of the

world's food. Wild relatives of these common crops contain essential disease-resistant

material. They also provide humans with the means to develop new crops that can grow in

inadequate lands such as in poor soils or drought-stricken areas to help solve the world

hunger problem.

Ecological: Plant and animal species are the foundation of healthy ecosystems. Humans

depend on ecosystems such as coastal areas, grasslands, and ancient forests to purify

their air, clean their water, and supply them with food. When species become

endangered, it is an indicator that the health of these vital ecosystems is beginning to

unravel. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that losing one plant species can

trigger the loss of up to 30 other insect, plant and higher animal species.

The northern spotted owl, listed as threatened in 1990, is an indicator of the declining

health of the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest. These forests are the home to


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over 100 other old-growth dependent species, which are at risk due to decades of

unsustainable forest management practices. Pollution off the coast of Florida is killing

the coral reefs along the Florida Keys, which serve as habitat for hundreds of species of

fish.

Erosion

The abundance of the worlds tropical forests is somewhat misleading. Although these

forests assume to be lush and full, the underlying soils are very poor, almost all the

nutrients being bound up in the vegetation. The problem is that once forests have been

cut down, essential nutrients are washed out of the soil all-together. This leads to soil

erosion. As of now, about 80% of the soils in the humid tropics are acidic and infertile

(Dudley 21). When there are no trees to keep the soil in place, the soil becomes ready

for erosion. Once the soil temperature exceeds 25 degrees centigrade, volatile nutrient

ingredients like nitrogen can be lost, further reducing the fertility of the remaining soil

(Myers 14). Furthermore, rainfall washes remaining nutrients into rivers. This means

that replanting trees will not necessarily help to solve the problems of deforestation; by

the time the trees have matured, the soil might be completely stripped of essential

nutrients. Eventually, cultivation in the forest regions will be impossible, and the land willbe useless. The soil erosion will lead to permanent impoverishment of huge land areas.

Flooding

Flooding is a quite serious consequence of deforestation. Clearing the forest

dramatically increases the surface run-off from rainfall, mainly because a greater

proportion of the rain reaches the ground due to a lack of vegetation which would suck

up the excess rainfall. In tropical regions where the forests are dense, flooding is not as

serious a problem because there is vegetation to absorb the rainfall.

How can we help??

Steps taken by government to conserve the endangered species:

1. Biosphere reserves: Biosphere reserves are areas of earthly and coastal

ecosystems promoting solutions to merge the conservation of biodiversity with


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its sustainable use. Biosphere reserves serve in some ways as 'living

laboratories' for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land,

water and biodiversity.

Each biosphere reserve is intended to fulfill 3 basic functions, which are

complementary and mutually reinforcing:

1 A. Conservation function - to contribute to the conservation of landscapes,

ecosystems, species and genetic variation;

B. Development functions - to foster economic and human development which is

socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;

2 C. Logistic function - to provide support for research, monitoring, education and

information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and

development.

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