The current trend for sustainability highlights many environmental concerns, yet usually, they are limited to climate issues. At the same time, there is also a problem of endangered species, which is addressed thoroughly by many organizations, but rarely gets covered in media. Nevertheless, new approaches to saving species and preventing them from extinction successfully get implemented every year (Environmental science, n.d.). Moreover, since there is a significant variety of species that need to be saved, researchers and activists design different strategies for avoiding depopulation. Currently, the efforts in the spheres of avian, mammal, and marine conservation provide significant positive results.
Birds are extremely important for the maintenance of the planet’s ecosystem, and therefore the issue of avian conservation is approached comprehensively. One of the most common techniques for managing bird populations is building natural reserves. For instance, The Antisanilla Reserve is managed by the Ecuadorian environmental agencies and helped the country to maintain the population of the rare Andean Condors (“Reserves,” n.d.). Another major component of avian conservation is the work of native populations, which helps to protect communal lands and develop them further. For example, in the Vilcanota Mountains, which is home to the Royal Cinclodes, American Bird Conservancy worked with the local communities to plant more than 1 million trees (“Communities,” n.d.). Finally, habitat conservation is another essential element of bird conservation management which implies restoring lands to prevent habitat loss. In Peru, American Bird Conservancy sponsored a conservation corridor consisting of newly-planted trees which connected two protected areas and provided habitat for migratory birds (“Habitat restoration,” n.d.). Thus, the area of avian conservation has many effective techniques for saving endangered birds.
Mammal conservation is another vital area that environmentalists address through different initiatives and strategies. One of the key efforts in mammal conservation is targeted at the protection of habitats from invasive species. For instance, in California, the Channel Island foxes became nearly extinct due to the introduction of invasive feral pigs, which contributed to the increase in the population of golden eagles. The standard approach to invasive species is the removal of them from a protected area (Bowyer et al., 2019). Another issue is plant invasion, for instance, in the U.S., invasion of cheatgrass, which caused severe fires and destruction of sagebrush, used as forage by pygmy rabbits and sagebrush voles (Bowyer et al., 2019). In order to overcome the issue of invasive plants, environmental organizations remove such plants. Finally, the third common problem is the diseases, for instance, Tasmanian devils who often get cancer. To prevent such diseases, agencies vaccinate mammals and remove contagious animals from the rest of the packs (Bowyer et al., 2019). Mammal conservation efforts guarantee a better environment for the endangered species and the creation of conditions for the growth of their populations.
There are also conservation efforts such as fishing limitations which work sucesfully in the area of marine ecosystems. Atlantic Halibut is officially recognized as an endangered fish which enabled the United States to limit fishing of it in the country’s coastal waters (Gugliucci, 2021). Another endangered fish is the Beluga Sturgeon, the population of which has dwindled due to commercial fishing. In order to maintain the population level, environmental agencies raise the fish on farms and then release it in the wild (Gugliucci, 2021). At the same time, there is also Chinese Sturgeon which has an endangered status, but the attempts of the Chinese authorities to repopulate the country’s waters with the fish failed (Gugliucci, 2021). Such evidence shows that not all attempts to solve the problem of endangered species are successful.
The issue of endangered species is a common one, and there are many techniques used for addressing it. The avian conservation efforts demonstrate that habitat restoration, work with local communities, and building of reserves yield positive results. In terms of mammal conservation, the removal of invasive species and plants and containment of diseases can save many species. In the department of marine conservation, not all techniques are successful, yet the active prohibition of fishing can help.
References
Bowyer, R., Boyce, M., Goheen, J., & Rachlow, J. (2019). Conservation of the world’s mammals: status, protected areas, community efforts, and hunting. Journal of Mammalogy, 100(3), 923–941.
Communities. (n.d.). American Bird Conservancy.
Environmental science. (n.d.). Web.
Gugliucci, N. (2021,). 10 of the Most endangered fish species in our oceans. Howstuffworks.
Habitat restoration. (n.d.). American Bird Conservancy.
Reserves. (n.d.). American Bird Conservancy.