Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Keeping the Biodiversity

The world and all it's inhabitants are very precious. As precious as our world may be, due to a few bad decisions the biodiversity of our ecosystems have suffered through negative consequences. There have been extinction of animals and destruction of habitats that were homes for many animals. Although this is true, human interaction with the environment does not always end up with negative consequences. There are organizations around the world whose main purpose is to positively affect the biodiversity.

The Defender's of Wildlife is an example of an organization that helps the environment. It's a non profit organization founded in 1947. They are dedicated in ensuring the safety of animals and plants in their natural habitats. Their programs focus on the high rate of extinction in animals and the loss of biodiversity and habitat destruction. As a result of their passion about wildlife conservation, they have been leading a project called the conservation of imperiled and endangered species. They protect animals which vary from marine life, land mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Along with there wildlife conservation projects, the Defenders of Wildlife also have a habitat conservation program. They promote land-use actions that secure the safety of habitats such as wetlands, deserts, forests and grasslands from development and deterioration.

One example of how the Defender's of Wildlife are helping to save biodiversity is how they are trying to help the cook inlet beluga whale. The cook inlet beluga whale is mainly found in the Arctic and the sub-Arctic. These whales live in one of the most fastest growing regions in Alaska. Due to the urbanization of the region, their habitats are threatened by pollution and by the planned develpoment projects. The oil industry also poses a threat to the beluga population because of the toxic waste and the oil spills and leaks. To protect the belugas from these dangers, the organization had created a coalition. The four main parts of the coalition was to increase awareness among people, prevent them from being listed as endangered, determine data gaps through scientific research, and to prepare a campaign. On October.17, 2008 it was released that through a petition filed by a coalition of conservation groups, the whales were able to recieve protection from the Endangered Species Act.

That is just one of many accomplishments from the Defenders of Wildlife. Other projects that they are working on would include preventing and saving the environment from offshore drilling and climate change, and creating ideas for renewable energy. They also have a Biodiversity Partnership, which is concentrated obviously on conserving biodiversity.

There are countless organizations that assist in creating a safe place for the wildlife and the natural habitats. Without these groups and our support who knows what would happen to the biodiversity in our world. As proven by the people in these organizations, human intervention in our environment doesn't always mean they will harm it. Human intervention could also mean they are trying to protect and save it.



REFERENCES


Don't Almost Give
Wildlife
Habitat
Imperiled and Endangered Species
Cook Inlet Beluga Whale
Defenders Logo
Beluga Picture
World Picture

COMMENTS ON BLOGS

Joan Padaloy

Nicole Duffy-LeBlanc

2 comments:

  1. I like what the defender's of wildlife is doing. I love animals and it would be a shame to see them suffer due to the lack of balance within their ecosystem. I believe it is important to maintain a good number of animal species because when there is too much or too little of something it can cause a disruption within the ecosystem. Whatever happens to the biodiversity of things will affect us. As humans we have the most impact on what happens to the world around us so we should do as much as we can to conserve the wildlife.

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  2. Hey HARRIET!!!

    I really liked your choice of organization for this blog entry. I must say that many of these organizations don’t get enough credit for the work they are doing. Sadly, but it’s true that the media has a tendency to only focus on the negative contributions that has come from human interaction. After reading your blog, I now believe that The Defender’s of Wildlife has proven this to be wrong. I really liked how you wrote about their contribution to saving endangered animals, not just animals that live in the oceans, but also land mammals, birds, and reptiles. It’s really sad that these animals have to experience these changes and disruptions in their ecosystems, such as the oil spills and the toxic waste. This is what these organizations are here for, to raise awareness among people. So that we can help out before it’s too late, and it’s true when you write “The world and all it's inhabitants are very precious.”

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