Environmental conservation

Environmental Preservation and Conservation

Environmental preservation is an essential part of life. Several causes, mostly due to human activity, have a detrimental impact on the environment. The degradation of our ecosystem reduces the probability of survival for certain types of living beings. The world should be self-sustaining, with all living beings surviving by overt or indirect contact with others (Environmental Conservation, 2009).

Environmental protection measures are thus supposed to be put in place to ensure the continued survival of organisms and the proper coexistence of humans and the wild. Environmental conservation is defined as all the measures taken to ensure appropriate protection and management of the environment and natural resources. Negative impacts of human beings on the physical survival of other living things should therefore always be checked and reversed. Conservation is meant to safeguard biodiversity, environment and natural resources. The research paper covers on environmental protection and how the elephant should be protected to avoid extinction.

The Elephant

The elephant is the largest land mammal on earth followed by the rhinoceros. There are two species of the elephant namely African elephant and the Asian elephant. In Africa, the elephant primarily exists in the African savanna grassland in East and South Africa where they adequately fit due to the favorable climate (Attenborough, D., Moss, C., & BBC Worldwide Firm, 2006). Elephant is also found in the equatorial rainforest in the west and central Africa. The African elephant is the largest with males weighing between 2 and 7 tons while females weigh between 3 and 4 tons. An adult Asian elephant weighs between 2 and 5 tons, with females weighing less. Elephants have large ears to cool themselves. The trunk is extremely flexible and robust for grasping, feeding, breathing, lifting, dusting, communication, sensing, and defense. Both Asian and African elephants have some 26 teeth including two tusks (upper incisors). The tusks weigh between 18 kg and 79 kg. The elephant's foot is angled enabling tiptoe walking with evenly distributed body weight at the heel. Elephants live in a defined matriarchal family comprised of 6 to 12 individuals. The older matriarch lives together with her daughters from whom the most elderly replace the mother upon death.

African Elephants and Their Feeding Habits

African elephants are browsers feeding typically on twigs, shrubs, and roots. The trunk helps in feeding through uprooting of roots and collecting of grass. Asian elephants are grazers feeding mainly on the ground (National Zoological Park (U.S.), 1990). Predators rarely hunt elephants due to their big body size and strength, but sometimes they are killed by lions and tigers. It is difficult to kill an adult elephant; therefore, young ones become primary targets although largely protected by their mothers and other family members. Elephants spend a long time in the water exposing the calves to crocodiles. Another threat for the elephants is human beings who kill them majorly for tusks commonly known as ivory. Human-wildlife conflict is also another threat to the survival of the elephants. An increase in human population has led to encroachment of wildlife land for both agriculture and living. The areas meant for grazing and browsing are therefore taken for human use leaving the elephants with limited sources of food. In extreme cases, elephants are forced to look for food in cultivated lands posing a significant threat to food security for people. On the other hand, people may decide to protect their crops by killing the elephants thus leading to widespread human-wildlife conflict.

Threats to African Elephants

The African elephant is in the list of vulnerable species. According to IUCN, vulnerable species is one which is likely to become endangered if appropriate measures meant for improving its survival and reproduction are not checked (http://www.iucnredlist.org/). The primary cause of the vulnerability is the destruction of the habitat majorly caused by human beings. Southern Africa holds 56% of the continent population of elephants, Eastern Africa having 27%, Central Africa 16% and West Africa 1.5%. These numbers face many challenges which, if no proper laws are enacted to protect them, will immensely reduce and become endangered. An endangered species is one which is in danger of becoming extinct.

Causes of Elephant Vulnerability

Humans attribute major causes of elephant vulnerability, and they include deforestation, overgrazing, and overhunting. Farming and development activities have resulted in the destruction of forests through burning and chopping down of trees (Peterson, April 01, 2010). Due to the ever-increasing human population, there has been an endless need for expansion of fertile farming fields to promote food security. There has also been an increase in need of land for development and growth of towns, cities, and industries which attract an increase in need for timber and wood products for construction. As a result, rainforests have been adversely destroyed reducing fertile land and grazing areas for the elephants.

Overgrazing and Hunting

Overgrazing has also grown to be an epidemic for the survival of many wild animals. Excessive grazing reduces the productivity, usefulness, and biodiversity of the land leading to desertification and adverse erosion. It also destroys the animal migratory corridors thus affecting the overall performance of the animals regarding feeding, mating, and giving birth. For the African elephants whose chief food is on the grass and shrubs, their niche has significantly been destroyed due to over-grazing by livestock. The grounds are left bare and exposed to erosion agents thus limiting grazing and browsing areas for the elephant.

Hunting of the elephant for ivory and hides has led to the reduction in their population. Extended period that an elephant needs to reach maturity affects recovery of the numbers lost to overhunting. Overhunting also results in ecological imbalance whereby animals in the food chain are affected due to the abnormal alterations of the chain participant (Gobush, 2008). Ivory trade has for years been the major threat for the decline in the number of elephants. The major market for ivory is China and other Asian countries where it is regarded as a precious material for making jewelry, ornaments, and temple decorations. Ivory is also used for providing traditional treatment in China. Some Chinese people consider one with ivory to be successful in the community (Shea, 2014). Some other people think owning ivory will bring them good luck. All the above reasons have put more pressure for elephant killing in African countries for the collection of ivory to be sold in the Asian market for big returns.

Solutions for Elephant Conservation

Environmental conservation and animal protection laws serve as the main solutions to the survival of wild animals (National Geographic Society, U.S., & WQED, 1998). Various measures are undertaken to help reduce negative impacts which result in the reduction of elephants. The measures include the elimination of global demand for ivory, buying elephant-friendly coffee and wood and supporting conservation efforts (Shea, 2014). There have been continuous campaigns against poaching of elephants through attempts meant for the closure of all domestic ivory markets (Environmental Conservation, 2009). Respective countries have adopted laws which criminalize poaching activities and ivory selling. The international community led by the United States of America has put more pressure on the trade of ivory in the international markets in Asia (Lourie, 2011). Massive destruction of Ivory collected from poachers has acted as a sensitization effort to the international community that illegal hunting of elephants is highly disregarded (Smith, K. 2011).

Preventing Environmental Degradation

Environmental degradation through over-grazing is prevented from reducing chances of soil erosion and depletion of vegetation for the animals. Proper management of grazing patterns ensures sustainability of the ecological niche. Governments and non-governmental bodies have engaged the local communities in embracing sustainable grazing of their livestock by making sure that grazers have observed correct patterns (Attenborough, D., Moss, C., & BBC Worldwide Firm, 2006). The nomad pastoralists are educated on the importance of wildlife and the consequences of encroaching wild animal grazing fields. Informed members of the society, therefore, take a big step in ensuring that habitat is protected from any form of destruction associated with over-grazing. Measures necessary for the reduction of over-grazing are:

- Avoiding early grazing. During the rainy season, enough forage should be stocked for use in the dry period.

- Proper monitoring of the rain patterns and growth of pasture.

- Use of grazing chart in planning and implementing of rotational grazing.

- Having management practices meant to ensure proper land use.

Involvement of Local Communities

Knowledge gained in the field of environmental conservation helps in understanding various ways of protecting wildlife. Protection of the animals helps boost their survival thus maintaining the ecological balance. People surrounding the habitat of the wild animals must ensure that any form of environmental degradation through overgrazing, deforestation, or illegal hunting is avoided. Elephants should be saved from threats in various ways.

- Involving local communities in conservation activities. People will thus understand the need for supporting conservation measures for safeguarding reduction of the wild animals' numbers.

- Awarding groups that are being involved in the conservation efforts.

- Creation of elephant protection conservancies for tending to the most vulnerable members.

- Training most qualified individuals to deal with poachers through having 24-hour surveillance on the elephants live.

The Role of Local Communities

The ever-increasing threats to the life of elephants have called for strict measures meant in curbing the negative factors causing their deaths. The best way of helping save the elephant is through empowering the people living near the wildlife. The local communities around the wildlife should be assisted in the conservation practices through the following ways:

- Educating local communities on the benefits of conservation. I will take the lead in informing the people on the direct gains from wildlife.

- Using the gains from tourists to support the community by building social amenities like schools and hospitals, helping the needy children to acquire education, and boosting security.

- Reducing human-wildlife conflicts.

Conclusion

Human beings have an enormous impact on the safety of wildlife. Human activities directly or indirectly affect the life of animals through poaching, overgrazing, and deforestation. The negative practices must be prevented to help save the decreasing numbers of the elephants. The biggest risk facing elephants is illegal poaching for ivory and hides. The international markets for ivory like China must be in continued pressure to stop buying ivory and other animal products. Proper management of the wildlife through the support of local communities will help boost the fight against poaching, overgrazing, and deforestation thereby saving the present and future.

References

Environmental Conservation. (2009). Cambridge University Press.

Http://www.iucnredlist.org/.

National Zoological Park (U.S.). (1990). Asian elephants. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified.

Peterson, M. N., Birckhead, J. L., Leong, K., Peterson, M. J., & Peterson, T. R. (April 01, 2010). Rearticulating the myth of human-wildlife conflict. Conservation Letters, 3, 2, 74-82.

Gobush, K. S. (2008). Long-term consequences of poaching on African elephant social structure, genetic relatedness, physiology, and reproduction.

Shea, N. (2014). Poaching and illegal trade. New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing.

Lourie, P. (2011). The manatee scientists: Saving vulnerable species. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Smith, K. (2011). Endangered species: Conservation, the Red list, WWF and most endangered species. Place of publication not identified: Webster's Digital Services?

National Geographic Society (U.S.), & WQED (Television station : Pittsburgh, Pa.). (1998). Elephant. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Attenborough, D., Moss, C., & BBC Worldwide (Firm). (2006). Echo of the elephants: The story of an elephant family. London: BBC Worldwide.