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10 Sustainability
poison our soils and waterways, and ultimately, kill our plants and animals even in
environments thousands of miles away from the initial pollution source.
To acerbate and place further pressure on the world’s biodiversity even further,
the overhunting of Earth’s creatures is placing many species at risk of extinction.
Poaching in many areas throughout the world has led to a severe decline in many
species’ populations. The black and white African rhinoceros are both at risk, due
to a surge in illegal poaching to meet the demand for illegal rhinoceros’ horns used
in several traditional Asian medicines. Since 2007, there has been an unbelievable
9000% increase in rhinoceros poaching, from 13 to a record 1215 in 2014 (Gonzalez
2016). It is now thought to be as little as 5000 black rhinos left in the world and is
listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) list of endangered species (Gonzalez 2016). This story is the case for many
other beautiful creatures. There are only around 3200 tigers left in the world, as a
result of hunting. Only 4000 of the critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas are
left, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Gonzalez 2016). And both the
Sumatran and Bornean Orangutan are listed as critically endangered, due to animal
trafficking and exploitation.
These three human enterprises are culminating into the primary causes for
species loss and extinctions worldwide. The very shocking and sobering fact is
that it is estimated that we lose up to 5% of worldwide species per decade as a
direct consequence from human activity (Barnosky et al. 2012). With so much of the
deep Amazon rainforest left to discover, many of these species that we are losing
are yet to be discovered. Some scientific studies have even predicted a doomsday
scenario where we could lose as many as 50% of all worldwide species within the
next 50 years. With such a wide spectrum of animals now endangered and at risk
of extinction, alongside such dramatic figures of species loss for the near future,
it would seem clear that we have entered the dawn of a new extinction event that
scientists are now calling “the 6th mass extinction.” It is therefore imperative that
we act now in an attempt to reverse these trends and save our wildlife.
Similar to the management of invasive species, there is not a “one size fits all”
approach to the conservation of endangered species and biodiversity. We must adopt
a tailored strategy to each animal at risk. In the case of the rhinoceros, there have
been a number of suggestions on how to combat the poaching of rhinoceros horns.
One suggestion involves the creation of a controlled market, where rhinoceros’
horns are cut off in a humane and safe way, so that there is no incentive for illegal
poachers to kill the animals (Barnosky et al. 2012). This would create a sustainable
solution, where the market could be satisfied without any risk to the animal. Another
is through the implementation of trackers into rhinoceros’ horns, so that they can be
tracked back to the main dealers in the trade, in order to tackle the problem at its
source.
10 Sustainability
poison our soils and waterways, and ultimately, kill our plants and animals even in
environments thousands of miles away from the initial pollution source.
To acerbate and place further pressure on the world’s biodiversity even further,
the overhunting of Earth’s creatures is placing many species at risk of extinction.
Poaching in many areas throughout the world has led to a severe decline in many
species’ populations. The black and white African rhinoceros are both at risk, due
to a surge in illegal poaching to meet the demand for illegal rhinoceros’ horns used
in several traditional Asian medicines. Since 2007, there has been an unbelievable
9000% increase in rhinoceros poaching, from 13 to a record 1215 in 2014 (Gonzalez
2016). It is now thought to be as little as 5000 black rhinos left in the world and is
listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) list of endangered species (Gonzalez 2016). This story is the case for many
other beautiful creatures. There are only around 3200 tigers left in the world, as a
result of hunting. Only 4000 of the critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas are
left, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Gonzalez 2016). And both the
Sumatran and Bornean Orangutan are listed as critically endangered, due to animal
trafficking and exploitation.
These three human enterprises are culminating into the primary causes for
species loss and extinctions worldwide. The very shocking and sobering fact is
that it is estimated that we lose up to 5% of worldwide species per decade as a
direct consequence from human activity (Barnosky et al. 2012). With so much of the
deep Amazon rainforest left to discover, many of these species that we are losing
are yet to be discovered. Some scientific studies have even predicted a doomsday
scenario where we could lose as many as 50% of all worldwide species within the
next 50 years. With such a wide spectrum of animals now endangered and at risk
of extinction, alongside such dramatic figures of species loss for the near future,
it would seem clear that we have entered the dawn of a new extinction event that
scientists are now calling “the 6th mass extinction.” It is therefore imperative that
we act now in an attempt to reverse these trends and save our wildlife.
Similar to the management of invasive species, there is not a “one size fits all”
approach to the conservation of endangered species and biodiversity. We must adopt
a tailored strategy to each animal at risk. In the case of the rhinoceros, there have
been a number of suggestions on how to combat the poaching of rhinoceros horns.
One suggestion involves the creation of a controlled market, where rhinoceros’
horns are cut off in a humane and safe way, so that there is no incentive for illegal
poachers to kill the animals (Barnosky et al. 2012). This would create a sustainable
solution, where the market could be satisfied without any risk to the animal. Another
is through the implementation of trackers into rhinoceros’ horns, so that they can be
tracked back to the main dealers in the trade, in order to tackle the problem at its
source.