Wildlife conservation

It has been suggested that Game preservation be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2011.

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Wildlife conservation is the preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all the non-cultivated and non-domesticated animals living in their natural habitats. Our world has many unique and rare animals, birds and reptiles. However the pressure of growing population in different parts of the world has led to the increasing need of using land for human habitations and agriculture. This has led to the reduced habitat of many wild animals.

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Major threats to wildlife can be categorized as below:

• Habitat loss: Fewer natural wildlife habitat areas remain each year. Moreover, the habitat that remains has often been degraded to bear little resemblance to the natural wild areas which existed in the past.
• Climate change: Because many types of plants and animals have specific habitat requirements, climate change could cause disastrous loss of wildlife species. A slight drop or rise in average rainfall will translate into large seasonal changes. dieing animals, reptiles, amphibians and insects are harmed and disturbed. Plants and wildlife are sensitive to moisture change so, they will be harmed by any change in the moisture level.
• Pesticides and toxic chemicals: Pesticides are deliberately spread to make the environment toxic to certain plants, insects, and rodents, so it should not be surprising that other plants and wildlife are deliberately harmed at the same time. In addition many chemical pollutants are toxic to wildlife, such as PCBs, mercury, petroleum by-products, solvents, antifreeze, etc.
• Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching causes a major threat to wildlife. Along with this, mismanagement of forest department and forest guards triggers this problem.
• Natural phenomena: Floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, forest fires.
• Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms.
• Over-exploitation of resources: Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in population crashes (over-fishing, for example).
• Accidental deaths: Car hits, window collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales).

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is considered to be one the most successful conservation model in world.^{[citation needed]} It has its origins in 19th century conservation movements, the near extinction of several species of wildlife (including the American Bison) and the rise of sportsmen with the middle class.^[1][2] Beginning in the 1860s sportsmen began to organize and advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas and wildlife. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation rests on two basic principles – fish and wildlife are for the non-commercial use of citizens, and should be managed such that they are available at optimum population levels forever. These core principles are elaborated upon in the seven major tenets of the model.

Public trust doctrine

In the North American Model, wildlife is held in the public trust. This means that fish and wildlife are held by the public through state and federal governments. In other words, though an individual may own the land up which wildlife resides, that individual does not own said wildlife. Instead, the wildlife is owned by all citizens. With origins in Roman times and English Common law, the public trust doctrine has at its heart the 1842 Supreme Court ruling Martin V. Waddell.^[2][3]

Regulated commerce in wildlife

Under the North American Model, wildlife exist outside the market, removing any direct commercial value from wild game as they and the meat thereof cannot be bought or sold. Certain products such as antlers and fur may, however, be bought and sold. The end of market hunting was a major step in the restoration of North American species. By removing the pressure of market hunting allowed game and fish species to recover and eventually be taken by hunters and anglers at sustainable levels.^[4]

Hunting and angling laws are created through the public process

Through democratic representation, citizens create the policies that regulate, conserve, and manage wildlife within the United States and Canada. The creation and implementation of wildlife and natural resource management policy is an open and public process.^[5]

Opportunity for all, funded by all

All citizens have a right to hunting and fishing. Additionally the management of fish and wildlife is funded through the sale of licenses and in the taxation of hunting and fishing equipment. Additional funding comes from state and federal budgets, but the bulk of funding is through these sources.^{[citation needed]}

Non-frivolous use

Under the North American Model, the killing of game must be done only for food, fur, self-defense, and the protection of property (including livestock). In other words, it is broadly regarded as unlawful and unethical to kill fish or wildlife (even with a license) without making all reasonable effort to retrieve and make reasonable use of the resource.^[4][5]

Wildlife as an international resource

As wildlife do exist only within fixed political boundaries, effective management of these resources must be done internationally, through treaties and the cooperation of management agencies.^[4][5]

Scientific management

Effective management of wildlife and other natural resources must be based on continuous and sound scientific research.^[4][5]

The Wildlife Conservation Act was enacted by the Government of India in 1972. Soon after the trend of policy makers enacting regulations on conservation a strategy was developed to allow actors, both government and non-government, to follow a detailed "framework" to successful conservation. The World Conservation Strategy was developed in 1980 by the "International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) with advice, cooperation and financial assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Wildlife Fund and in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco)"^[6] The strategy aims to "provide an intellectual framework and practical guidance for conservation actions."^[6] This thorough guidebook covers everything from the intended "users" of the strategy to its very priorities and even a map section containing areas that have large seafood consumption therefore endangering the area to over fishing. The main sections are as follows:

• The objectives of conservation and requirements for their achievement:

1. Maintenance of essential ecological processes and life-support systems.
2. Preservation of genetic diversity.
3. Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.

• Priorities for national action:

1. A framework for national and subnational conservation strategies.
2. Policy making and the integration of conservation and development.
3. Environmental planning and rational use allocation.

• Priorities for international action:

1. International action: law and assistance.
2. Tropical forests and drylands.
3. A global programme for the protection of genetic resource areas.

Map sections:

1. Tropical forests
2. Deserts and areas subject to desertification.

As “major development agencies” became “discouraged with the public sector” of environmental conservation in the late 1980s, these agencies began to lean their support towards the “private sector” or non-government organizations (NGOs).^[7] In a World Bank Discussion Paper it is made apparent that “the explosive emergence of nongovernmental organizations” was widely known to government policy makers. Seeing this rise in NGO support, the U.S. Congress made amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act in 1979 and 1986 “earmarking U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds for biodiversity”.^[7] From 1990 moving through recent years environmental conservation in the NGO sector has become increasingly more focused on the political and economic impact of USAID given towards the “Environment and Natural Resources”.^[8] After the terror attacks on the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001 and the start of former President Bush’s War on Terror, maintaining and improving the quality of the environment and natural resources became a “priority” to “prevent international tensions” according to the Legislation on Foreign Relations Through 2002^[8] and section 117 of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act.^[8] Furthermore in 2002 U.S. Congress modified the section on endangered species of the previously amended Foreign Assistance Act.

Sec. 119.100 Endangered Species:

(a) The Congress finds the survival of many animals and plant species is endangered by over hunting, by the presence of toxic chemicals in water, air and soil, and by the destruction of habitats. The Congress further finds that the extinction of animal and plant species is an irreparable loss with potentially serious environmental and economic consequences for developing and developed countries alike. Accordingly, the preservation of animal and plant species through the regulation of the hunting and trade in endangered species, through limitations on the pollution of natural ecosystems, and through the protection of wildlife habitats should be an important objective of the United States development assistance.

(b) 100 In order to preserve biological diversity, the President is authorized to furnish assistance under this part, notwithstanding section 660,101 to assist countries in protecting and maintaining wildlife habitats and in developing sound wildlife management and plant conservation programs. Special efforts should be made to establish and maintain wildlife sanctuaries, reserves, and parks; to enact and enforce anti-poaching measures; and to identify, study, and catalog animal and plant species, especially in tropical environments.^[8]

The amendments to the section also included modifications on the section concerning "PVOs and other Nongovernmental Organizations."^[8] The section requires that PVOs and NGOs "to the fullest extent possible involve local people with all stages of design and implementation."^[8] These amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act and the recent^[when?] rise in USAID funding towards foreign environmental conservation have led to several disagreements in terms of NGOs' role in foreign development.

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• The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.^[9]
• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 90 countries, supporting around 1300[4] conservation and environmental projects around the world. It is a charity, with approximately 60% of its funding coming from voluntary donations by private individuals. 45% of the fund's income comes from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United. States.^[10]
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• Audubon Society