Introduction
The nature and all its beauty and richness has been always present in people’s lives for centuries. Starting from the dense impenetrable rainforests to the vast grasslands which are home to these wild beasts, our wildlands form part of the earth’s tapestry. However, such beautiful and unspoilt locations are gradually growing at risk. Sustainable usage particularly hunting and other illicit practices of animal species has become a growing threat that threatens species of wildlife and their ecosystems too.
In this article, it will be focalised on the persistent problem of wildlife crime, effects of the crime on ecological diversity and the need to protect wildlife habitat. It is more than the struggle to save the threatened species from extinction but for the struggle to protect the natural order, human rights and the health of the planet.
The Scope of Wildlife Crime
A examples of the wildlife crime include such activities as hunting, trading and transporting of wild animals and the products derived from them. All these crimes are fuelled largely by the needs for such items as ivory, rhinoceros horns, pangolin scales, tiger bones, and exotic animals. The magnitude of this counterfeiting is enormous producing grisly sums of money by the year and ranking among some of the most flourishing illicit business platforms globally – the others being drugs, arms, and human trade.
One of the worst and oldest known examples of wildlife abuse is the killing of elephants for their tusks. Ivory trade has been banned internationally by the CITES but the demand is persistent; especially in Asia, where it is used for trophies and as medicines. Elephants in sub-Saharan Africa are slaughtered for their tusks at a rate of tens of thousands each year and the results are the populations have plummeted.
Likewise, poaching has affected rhinos so badly because their horns are used as medicine even though it is fake news. Currently the Western black rhino has been declared as extinct while others are hanging on the edge of the cliff. Tigers also are victim of consistant poaching activities for their skin, bones and body parts for the preparation of traditional medicine and sold in black markets worldwide.
Anteaters or tree shrews which are also known as the world’s most trafficked mammal are also a species that has suffered greatly in terms of its population numbers which have been cut sharply by poachers. They are well desired for its scales which are used in production of traditional bowl, and for its meat which is normally regarded as a gourmet in some societies. This constant exploitation has placed all the eight species of pangolin in the reverse through extreme danger of extinction.
The Impact on Global Biodiversity and Ecosystems
Wildlife crime has far reaching implications than the simple loss of specific animal species to extinction. The extinction of some species would mean that several others are displaced, meaning that the organization of life as we know it would be upset. For instance, elephants are very important in shaping landscapes of Africa’s ecosystems such as savanna and forest by selectively pruning vegetation and distributing seeds. This we postulate leads to habitat alteration when these keystone species are removed and this will affect all other species including those used by people.
In the same way, the extermination of carnivores such as tigers affects the existence of prey species, and subsequent overgrazing of plants in the area leads to habitat loss. These disturbances can make ecosystems less resilient and less capable of delivering services such as filter or sink by preventing toxic substances from entering, regulating climate change and maintaining clean sources of air or water and carbon stores.
In addition, many species of wildlife are threatened by other crimes including deforestation through logging, and mining and agricultural practices. Expansion and invasion of the human activities in the wilderness have a negative impact not only on the population of wild animals and birds but also on the human life, due to new diseases brought about by contact with wild-life, IPS such as COVID from the wildlife markets.
Thus, human rights and wildlife crime are the following programs in this organized crime series.
As mentioned earlier, the wildlife crime, contrary to a belief, largely impacts animals and ecosystems even as the rights of specific communities and humans as constituents of ecosystems too are severely affirmatively influenced by wildlife crime. Across the world, a lot of people engage in poaching and sale of the protected species through business people who organize themselves and exploit the poor people. Some locals are forced into poaching or trafficking due to pressures from stronger criminal groups locking them into poverty as well as violence.
Those most vulnerable are indigenous people who have been cultural custodians of the natural environment and are often victims of wildlife crime. A large number of indigenous people depend on the availability of natural resources such as hunting, fishing and foraging. In many cases, when poaching occurs and kills large numbers of animals, the inhabitants of such areas are forced to do without critical supplies. In some instances, the indigenous people are evicted from their homelands to provide way for unlawful activities such as logging, mining or cultivation, which also diminish the culture of those people.
Apart from social and economic impact to the communities. Wildlife crime involves corruption and poor governance. T his is because law enforcement especially in developing countries lacks the resources and political willpower to effectively combat wildlife crime. Different levels of corruption enable escalating rates of unauthorized activities; confined nearly to zero chances of arrest for those involved in the trade.
Protect & Preservation and Wilderness Area
There is therefore classified hope in the conservation of wildlife/wilderness and various measures in a bid to fight wildlife crime. Through partnerships between governments, non-governmental organizations and local Communities, wildlife crime has gradually been fought to protect the endangered species and their homes.
The most useful weapons against wildlife crime are the creation of protected zones, including national parks, wildlife reserves, and seas, or marine areas. Such areas are acts of conservation that provide the animals’ safe spaces away from poaching and habitat eradication. Creation of trans-boundary conservation areas, which are areas that several countries commit themselves in the protection and management of ecosystems also turned out to be effective in combating wildlife crime.
Apart from increasing the size of protected area, the conservation organizations are using money to hire park guards, install surveillance equipment and equipment, and embark on awareness campaigns within the communities. Frequent monitoring through the use of drones, and GPS tracking systems, camera traps among others, make it easier to point out the places where poaching is frequently undertake and in real time. These are the achievements that help conservationists be ready to react to the threats and raise the chances of catching and punishing poachers.
Other conservation approaches, which have received attention in the recent past include the community conservation approaches. Such programs engage local communities in wildlife conservation and provide them with sustainable sources of income, so as to cut out the motivation for poaching. In some places, ecotourism has offered an economic allay to poaching, due to the fact that people develop the culture of getting employed in tourism services resulting from visitors who come to view wildlife in its natural environment.
Moreover, there is need for international partnership in combating wildlife crime because the crime has an international dimension. Writing on the regulation of the crossbound foreign commerce on endangered species in part has been articulated by CITES while international bodies like INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have become involved more often in breaking wildlife trafficking rings.
What Can Be Done?
Despite bringing hope in some regions, the battle against wildlife crime, and wilderness loss, is still an ongoing war. There are several key actions that individuals, governments, and organizations can take to strengthen the protection of wildlife and wilderness areas:
Strengthen Laws and Enforcement: Governments need to also pass even more rigorous policies on combating wildlife crime. This includes raising fines for poaching and trading a well as, supporting structures for police forces and combating of corrupt practices in legal frameworks.
Increase Public Awareness: There is need to launch awareness creation programs that seek to educate the public of the ecological, social as well as the economic consequences of wildlife crime. Regulated products—ivory, exotic pets and traditional medicines that contain endangered species, should be accompanied by information that can be understood by the consumers regarding the repercussions of the purchase.
Support Conservation Initiatives: People can help to save bio-diversity by contributing their own effort, time and resources toward organizations and activities that promote conservation of wildlife and wild places. These are giving a power to endangered wildlife and helping in its sustainable existence by donating, volunteering andothers supporting ecotourism
Promote Sustainable Practices: Thus, the better encouragement of and demand for sustainable agriculture, mining, and logging can limit habitat degradation for wildlands. It means that both the governments and the business should take an active stand towards the proper utilization of resources and minimum interference of human beings with the wildlife.
Conclusion
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