Lazily glancing around twitter on a Sunday afternoon, I was alerted to the fact that March 3rd is World Wildlife Day. Not to belittle the UN’s efforts, to me every day is World Wildlife Day, but I get why they would pick a day and make it special. It gives everyone a chance to think about Wildlife, the need to protect it and how we are doing in regards to that.
At the end of the day, I believe very strongly that we are not doing well. Conservation, to me and several others, requires us to make big, bold moves. As the sixth extinction takes an unparalleled toll on wildlife, fueled by us, it is critical that we engage in making such moves:
- Expanding awareness, and connecting conservation needs to people. Why do we need to protect wildlife? How will that allow the ecological balance to survive, and how will that allow future generations to lead better lives, including being able to enjoy wildlife?
- Making wildlife idiot-proof, and by that I mean politician-proof, and be able to survive the gullible people that elect greedy, inept politicians to office. It would be irresponsible to highlight that, given just how bad things are, globally!
- To point 2, more conservation efforts need to be private, so that some modicum of balance ensues. Very few wealthy individuals have committed to the cause, and more need to be drawn in. On top of that, regardless of wealth, more of us have to be engaged through crowdfunding, and other participatory efforts. Funding can also come through safe, ecologically well thought out travel and wildlife experiences that allow people to get closer to wildlife safely, and pay for some conservation efforts.
- Research needs to be expanded. We need to preserve the DNA of wildlife, and do this diversely, not just in terms of species, but also members of the same species. Some efforts are underway, but this needs to be expanded.
- Once upon a time, slavery was acceptable. At another time, it was okay to put humans on display at carnivals. Now we have poaching, zoos and other horrors. We need to deliberately force our way to a society where such cruelty towards wildlife will be quite unacceptable!
I will write several posts to highlight how some of the above is underway, how it can be improved and what types of results we are getting and are expected to get, going forward.
Today’s Action: I found out about the day too late to go out and volunteer, or do something else more wildlife related. So, I decided to make a small financial contribution instead. Over the past few months, I have tried to streamline where my contributions go. I now have a monthly donation plan, that picks one wildlife, or animal rescue animal organization to donate to. A few exceptions exist, like the California Native Plant Society, to which I am a monthly donor.
My monthly donation for March is due in 12 days, but I decided to add one, donating a very, very small amount to the Marine Mammal Center (https://marinemammalcenter.org), a local, California Non-Profit that cares for injured and sick Marine Mammals.
Planning Ahead: Next year, I will plan ahead. By then, I hope to increase my own level of education and awareness, and come up with actions. In the digital age, it is not that hard to set reminders, and plan ahead. If you subscribe to my blog updates, I hope to provide you with reminders as well.