conservation strategies and action plans

Many conservation policies have been put up by governments and organizations alike in the face of the sixth mass extinction event. One such conservation plan is 'The UK Biodiversity Action Plan', which aims to help endangered species or habitats recover. It was mentioned in a paper, 'Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of conservation: The UK Biodiversity Action Plan' by Laycock, et al. (2009) that more has been spent on helping bird and mammal species to recover, and that the Species Action Plans (SAP) under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan that while the SAPs were generally effective, almost one out of ten of these plans did not manage to meet the target objectives set out.

Reading that more attention was focused on bird and mammal species recovery efforts struck a chord with me. Birds and mammals are what many people can see and interact with every day, and so, they naturally focus their attention on these animals. Zoos often showcase eye-catching and popular animals like tigers, elephants and rhinos. Few insect species are exhibited, and thus, visitors aren't exposed to the variety of insects, amphibians and marine species. Unless one decides to find out information about these lesser known animals by himself or herself, or visit a museum, there are very few campaigns aimed to protect and conserve these species. As a result, other classes of animals are given less attention, even though they could be just as important to the ecosystem.

While it is stated that birds and mammals generally have more important roles in the ecosystem than other animals, I feel that in an effort to conserve biodiversity, more could be done for the other species. Each species has their own value to the environment and failing to help their populations remain at a healthy level could be detrimental as the more important species may be dependent on them for food. In a way, conserving more well-known species can have a ripple effect on populations on their prey, which could include the lesser known species of animals. However, it is also important to raise awareness on the other species so that the public can have a greater understanding of the different roles of different organisms in the environment. This understanding can then drive conservation efforts, making future conservation action plans more effective. The effectiveness of conservation plans also depends on the resources put into realising the plan. If too many resources are allocated for the plan, and the species recovery or conservation results aren't on target, then the resources put into the plan would have been wasted. To prevent wastage of resources, proper analysis have to be made, and conservationists have to ensure that they have sufficient information on the species before they proceed with the physical recovery actions.

All in all, conservation of biodiversity have become more well known as the plight of animals in areas where environment degradation is taking place have been made known to the public. Hopefully, many of the world's animals can continue to live on, and this will not be what the future generations understand of nature.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scientific paper mentioned:
Laycock, H., Moran, D., Smart, J., Raffaelli, D. & White, P., 2009, 'Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of conservation: The UK Biodiversity Action Plan', Biological Conservation, vol. 142, no. 12, pp. 3120-3127, sciencedirect database. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.08.010