Title: Problem and the solutions of Endangered Species

Audience: Environmentalists
Purpose: To inform the environmentalists about the problem and the solutions of
Endangered Species

We have heard a lot about endangered species. But what exactly are endangered
species? According to International Union For Conservation Of Nature(n.d.) , an
endangered species is any plant or animal species that is in danger of extinction
throughout all or a significant portion of its range. As we don’t want more
animals and plants species to suffer the same fate as Kangaroo Island, white
gallinule, bulldog rats, and etcetera. Those are animals and plants species that
are already extinct. To avoid history from repeating, we must protect the
endangered species from becoming extinct.

Based on the analysis of fossil record of researchers by California

University(2002), it is estimated that the most species on Earth have an overall
lifespan of about 10 million years. It is an ongoing cycle of plants, animals and
microscopic organisms appearing in the fossil record, remaining for about 10
million years and disappearing. However, the problem arise when life forms are
dying out much faster than they appear to any point in the fossil record. In other
words, the extinction rate appears to be anywhere from 100 to, 1000 times greater
than ever(Holsinger,2007). Based on this accelerating extinction rate, we can
foresee that many of the endangered species in the world is going to be extinct
soon. If we still doesn’t take any action to preserve the nature, the rate of
extinction would definitely continue to increase drastically.

Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s change the fate of the endangered
species and preserved their species from being wiped out of the world. One
solution might be captive breeding of endangered species, which is the process
of breeding rare or endangered species in human controlled environments with
restricted settings, such as wildlife preserves, zoos, and other conservation
facilities. After breeding, endangered species would later be released in the wild
to restore or add to a breeding population. Another possible approach is through
the enforcement of law which restricts illegal logging, commercial trade and
hunting. Besides that, protecting and preserving the habitat where the animals and
plants live is also an alternative to solve this problem. This can be done by
having more nature reserves, national parks, and reserved areas.

However, captive breeding techniques are usually difficult to implement for

highly mobile species like some migratory birds. Additionally, if the captive
breeding population is too small, inbreeding may occur due to a reduced gene pool;
this may lead to the population lacking immunity to diseases. Apart from that,
such breeding may reduce the genetic diversity of the species and its ability to
survive in the wild. Moreover, this program is extremely costly. While for the
enforcement of law restrictions, it is constantly threatened by development
industries which are unhappy with government restrictions. Pressure from
developers and from logging and mining interests also led to government efforts to
roll back or circumvent law restrictions.

Hence, the best solution to prevent the endangered species from becoming
extinct is through the protection and the preservation of the endangered species
habitat. The endangered species must have places to find food, shelter and raise
their young. By protecting and preserving their habitat, the entire communities of
animals and plants can be protected together. In other words, by protecting,
restoring, and connecting a large contiguous habitat will allow all animals and
plants, regardless of whether it’s endangered or not, to thrive in their natural
settings. Apart from this, it will also restore balance to the ecosystem by having
a normal food chain. Such benefits cannot be gained through captive breeding and
enforcement of law restriction.