Wildlife Conservation Education and International Programmes

Publication Type:
 Journal Article
Year of Publication:
 2011
Authors:
 A. Meadows
Publication/Journal:
 The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences
Keywords:
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Abstract:

Wildlife and habitat conservation has become increasingly important in the 21st century. Destruction and loss
of habitat, illegal use of wildlife, overexploitation of resources, and lack of conservation awareness, have a negative
impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. The unforeseeable expectation by 2050 is that few large marine species will
remain and majority of coral reefs, mangrove swamps and saltmarshes will be degraded. The wildlife carrying capacity
in many protected areas will significantly reduce due to global warming, pollution, invasive species, and illegal hunting.
One of the concerns is the rapidly increasing human population on the planet with 6.4 billion individuals in 2005. For
global conservation a sustainable approach means that strict legislation and ethics have to be developed, together with
regulating human attitudes. Conservation education and outreach techniques including learning and thinking, developing
skills, and undertaking activities are described. The responsibility of Zoos to teaching their visitors by ‘effective
education’ about the causes and types of threats, their decline and measures for conservation is more holistic. I apply as a
model the role of the Zoological Society of London and its two Zoos in the development of critical and scientifically
valid evaluation techniques and conservation activities, and their impact on species sanctuary in the wild. International
educational programmes, are chiefly targeted towards poverty alleviation, and play an important role in delivering
sustainable outputs. This review concludes with case studies of UK and Pakistan collaborative programmes involving
national experts and local community participation.

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