People can talk about how much trouble the planet is in, and how animals are dying and biodiversity is flourishing, but what is actually being done to stop this from happening? The World Wildlife Fund and the World Nature Organization are just two of the countless organizations that are truly making a difference.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the largest global wildlife preservation organizations, and they are rapidly taking action. The WWF focuses on different aspects of the environment, from endangered species preservation, to protecting other biomes, one of the most preserved being the forests. Forests across the globe are being destroyed for various reasons, and the WWF is working hard to protect these environments from diminishing. “WWF helps create and strengthen policies in the US and worldwide to deter illegally sourced timber. For example, in the US, our focus is the Lacey Act, created in 1900 to prohibit illegal timber and timber products from entering the US market. We are working to ensure full implementation of amendments to the act that were made in 2008—amendments that are already leading companies to make smarter sourcing decisions and monitor their global timber supply chains to avoid any illegal timber.” By creating these laws and policies for illegal timber, illegal traders and companies will not have any big countries to trade with, therefore they will not be able to make money and will discontinue their timber businesses, therefore there will be significant reductions in the amount of trees and vegetation that are being cut down, along with all of the animals inside those forests.
This is a great improvement and effort on the WWF’s part, and their laws and regulations are actually taking an effect, as a recent report on their website shows that illegal timber and forest companies have been reduced dramatically and many companies have been caught and ended due to the new policies. I think that not only the WWF’s effort to end illegal timber trade, but all of their hard work is having a great impact on our planet so far. WWF is also working extremely hard to save endangered species, as the changes in their environments, whether it be from deforestation to global warming, are causing them to adapt in all of the wrong ways. Luckily, the WWF will not give up in their efforts to protect these species, and keep their environments as stable as possible.
Another major conservation group is the World Nature Organization, which focuses a lot on marine pollution throughout the world’s oceans. The WNO strives to protect the oceans from pollution, and save the life that the oceans contain. One major goal of the WNO is to end dumping of toxic wastes into the ocean, a practice that has been outlawed, yet still is done today.
The WNO states that, “once in the oceans, these chemicals are absorbed by tiny organisms like plankton. The chemicals accumulate to high concentrations in the plankton’s bodies, which are eventually consumed by other animals. Each step in the marine food chain results in a higher concentration of the chemicals. For instance, polar bears can have contamination levels that are three billion times higher than the surrounding environment”. As I have talked about in a previous post, the toxic wastes and man-made materials that get into the ocean are causing the animals to adapt in negative ways, for example by consuming the products and chemicals, therefore ruining the whole food chain going forward.
Pollution is a major threat to the biodiversity of our oceans, and the WNO team up with governments of different countries all across the globe to put an end to the pollution, before all biodiversity there is lost. I think that the efforts put forth by the WNO are outstanding, and the fact that they reach out and team up with many different governments shows that they are capable of really getting something done for the oceans and hopefully helping the oceans prosper. Although the WNO does do extensive other actions to benefit the ocean animals, their main priority is to raise awareness about the problems and get the public involved and aware of the horrible effects of ocean pollution. I agree that getting the public’s attention and raising awareness is a phenomenal way to get everyone involved and work as a team to save not only our oceans, but our one and only home that is the Earth.
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