Conserving Wildlife Through Organizations
Wildlife Conservation Organizations
There are many ways to help wildlife conservation. Donate money, purchase merchandise such as t-shirts or plush toys, or volunteer your time at zoos and other conservation organizations.
Reptiles and amphibians are often overlooked, but they are vital to ecosystem health. The Orianne Society fights for them, and other species that are sadly declining worldwide.
The Orianne Society
The Orianne Society was started 12 years ago by a young girl named Orianne Kaplan, who visited a zoo and held an Eastern Indigo Snake. She asked her father to save it, but he had to tell her that the species was endangered and that it could not be saved as a pet.
The organization’s research and conservation activities have expanded over the years. They have acquired land for the preservation of indigo snakes, and have built a state-of-the-art breeding center in Florida. They have also conducted range-wide research, inventory, and monitoring efforts.
They have collaborated with Georgia Southern University, and provide opportunities for students to learn more about conservation biology through internships. This collaboration will enable them to conduct more research on reptiles and amphibians.
The Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society. Its founders, including Madison Grant and Theodore Roosevelt, envisioned the Society as a kind of Noah’s Ark to save animals from extinction. The Society’s early efforts to educate the public about ecology helped inspire a love of nature among many Americans. In the late 1930s, WCS began sponsoring George Schaller’s pioneering work in Africa on gorillas and other wildlife.
The Society’s mission is to protect wildlife and wild places, with research and conservation projects in zoos, aquariums, and in the field. It also leads a network of conservation groups, including local chapters, and follows natural resources legislation in the United States and abroad. In addition, it produces scientific journals and position statements on policy issues.
Re:Wild
The rewilding movement aims to restore wildlife and wild habitats on a large scale, often with the goal of creating self-sustaining ecosystems. This can involve reintroducing apex predators, removing livestock, and allowing natural processes to take over.
Rewilding can have significant benefits for biodiversity, but it must be done carefully to ensure that human communities and wildlife can coexist. To do so, it must be implemented with the help of local people and be guided by a set of guiding principles.
GWC and its partners are committed to supporting rewilding efforts that are thoughtful, strategic, and grounded in best practice. This includes working with local people, Indigenous Communities, and government to ensure that rewilding is inclusive. GWC also supports rewilding that is opportunistic, entrepreneurial, and confident in learning from failure.
The Jane Goodall Institute
Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute honors the legacy of its founder with research and advocacy for wildlife and habitat conservation. Its mission is to empower people around the world to become stewards of wildlife and their natural environments.
Goodall’s lifelong work with chimpanzees began when noted anthropologist Louis Leakey gave her the opportunity to study them in their natural habitat at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Her groundbreaking discoveries, including the fact that chimpanzees use tools, helped to change public perception of this species.
She also inspired Roots & Shoots, a global conservation and youth-led initiative that encourages young people to interact with and care for their local environment as well as other animals. There are now 4500 groups worldwide, including several in Hong Kong.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature
Originally set up in 1948 the IUCN provides scientific knowledge and tools to help the world conserve nature and ensure sustainable development. It created the first Red List of endangered species and has been instrumental in setting up major international conservation conventions such as CITES, Ramsar, and the UNESCO-World Heritage Convention.
IUCN’s Members, expert Commissions and Secretariat are all part of a combined effort to address global environmental challenges, and they do this through research, field projects, policy advocacy, education and communication. The Union’s mission is to “influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and its integrity and diversity, while ensuring that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.”
IUCN is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. Its work includes the evaluation of sites for inclusion in the World Heritage list and advising international environmental conventions like CITES, CMS and CBD.