World Wildlife Day
Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.
Preparation
Every year, people all over the world hold all kinds of events to celebrate World Wildlife Day. Their aim is to raise awareness of the beauty and the importance of our natural world and to look for ways to protect and conserve it.
How it first started
In December 2013, 40 years after it had signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the United Nations General Assembly decided to create a day to raise awareness of the world's wild animals and plants and the importance of protecting them. They decided to call it World Wildlife Day and chose 3 March as the date to celebrate it.
Why is it so important?
Earth is home to many, many different species of plants and animals, more than we can possibly count. It is this rich diversity, and the delicate balance between all the different forms of life, that makes life possible on our planet. We depend on all the elements of the biosphere for all our basic needs: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the energy and materials we use to make the things we need to live our lives. Each and every species is important. One of the aims of World Wildlife Day is to raise awareness of these facts.
What are the problems facing wildlife today?
Sadly, many human activities such as mining, farming and construction are constantly putting wildlife in danger. We are cutting down too many trees, clearing too much ground and building so many roads that we are destroying the natural habitats of millions of species and putting the world's biodiversity at risk. Nearly a quarter of all species are at risk of becoming extinct, and their disappearance is putting us, humans, in danger as well.
What are the solutions?
We need to live more sustainable lives and to learn to respect nature and defend its diversity. We need to push our governments to conserve and protect the natural habitats of all the species that are in danger of becoming extinct. We all need to work together to protect our planet – and ourselves.
What can you do to help on World Wildlife Day?
You can join local events and find out more about wildlife in your local area. You can donate time or money to organisations that are protecting wildlife locally or internationally. You can sign petitions and write to your government. You can share films, photos and articles with friends and your family. Post them on your social media channel and spread the message wherever you can. You can use the hashtags #WorldWildlifeDay and #DoOneThingToday to join in with the global conversation. Whatever you do, you won't be alone. Millions of people all around the world will be joining the celebrations and fighting for a better future for our planet.
Sources:
in my country the activities like as mining, farming and construction a lot happens. and recently there have been terrible floods and landslides that have killed many people. can you guest my country?
I think the prime problem is that people aren't well-educated about how they are harming the world that they're living in, and they think there are no consequences to their actions since they don't see them with their own eyes vividly. A viable solution would be to open their eyes and feel and know what's going on for real, not just through newspapers and articles.
There are many problems facing wildlife in my country; after all there are the same issues existing in other countries in Europe; but I would like to highlight the increasing depopulation of the internal areas.
I live in the south of Europe and in my opinion the weather is changing a lot lately. Nowadays the temperature is increasing and seasons are more unstable; for example, in my hometown, the winter temperature can change from very cold to peaks of heat. Before this was not possible.
In my country, the main problems related to wildlife and environmental protection are connected to the way the country is governed. There is a lack of sustainable policies, especially regarding urban development. In addition, there is insufficient control over what factories discharge into rivers. It often seems that money is the only priority. In some cases, financial interests or even corruption appear to be more important than the conditions in which we live and raise our children.
The main problem of Monterrey, Mexico is the destruction of the Santa Catarina river. This natural lung is home to native flora and fauna that contribute to clean this city's contaminated air.
Today, Monterrey has become one of the most air-polluted cities in the world, owing to chemicals spread by factories operating without legal repercussions, as the current government seems to only want to earn more money.
In addition, officials claim the Santa Catarina river doesn't have fauna. And the flora are invasive species -an excuse used to 'clean' (deforest) the area. As a result, they suggested building highways, viaducts, or even a metro over the river.
Overall, various local collectives raise their voices about this problem. They use #UnRioEnElRio to share posts with crucial information such as photos that show a vibrant ecosystem and how we can help preserve it.
What are the main problems facing wildlife in your part of the world? What can we do to help?
The main problems facing wildlife in my country are many, such as the hot weather, which is affecting the green gardens and jungles, and all of our earth is becoming a desert! We can help ourselves and our planet by increasing our awareness of being more friendly to the environment.
Unfortunatly, this information is so usefull nowadays.
Now we have situations where we have to save our Earth at any cost, however only one day per year it is more than nothing, also we should be more carefully to our nature!
I think that the glaciers melting is completely our fault, and I’m the relative of Jonny Appleseed
I live in a developing country, people are hungry for the development works and often people without the consultation of experts began the 'development works' like making graveled road, building tea house randomly in forest etc.. These kind of actions have lead to fragmentation of habitat, deforestation and pollution. If it were up-to me, I would prioritize to educate people about the importance of those wildlife that they were unknowingly putting at risk and urge them to first plan with proper consultation of government and experts and only then execute the development projects.