WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EDUCATION AND INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES
A. Meadows
Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine School of Life Sciences, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
Corresponding author e-mail: azra.meadows@glasgow.ac.uk
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. |