Topic ways to protect endangered species

The reality endangered plant and animal species in the world According to the United Nations UN, up to one million speciesare threatened with extinction.. Conservation of Nature IUCN has

GROUP DISCUSSION

ENGLISH 3

Topic: Ways to protect endangered species

Group: 1 Class: 231_ENTH1611-27

Teacher: Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc

Preparation assessment: List of students (in the order of presenting)

I Why endangered species should be protected 12

1 Protecting endangered species - an important foundation of

2 Protecting endangered species - contributes to promoting

II Methods to protect endangered species: 14

A IntroductionDefinition of endangered species

Basically, “endangered” means that a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range A species

is categorized as endangered when only a few like 2,500 adultindividuals are left The list and ranking are prepared by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature based on very specificcriteria, the criteria for “endangered status” are:

● A very significant reduction in population size of a large percentage over recent years

● A continuing decline

● A severely shrinking geographic range

The reality endangered plant and animal species in the world

According to the United Nations (UN), up to one million speciesare threatened with extinction The International Union for 

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Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has over 40,000 species classified asthreatened in its 2022 Red List and estimates over 26,000 species arethreatened with extinction.

The world’s most endangered animals are:

● Asian rhinos were wiped out from the wildlife around2010

● The rare primates of the mountain gorilla make it one of the endangered species

● 50% of Asian Elephants got wiped in the last 75 years

● Snow leopards are fallen behind and decreased its number from the Asian regions

● There are also some other species such as: Vaquita,Orangutans, Giant panda, Whooping crane, blue whale, Sea otter,Tasmanian devil

Causes of endangered plant and animal species in the world

Causes of species endangerment are many, but conservation biologists recognize that multiple forces drawn along with humanactivity reinforce one another to cause a species to diminish

Overhunting or overharvesting 

History abounds with stories of animals going extinct because of hunting and the consequent deaths of their predators if not by directhunting as well, then by starvation because they no longer have a foodsource It is the cause of some high-profile near extinctions today, likeelephants for their ivory tusks and rhinos for their horn The horn issold at exorbitant prices as a cure for everything from hangovers tocancer.

 Loss of Habitat 

A loss of habitat can happen naturally Dinosaurs, for instance,lost their habitat about 65 million years ago The hot, dry climate of the Cretaceous period changed very quickly, most likely because of anasteroid striking the Earth The dinosaurs were unable to adapt to thisnew, cooler habitat Dinosaurs became endangered, then extinct.Human activity can also contribute to a loss of habitat Developmentfor housing, industry, and agriculture reduces the habitat of nativeorganisms This can happen in several different ways Developmentcan eliminate habitat and native species directly

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Environmental pollution is a real and major problem that directlyaffects environmental diversity, and this is evident through garbageand plastic bags that intertwine with wild plants because of randomdumping Moreover, there is oil leakage in the water which causes thedeath of plants and marine organisms As well as the discharge of toxins into waterways, all of this exacerbates the problem of environmental pollution and threatens the life of living organisms

 Disease

Diseases kill humans and animals alike The Ebola virus killed5,000 critically endangered western gorillas between 2002 and 2003 atthe Lossi Sanctuary and other hundreds of gorillas in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in 2003-2004 A deadly fungus decimated 30species of amphibians in Panama in the early 2000s A deadly fungusfrom Europe, where it is harmless to bats has spread to North Americakilling 6 million bats and taking many species to the brink of extinction

 High genetic vulnerability

For example, if a population does not have a gene that is resistant

to a certain disease, that disease may wipe out the entire population inone fell stroke Koalas are known to have low genetic variation Thismay be why they are showing high vulnerability to Chlamydia and thekoala retrofit virus

Human activity can also lead to a loss of genetic variation Once thenumbers of animals begin to dwindle, there are few numbers of them

B Body

I Why endangered species should be protected.

1 Protecting endangered species - an important foundation of  biodiversity 

One of the main reasons for protecting endangered species istheir role in maintaining biodiversity , our planet's most important andcomplex feature It comprises the variety of life at all its levels andinteractions from gene to ecosystem Biodiversity encompasses thecultural, ecological, and evolutionary processes that endure life Itincludes not only endangered species but all living organisms inexistence, from microbes to mammals and all types of ecosystems,from rainforests, deserts, mountains, and coral reefs All are part of adiverse ecosystem Endangered species are often indicator species,meaning their decline can indicate the deterioration of an ecosystem.For example, the critical condition of the monarch butterfly, a pollinator species living in the United States and Mexico, can indicate

a decline in the health of the entire prairie ecosystem Biodiversity losscan have far-reaching consequences for both the environment andhuman populations Bees and other pollinators play an important role

in fertilizing plants, which is essential to produce fruits and vegetableshumans rely on for sustenance products If there were no plants withthis chalk, the agricultural system would collapse, leading todevastating impacts on global food production As such, endangeredspecies also provide valuable resources for human populations Manyspecies are used for food, medicine, and other resources For example,the rosy periwinkle, an endangered plant species, is a source of twoanti-cancer compounds

The loss of these species can result in the loss of potential curesfor diseases and other valuable resources According to the UNEnvironment Programme, over half of global GDP depends onnature More than one billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods In addition, endangered species are often cultural or spiritual symbols for many communities For example, the bald eaglesymbolises freedom and strength for the United States, and the tiger is power and strength for many Asian cultures.

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The loss of these species can result in the loss of importantcultural and spiritual values.

2 Protecting endangered species - contributes to promoting medical development. 

One of the many protecting endangered species benefits has beenits contributions to promoting medical developments Each living thingcontains a unique reservoir of genetic material that has evolved over eons This material cannot be retrieved or duplicated if lost So far,scientists have investigated only a small fraction of the world’s speciesand have just begun to unravel their chemical secrets to find possiblehuman health benefits to mankind No matter how small or obscure aspecies, it could one day be of direct importance to us all It was

“only” a fungus that gave us penicillin, and certain plants have yieldedsubstances used in drugs to treat heart disease, cancer, and a variety of other illnesses

More than a quarter of all prescriptions written annually in theUnited States contain chemicals discovered in plants and animals If these organisms had been destroyed before their unique chemistries

were known, their secrets would have died with them A few hundredwild species have stocked our pharmacies with antibiotics, anti-cancer agents, painkillers, and blood thinners The biochemistry of unexamined species is an unfathomed reservoir of new and potentiallymore effective substances The reason is found in the principles of evolutionary biology Caught in an endless “arms race” with other forms of life, these species have devised myriad ways to combatmicrobes and cancer-causing runaway cells Plants and animals canmake strange molecules that may never occur to a chemist For example, the anti-cancer compound taxol, originally extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, is “too fiendishly complex” a chemicalstructure for researchers to have invented on their own, said a scientistwith the U.S National Cancer Institute.

Taxol has become the standard treatment for advanced cases of ovarian cancer, which strikes thousands of women every year.However, until the discovery of taxol’s effectiveness, the Pacific yewwas considered a weed tree of no value and was routinely destroyedduring logging operations Some of the most promising natural wonder 

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drugs come from compounds not usually associated with healing: poisons.

One pharmaceutical company is marketing a blood thinner based

on the venom of the deadly saw-scaled viper A protein from another Asian pit viper is being studied because it appears to inhibit the spread

of melanoma cells, and a compound from the venom of some tarantulaspecies may lead to new treatments for neurological disorders such asParkinson’s disease

Protecting endangered species is not a luxury but a necessity for the well-being of our planet and the survival of species, includingourselves Through preserving biodiversity, advancing science, andcultivating ethical considerations, we can work together towards amore harmonious coexistence with the natural world

II Methods to protect endangered species:

1 For the government

1.1 Promulgating laws to protect endangered species.

Protection of wildlife involves activities which aim at helpinganimals live and develop according to the law of nature and protectingthem from such dangers as illegal trafficking, hunting, and capture

Wildlife protection also has a very important significance, i.e., creating

an environment for the growth and development of wildlife to helpthem escape from extinction

It can be said that Vietnam’s legal system for the protection of wildlife and endangered, precious, and rare animals is rather comprehensive, complete, and strict and can be divided into differentgroups of regulations such as regulations on wildlife management;regulations on handling of wildlife-related violations; and regulations

on the handling of confiscated material evidence being wild animals:

 Regarding regulations on the handling of wildlife-relatedviolations, the crime of violating regulations on forestmanagement and protection had been provided in the 1985Penal Code, the first Penal Code of Vietnam

 In the 1999 Penal Code, the offense of violating regulations onthe protection of animals on the list of endangered, precious,and rare species prioritized for protection is stipulated in aseparate article (Article 190)

 In 2015 when designing a new code to replace the 1999 Code,legislators devoted two articles to regulate crimes related to

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wildlife and endangered, precious, and rare animals (Articles

234 and 244 of the 2015 Code, revised in 2017)

 According to the provisions of Article 244 of the 2015 PenalCode, which was amended and supplemented in 2017, subjectswho illegally hunt, kill, raise, confine, transport, and tradeanimals on the list of endangered, precious, and rare speciesPriority protection will be fined from 500,000,000 VND to2,000,000,000 VND or imprisonment from 1 to 5 years

In addition to provisions on the handling of violations asmentioned above, the law on the protection of wildlife and endangered, precious, and rare animals also includes provisions on the handling of material evidence being wild animals or endangered, precious, and rareanimals However, these provisions have revealed many limitationsand shortcomings, especially those relating to the competence tosanction violations with material evidence being wild animals At present, the Forest Ranger force’s competence to sanction wildlife-related violations is provided in different legal documents

1.2 Restoring and protecting the living environment of endangered  species

The government should invest in the rehabilitation of the naturalenvironment, as in the purview of substantial development it is verycrucial that nature and its resources are intact and unblemished For thegenerations to come, rather than considering it as an extravagantexpenditure, it is an investment that the generation today should makeeconomically so that the future cohort is stable and imbibed with aninclination towards setting a concord with the earth and itsconstituents.

To restore and protect the living environment of endangeredspecies, the government should:

 Set up some organizations to advocate the importance of savingthe species of animals and plants Also, many reserves should

 be built to protect the endangered species

  Defending and strengthening the Endangered Species Act,

which provides an essential legal safety net to prevent the loss

of plant and animal species to extinction

  Holding federal agencies and others accountable for complyingwith laws protecting rare and endangered species usingcooperation, persuasion, and—where necessary—litigation

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  Advocating for increased funding   for federal and stateconservation programs that benefit endangered species.

  Protecting, restoring, and connecting the habitats  on whichendangered species and other wildlife depend for their survival,and encouraging wildlife-friendly land management practices

  Reducing threats to wildlife that can lead to their endangermentand extinction, such as loss of habitat, contamination of water and spread of invasive species

2 For the people:

2.1  Enhancing conservation education

ESI (Endangered Species International) fosters ground actions toget people to bond with and love the earth before asking them to save

it We must invest in education for sustainable development and ensurethat it is embedded in learning systems globally Whether it manifestsitself in the heartbreaking of mega-fire, the lack of fish, thedegradation of natural land, or the disturbing silence that settles in thecountryside and forests, the collapse of biodiversity and our killing of life on earth must prompt us to change course without further delay

We must mobilize ourselves alongside the youth There is still time, but not for much longer

● Opportunities to develop compassion are important for childrenand for the world Learning about creatures ravaged by poaching and illegal hunting and displaced by habitat loss is afantastic way to foster compassion in our youth Accountabilityfor our actions is a big lesson learned in studying endangeredspecies.

● Children are the future custodians of our planet Teaching themthe value of all creatures is an important step in raisingenvironmentally aware citizens thus ensuring a healthy planetwith strong biodiversity for future generations

● The study of endangered species is a great way to engage people, especially students, by integrating subject areas.Language arts, science, geography, social studies, and math allhave relevance in the study of endangered species Languagearts is represented by readings and research studies onendangered animals Food webs and biodiversity are relevantareas of biology, important in the study of these creatures.Geography studies the ecozone and country of origin of endangered animals Social studies topics might look at howhumans have caused extinctions in the past and activities and behaviors that have led to animals being on the endangeredspecies list today

Some other components of environmental education that cannotforget to be mentioned are Raising people’s attitudes of concern for theenvironment and motivation to improve or maintain environmentalquality; Improving skills to identify and help resolve environmental

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