If we recall the popular quote "...together we can go far", perhaps we will understand why the partnership has been a major factor in achieving many great feats in the world.
It is less of a wonder that Partnership is one of the Sustainable Development Goals, the last but surely the bedrock of it all, be it climate action or gender equality, etc. Partnerships are required to achieve the aims of these goals.
You may be wondering where this is leading. Keep calm. We will get there soon enough.
Today is World Wildlife Day. And the theme for this year's celebration is "Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation". Whether or not you are aware of this, we considered it important to share this article with you.
To us on a good start, let's define what Wildlife conservation is.
Wildlife can be defined as the practice of protecting plant and animal species and their habitats.
Significant changes can be seen when evaluating the size of the human population. We recently crossed the threshold of eight billion humans on Earth.
As it is well known, natural resources have depleted drastically in the bid to sustain our enormous size, and unsurprisingly wildlife is at the receiving end.
From using wildlife food sources and raw materials to encroaching on wildlife habitats to establish our habitat, the partnership i.e relationship between humans and wildlife is what biology will describe as a "parasitic relationship" because we only seem to take and never give back.
On this day, this is what we would like you to consider.
Is the relationship between you and wildlife sustainable?
If you have a negative response, this is the time for you to forge a sustainable partnership that will aid wildlife conservation.
Conserving wildlife has a wide range of advantages that will not only balance the ecosystem but also induce the stability of the many natural processes that are important to our living. Remember that Man is simply one part of the ecosystem, and (regardless of our size) many of these "little" animal and plant species do more work keeping the ecosystem in balance than we do.
Here are some simple ways You, Yes YOU!! can join the partnership for Wildlife Conservation.
Disclaimer: This is not a definite list. We hope you are exploring other means of conserving wildlife resources.
1. Stop Hunting Animals
Many of us grew up having to see all these "wild animals" in zoos and ranches which have depleted considerably. Now Disney is our hope of seeing those animals because most of them are either extinct or Endangered.
While domestic animals are reared (and in a way persevered for continuous reproduction), animals in the wild are not. That animal you caught may be the last of its specie. Indiscriminate hunting of animals has led to the loss of so many wildlife species. If we want a sustainable partnership, this is a major point we will have to consider.
2. Species over Structures
Of course, we need structures to live in, learn in and work in, but you should also consider the location of these civil structures.
Wildlife plants such as algae and mangrove trees may look unwanted and easy to get rid of, however, unlike us, they can't grow anywhere. This means, if you decide to erect your building there, you are destroying the wildlife habitat.
3. Learn about Wildlife species.
No. You don't have to be a science-related student to learn about wildlife species. It is easier for you to preserve what you can identify. For instance, you can decide to grow a garden of plants instead of uprooting them, if you identify just how important the plant is.
The same goes for animals. Take time to learn, identification is key to preserving wildlife.
4. Join a Wildlife Conservation organisation
You bet that volunteering is going that be one of our options for you.
Wildlife Conservation has been headlined by different organizations/bodies who partnered together to achieve the greater goal of preserving Wildlife.
Examples include international bodies such as Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW), and The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Find such organisations near you, and volunteer your skills and time towards the common goal of wildlife conservation.
The adage "two heads are better than one" has been proved efficient over time, imagine ten heads coming together to tackle a problem. Now, imagine a hundred heads coming together, the outcome will be overwhelming, right? Now imagine 8 billion heads. Yes!!
However, this cannot be achieved if all of us do not come and partner together to see the betterment of the world at large
It may sound cliche, but together we can. Together we should. And we hope that Together, we will.
Happy World Wildlife Day.
— Abdulsalam Abubakar
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