Biodi­ver­sity conservation

Species conser­va­tion means preser­ving the world’s biodi­ver­sity of animals and plants and conser­ving their habi­tats. All of this requires concrete measures at the sub-national, national, regional and local levels, which are usually regu­lated by laws, regu­la­tions, guide­lines and agree­ments. The measures are enforced by corre­spon­ding orga­ni­sa­tions and initiatives.

The global envi­ron­mental orga­ni­sa­tion IUCN (Inter­na­tional Union for Conser­va­tion of Nature) regu­larly publishes the “Red List” of animal and plant species threa­tened with extinc­tion world­wide. The list serves as a guide for actions regar­ding the protec­tion of species, nature and the envi­ron­ment world­wide. The IUCN curr­ently esti­mates that more than 37,400 species are threa­tened with extinc­tion. Amphi­bians top the list at 41 percent, with mammals second at 26 percent. Sunce 2016 the Bornean oran­gutan has been clas­si­fied as a criti­cally endan­gered species.

If an animal is protected as a species, it is illegal to hunt or capture it.

The destruc­tion, frag­men­ta­tion, and loss of natural habi­tats have imme­diate effects on species diver­sity: flora and fauna in tropical forests are disap­pearing, habi­tats are shrin­king, and there is a lack of refuge for animals. Further­more, human-induced climate change is acce­le­ra­ting the pace of natural climate change to an alar­ming degree. Many species are over­whelmed by the changes in ecosys­tems and cannot adapt quickly enough.

In a direct and cruel manner, the wild­life trade also contri­butes to the disap­pearance of species: the smugg­ling of wild animals is a billion-dollar industry. Exotic animals are kept as pets, consumed as food, or processed for medi­cine. This illegal trade not only contri­butes to species extinc­tion but also poses a signi­fi­cant threat to humans, as we have expe­ri­enced first­hand through the COVID-19 pandemic. All of this repres­ents an immense threat to biodiversity.

Every year, well over a million hectares of rain­fo­rest are destroyed in Borneo, mainly in order to culti­vate oil palms. The resul­ting mono­cul­tures are redu­cing biodi­ver­sity to an alar­ming extent: they endanger animal species living here, such as oran­gutans, pygmy elephants or bantengs, as in addi­tion to redu­cing the food supply they also frag­ment form­erly connected habi­tats. For many animals, crossing plan­ta­tions in search of food and getting too close to humans ends in their death. Yet, prima­rily the problem is a long-term one: as a result of habitat frag­men­ta­tion, animals remain only in their original group, causing the gene pool to conti­nuously shrink. This is one of the main reasons for species extinc­tion. After all, higher biodi­ver­sity produces more robust species that can better adapt to the effects of climate change or dise­ases. Ther­e­fore, in addi­tion to protec­ting remai­ning natural land­scapes and their wild­life popu­la­tions, the connec­ti­vity of habi­tats in parti­cular is a key measure for preser­ving biodiversity.

Species conser­va­tion is a part of nature conser­va­tion and is concerned with the protec­tion of habi­tats in addi­tion to the protec­tion of indi­vi­dual species. Species conser­va­tion aims to preserve the species. Nature conser­va­tion focuses on the ecosystem as a whole.