Unabated hunting, growing human presence: nearly 58 percent of all vertebrates' species scale down in 42 years

Nearly 58 percent of species of all vertebrates have scaled down over the past 42 years mainly due to the unabated hunting and growing human presence. The planet earth is feared to lose its two-third of wildlife creatures including fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals by 2020 if the fatal trend continued.
"This can only be reversed if we accelerate and intensify our actions and investments which support wildlife conservation in the long run," Director General, WWF-Pakistan Hammad Naqi Khan said on Friday, while marking World Wildlife Day 2017. He said that the human activities and the growing use of non-renewable natural resources have dramatically triggered the fall in wildlife population in the world since the mid-20th century. He feared the environmental conditions that foster development and growth of the planet and flora and fauna are now deteriorating.
"The WWF-Pakistan is making all possible efforts to restore and conserve the endangered wildlife species particularly freshwater and marine cetaceans, Indus river dolphins, turtles, gyps vultures, and snow and common leopards among others," he pointed out.
One of the steps by the WWF-Pakistan, he mentioned, is the successful breeding of critically endangered Oriental white-backed vultures in captivity at the Changa-Manga Conservation Centre, Lahore. "This is the second year of successful breeding of the species in a row in Pakistan where 2 healthy white-backed vulture chicks hatched in January," Hammad said.
He emphasised on setting up a robust mechanism to address the declining nature from human impact that is causing the wild species to perish. "The theme for 2017 listening to the young voices highlights the vital role of youth in tackling conservation issues. It also provides an opportunity to engage and empower the youth who can make a significant contribution towards species conservation in the country," he said. In this connection, he said, the WWF-Pakistan under its School Outreach Programme and Youth Development Programme, engages more than 125,000 students including teachers across the country. "The programmes focus mainly on creating more mature and environmentally conscious students and future generation," the Director General of WWF-Pakistan said.
Regional Head Sindh and Balochistan WWF-Pakistan, Ali Dehlavi said that habitat loss, environmental degradation, illegal trade and climate change are among the 'most' alarming challenges that the wildlife faces in Pakistan. "The observed decline in species populations is also inextricably linked to the state of ecosystems that sustain them. Destruction of these ecosystems represents a risk not just to the resident plants and wildlife, but to the humans as well," he said.
The WWF-Pakistan in co-ordination with the concerned organisations is implementing various initiatives to address the key challenges coupled besides reviving the diverse ecosystems across the country. "As the youths are the future custodians of wildlife, they must develop their interest and take steps for protection of wild species," Dehlavi said.
Technical Adviser Marine Fisheries WWF-Pakistan, Muhammad Moazzam Khan said that the organization is actively working for the conservation of marine animals, which are an important part of the coastal and offshore ecosystems. "In this context, crew based observer programmes and awareness campaigns were initiated under the Marine Programme of WWF-Pakistan, that has achieved significant success in the conservation of marine mega fauna," he said.
So far 48 whale sharks, 23 manta rays, 10 sting rays, 15 sea snakes, 4 dolphins, 3 guitar fishes, 3 baleen whales, 1 beaked whale, 11 sunfish, 4 brown boobies, 4 diamond squids and more than 20,000 marine turtles have been safely released over the last 3 years, he said. "A rare Arabian humpback whale was sighted on around 47 occasions in the offshore waters of Pakistan recently. This indicates that this rarest mammal is also found in Pakistani waters," he added.