World Wildlife Day Efforts For Ecosystem Restoration In Bangladesh

Dr. Md. Enamul Hoque
The World Wildlife Day is observed each year on 3 March since 2015 to raise awareness of the world’s wildlife. It reminds us of the urgent need to strengthen our fight against wildlife crime and the decline of species, which have widespread economic, environmental, and social impacts. To create resiliency within ecosystems, there must be biodiversity to recover key species that play pivotal roles within any given ecosystem.
This year’s 2022 World Wildlife Day will be celebrated under the theme “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”, as a way to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora. Considering the various adverse effects, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 focuses on stopping the loss of biodiversity.
Every life within the ecosystem has a crucial role in the well-being of the globe. If one species is rendered extinct due to some imbalance, it can have significant cascading effects throughout the rest of the chain. For example even a small bee is in fact a crucial worker in the process of nature conservation. Plants, flowers, and grasses do not bloom without their pollen carrying role.
Wildlife plays an important role in balancing our environment. Wild life provides stability to different natural processes of nature. The importance of wildlife can be classified as ecological importance, economic importance, investigatory importance, conservation of biological diversities etc. Wildlife preservation is the conservation and protection of animals, plants, and their habitats. Our wildlife population faces two main threats: habitat loss and illegal trade.
By conserving wildlife, we need to ensure that future generations can enjoy our natural world and the incredible species that live within it. To help protect wildlife, it’s important to understand how various species interact within their ecosystems, and how they are affected by environmental and human influences. Human actions have contributed too many disturbances seen in ecosystems today. While natural disturbances happen occasionally; but, the human disturbances are putting constant pressure on ecosystems and dramatically impacting species.
Bangladesh gives concerted efforts for “Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration” in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Forest Department is officially designated to protect and preserve wildlife; and it has been working actively to protect and preserve wildlife, the flora, and fauna of Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s first wildlife conservation ordinance was adopted through a presidential order on May 27, 1973. It was amended again in 1974 to speed up wildlife conservation. Later, the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act 2012 has been formulated to take stricter punitive measures against poachers, and to enhance conservation and management of wildlife of Bangladesh.
To work more specifically, four wildlife management and nature conservation divisions are set up in the forest department to protect and preserve wildlife under Wildlife and Nature Conservation Circle. In addition, Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU) also works to control wildlife crime throughout the country to accelerate the wildlife preservation and protection. To nurture wild flora and fauna widely, Bangladesh Forest Department maintains, 20 national parks, 24 wildlife sanctuaries, 2 marine protected areas, 2 vulture safe zones, 2 safari parks, 10 eco-parks, an aviary, etc. In addition, there are two special biodiversity protected areas namely- Ratargul Swamp Forest and Altadighi Lake.
In Bangladesh, it is estimated that there are nearly 133 species of mammals, 711 species of birds, 173 species of reptiles, 64 species of amphibians, 653 species of freshwater fishes, 185 species of crustaceans, and 323 butterflies in Bangladesh. The IUCN Red list of Bangladesh (2015) assessed that there are 1,619 species of which 31 species were regionally extinct, 56 species were critically endangered, 181 species were endangered, 153 species were vulnerable, 90 species were near threatened, and 802 species were least concern. The IUCN Red list of Bangladesh found 38 mammals, 39 birds, 38 reptiles, 10 amphibians, 64 freshwater fishes, 13 crustaceans and 188 butterflies are threatened throughout the country.
Still, habitat loss, inadequate land-use planning, and competition for limited resources have led to increased human-wildlife conflict in many parts of Bangladesh, and missed opportunities to achieve sustainable development. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), habitat destruction is the main threat to 85 percent of all threatened and endangered species. We can help reduce this threat by planting native trees, restoring wetlands or cleaning up beaches in our area.
Every life on earth is vitally connected in the ecosystem. When we protect animals and plants, we also protect the ecosystems that underlie our economies and well-being. One of the easiest and most effective ways to help wildlife is to preserve the environment in which the animals live. Peoples’ active participation in the conservation of wildlife is important for the survival of many endangered species, and it can serve as an important economic, social, and security engine for communities and individuals. Our wildlife conservation efforts are also directly helping people, through improved livelihoods, food security, access to fresh water, incomes, and by strengthening communities, socially and politically.

(Enamul Hoque is teacher educator and nature conservation activist).