There are pros and cons to each, but the ongoing debate on whether to focus efforts on reintroduction or conservation looks set to continue for a long time. Here, we briefly consider whether conservation organizations, government, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should financially support reintroduction projects, or whether the money could be better spent on other types of conservation projects.
Both reintroduction programs and other types of conservation projects are very important and a balance must be found in terms of the resources given to each area. Indeed, reintroduction programs alone will not remedy the situation we are currently facing in terms of the declining number of species living in their natural habitat.
If we look at reintroduction first, it can be seen that there are indeed benefits to reintroduction programs and therefore financial support is vital for them. In some cases, where only a few species remain in the wild, it is a good idea to try to reintroduce them. Reintroduction gives species a ‘fighting chance’ for survival. It can also help preserve the biodiversity of the ecosystem. Each species has its own role to play in the ecosystem and if any species is ‘missing’ it can throw the whole system out of balance. This can affect not only flora and wildlife, but also local communities that depend on natural resources. Reintroduction is basically a way of trying to correct what humanity has done.
However, reintroduction cannot be considered in isolation, other types of conservation projects must be run alongside any reintroduction project to be successful.
An integrated approach must be taken for conservation projects: there is no one approach that can be used as a quick fix for declining numbers of species found in their natural habitat. However, there are a number of issues that have an effect on populations and looking at these can lead to ways to help negate or at least lessen their impact.
One of the reasons some species are declining in numbers is due to loss of their natural habitat, violation of logging and other activities, resulting in less area to move around and scarcity of food resources. Deforestation is carried out for various reasons, both for high commercial gain, but also for personal use by often poor rural communities.
There is a huge amount of profit that can be made by companies that use natural resources, this is mainly due to the demand from other countries for the products that are created using these resources. Education is paramount: explaining the consequences of a cheap product on the future of our natural resources may have some impact on the demand for products, however, what we really need is to develop alternatives that can be used; whose production would not have such an impact on the environment. Education is also important for the local communities surrounding these natural areas: they must learn that there are ways they can use these resources, but in a sustainable way. In addition, alternative methods of earning a living should be explored.
Ecotourism programs should also be financed, provided that they are executed in the correct way, that they benefit the country and the local community and that they guarantee that the impact on the population and the animals is not negative.
The money should also be spent on better enforcement of anti-poaching laws; too often these laws are lax and are not perceived by poachers as a real threat; the potential rewards are considered to outweigh the risk. If it were made more difficult for poachers, the number of animals removed from the forest for the bushmeat and pet trade would be reduced, and thus the number left in the wild would be greater.
The above are just some of the initiatives to which funding should be applied. In some cases, there are already programs that are beginning to venture into these areas; However, much remains to be done. Whatever happens in the future, it is important to remember that there are a number of parties that have a vested interest and the consequences of any conservation initiative must be considered on all of these parties before they are presented.
Reintroduction projects are vital in trying to correct past human mistakes that endangered the survival of the natural world. However, it is equally important to learn from the past and try to prevent the same recurring mistakes, through the implementation of alternative conservation projects. Ideally, this will eliminate the need for further reintroduction projects in the future.