World Wildlife Day 2022: Five interesting facts about nature and wildlife

World Wildlife Day is observed every year on March 3 to raise awareness about issues that impact wildlife. Earth is home to innumerable species, and each one of them plays an important role in balancing the environment.

It can be found in all ecosystems, deserts, rainforests, plains, and other areas. This year, World Wildlife Day will celebrate forest-based livelihoods and seek to promote forest and forest wildlife management models and practices so that humans and animals can co-exist. The aim is to promote sustainable ways of human survival which doesn’t destroy the natural habitat of wildlife species.

1. Based on this year’s theme, “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”, the celebrations will seek to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and to drive discussions towards imagining and implementing solutions to conserve them.

2. According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, over 8,400 species of wild fauna and flora are critically endangered, while close to 30,000 more are understood to be endangered or vulnerable. Based on these estimates, it is suggested that over a million species are threatened with extinction.

3. On December 20, 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March as UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants.

4. Scientists at London’s Natural History Museum discovered more than 270 new species in 2018, from living plants, frogs and beetles to extinct varieties of wombat, shark and dinosaur.

5. Coral reefs support a huge amount of marine life, offering protection from strong waves as well as from predators. They also contribute $172 billion to the global economy, and the sea life they support helps feed 1 billion people. But they are also endangered.

(Source: weforum.org; wildlifeday.org)

Published on: Thursday, March 03, 2022, 11:21 AM IST