"Each and every animal has as much right to be here as you and me."

Many in the world do not believe this quote. They do not care about the future of the world, they do not care about what is happening to Mother Earth. Why do we call earth as Mother Earth? It's because Earth has given life to all humans. It has nurtured us and kept our species alive. We must pay attention to today's world. The global diversity is decreasing every single day, and it all happened because of us. We are to blame.

So, what can we do?

Let's first dive deeper and learn about the root cause of decline in biodiversity, and the environmental effects of this decline. We need to understand the drivers affecting planet's sustainability.

A sustainable earth is composed of fewer greenhouse gases, cleaner rivers and air, animals living in harmony with humans, earth with greenery and flowers, and cleaner soils for plants to grow.

Climate Change is very closely related to planet's sustainability. Humans currently dump trash on the road, which finds its way by wind to the rivers and the rivers carry the trash into the ocean waters. This action pollutes the water bodies. This hurts animals like the Vaquita, which is now on the brink of extinction because of the pollution of waters.

An artwork depicting the importance of saving the wild by Prisha Roy of Ahmedabad International School
An artwork depicting the importance of saving the wild by Prisha Roy of Ahmedabad International School

Energy crisis is also gripping the planet and using fossil fuels are polluting the environment (for example, geothermal energy). Humans should use sustainable energy sources such as solar or wind energy, that is in abundance. It is hot and sunny half the year in several places worldwide such as southern part of India, Singapore and Thailand. Why aren't we leveraging the solar energy to its full potential? Solar energy doesn't harm the environment.

Not just climate change, human actions may affect animal lives, whose existence is crucial to the planet's sustainability. The environment plays a significant role in the conservation of animals. The zoo isn't a camel's or a tiger's natural habitat. A camel has lidded eyes with extra layers of protection because it is supposed to live in the desert. An octopus isn't supposed to live in the aquarium. It's supposed to live deep under the sea in the darkness. It's supposed to live in its own habitat, not to be in shallow waters and cater to visitors' view. An animal's presence should be in their own habitat, not in a zoo. Moving animals to a sanctuary is a good next step.

Animal presence is extremely important for our planet's sustainability. Each insect, bird, mammal and reptile are a significant part of this ecosystem. The American Bumblebee is a bee which has lost a large amount of its population. Now it's on the verge of extinction. We think ants serve no purpose. On the contrary just like honeybees, ants pollinate many plants and are important to farmers. Then people would say, "Tigers and lions are just predators who kill off livestock, hunt and serve no purpose." Actually, they do! When tigers hunt, they keep the population of the herbivores in check. They make sure there aren't too many deers or buffaloes. If tigers go extinct, then the herbivore population will explode, causing them to eat all the plants which will leave the land barren. As we know, barren land is of no use. Since there are no plants present on the barren land, the wind blows the top layer of the soil – the humus. Humus is essential for plant growth and with no way to grow crops, the land is useless to farmers, herbivores, and apex predators. Without animals, the whole ecosystem will be disrupted, and all species will eventually vanish, including we humans. Already we witness different species of plants and animals dying every day. This process will eventually lead to animal extinction. But why do animals become extinct?

Tiger
Tiger. (File Photo: IANS)IANS

One cause of animal extinction is humans. Species of Rhinos and Elephants are today extinct because their horns and tusks are poached. Now there are few elephants who have tusks remains. Tigers, lions and jaguars were hunted due to the fun of hunting and because their hide was often worthy to royals. Today, the hides are even traded in the black markets. The Javan tiger, which was common in the 1800s, is today extinct due to excessive hunting. Animals are caught just to put them in cages and are housed in a zoo without letting them reproduce which is crucial for their species to exist for a longer period of time.

The Baiji Dolphin, also known as the Yangtze River Dolphin is now extinct. It was fished, its habitat had been ruined. Now it's extinct. Governments and NGOs have taken extreme measures to stop hunters from poaching and hunting but it isn't enough to stop it. People still desire to own hides and fur coats, and use them to decorate their homes.

Dolphin

We can spread awareness about how human actions can affect the animals and planet. Many people don't know about climate change. They don't know about the importance of animals. They don't know how animals affect our world and how humans are affecting animal lives. They aren't worried about their actions. They dump trash in undesignated locations with the expectation that it'll be picked up by the sweepers, who will pick up the trash and dispose of appropriately. But that doesn't always happen.

We need to tell others about how all the greenery they are seeing today might disappear tomorrow! The greenery won't be there for them to see, and they will vanish if immediate remedial actions are not taken. Several companies are working towards a cleaner environment. They can spread awareness about how animals are such an important part of our ecosystem. Further, without them, the world will appear so incomplete and small.

Today, everyone is quite mindful of how their actions can protect us and future generations. However, everyone needs to do their small bit. Do what you can. There are several of us who are trying to be a change, just like you. You aren't alone.

Disclaimer: This is a guest post by Prisha Roy, a student of Ahmedabad International School.