Conservation Biology

ENDANGERED SPECIES MANAGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE PERSPECTIVE

by
DENNIS NABOR MUÑOZ, RN, RM, LPT
Graduate Student, Master of Science in Biology
Ateneo de Davao University

Outline
I. Introduction
a. The birth of species and Mass extinction
b. Justification of conservation
II. Endangerment of Species based from International Union of Conservation of
Nature (IUCN)
III. Current models of Conservation and Species Management
IV. The Philippine Initiatives and Conservation Efforts
V. Conclusion

Introduction

What is the point of saving endangered flora and fauna in the country? Let us consider
the expenditure of our government and including stake holders who are funding for the
survival of these threatened species. What benefit will it give us? Let us turn back the
time how life get started.

The birth of species and Mass extinction

The Earth, once a barren and inhabitable to any life form, at some point in evolution.
It appears that ancient life form first emerged at least 3.8 billion years ago, approximately
750 million years after Earth was formed (Cooper, 2000). Since the dawn of time, life
flourish on Earth in an aggressive and exponential rate, numerous species of flora and
fauna diversified and had propagated in different landscape, fluvial and areal milieu.

Life progressed and undergo adaptation and eventually experience a vanishing thread
due to natural forces in nature. The Earth is excellent in concealing its past life events,
especially the Five (5) great mass extinction that obliterated swathes of species. See
Figure 1. Eventually, scientist all over the world, unearth and put all the puzzles to
unravel its secret and deduce a common conclusion that extinction is real, perpetual and
exponential.

Retrieved from http://faculty.montgomerycollege.edu/gyouth/FP_examples/student_examples/angela_stewart/periods.html

Figure 1. Mass Extinction is the extinction of one of more species in a relatively short
period of geological time, usually because of a catastrophic global event, a natural

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disaster, or an abrupt change in the environment, and based on studies of fossil records
and macroscopic evidence.

Why is this happening? This is because, extinction is the language of nature - one of
the inevitable key ingredients in evolution. The cycle between life and death give rise to
new genera of species that will later roam and rule the world for over a million years prior
to its extinction. From these process, life must continue propagating to keep the gene pool
going in the unforgiving habits of nature. The recent annihilation of species took 65
million years ago where scientists estimated that at least 99.9 percent of all species of
plants and animals that ever lived are now extinct (American Museum of Natural History,
2018)

Mother earth, our beloved home planet and the last refuge of mankind, are continually
changing. She faced several natural series of cataclysmic events in causing habitats to
undergo chain of transformation and modification, but these tend to happen at a gradual
pace. This permits most species to adjust to the fluctuating environment, whereby only a
trifling impact may take place.

According to Leon Megginson a professor from Louisiana University School of

business management said: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most
intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Furthermore,
many people credited the idea of natural selection process through “survival of the fittest”
by Charles Darwin. In this theory, it shows evidence of life and survival are obvious and
tangible processes in nature. Thus, they argued that species with useful adaptations to the
environment are more likely to survive and produce progeny than are those with less
useful adaptations, thereby increasing the frequency with which useful adaptations occur
over the generations (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018).

Since extinction is a natural process, and even in the absence of humans it happens,
why should we care to stop it?

Conserving endangered species means maintaining diversity of life sustainable. In a

more objective reason, conserving species diversity depend on the ecological benefit that
each species plays within its environment. That is, each species is important for how it
generates and processes resources in the area in which it lives (Rhoads, 2010). Every
known species produces and consumes matter it obtains in the environment. Matter
whether organic or inorganic in origin, which is made or used by something else,
according to its availability, it creates a food web or the food chain. When one of the key
players of ecology (the species) goes missing from this network, it loses equilibrium
creating an ecological crisis which eventually cascades to entropy of nature. I will
typically affect another species, or its products begin to over-accumulate, throwing the
ecosystem out of balance. Thus, species often indicate the health of our ecosystems.

Today, a new wave of mass extinction coming in, due to human activity. This rapid
decline of species is now going extinct much faster than they used to. A recent study
estimated that the extinction rate has increased a hundredfold over the last century, and
human active have played a major role in the destructive process of their existence
(Marshall, 2015).

Human activities that influence the extinction and endangerment of wild species fall into
several categories (Hassenzahl, Hager & Berg, 2011) See Figure 2.:

(1) Unsustainable hunting and harvesting that cause mortality at rates that exceed
recruitment of new individuals. Because of over exploitation, excessive utilization
of available resources and uncontrolled resources exploration, it contributed to
overall habitat destruction causing major displacement to the endemic species. An
endangered species of plant, animal, or microorganism is at risk of imminent

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extinction or extirpation in all or most of its range. Extinct species no longer occur
anywhere on Earth, and once gone they are gone forever. Extirpated species have
disappeared locally or regionally, but still survive in other regions or in captivity.
Threatened species are at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future.

(2) Land use practices like deforestation, urban and suburban development,
agricultural cultivation, and water management projects that encroach upon
and/or destroy natural habitat. Country developers also helped contribute to rapid
ecological conversion of landscape into artificial parks, amusement centers, social
venues, loosing of protected corridors, housing centers leading to creation of
unnatural order of niches to endemic inhabitant species. As per global involvement,
induced climate change due to high impact gas emissions from major industrial firms,
rapid urbanization, human household effluents and auto mechanization, all have led
to the major threat to maintain optimum gaseous and water threshold to keep nature
in equilibrium. Country developers also helped contribute to rapid ecological
conversion of landscape into artificial parks, amusement centers, social venues,
loosing of protected corridors, housing centers leading to creation of unnatural order
of niches to endemic inhabitant species. As per global involvement, induced climate
change due to high impact gas emissions from major industrial firms, rapid
urbanization, human household effluents and auto mechanization, all have led to the
major threat to maintain optimum gaseous and water threshold to keep nature in
equilibrium.

(3) Effects of Invasive Species on Ecosystems whether intentional or unintentional

introduction of destructive diseases, parasites, and predators. This may lead to
direct competition with native species; it loses species diversity which may cause
native species to become endangered; Short-circuit interactions in natural
communities & disrupt natural food web; It Affects entire ecosystem functions as
water availability and nutrient cycle

(4) Ecological damage caused by water, air, and soil pollution. To thrive in this
environmental would directly kill inhabiting species from polluted waters, noxious
unbreathable air and unswallowable food due to low quality product, massive
parasitic infestations, fungal toxicity, and even food poisoning.

(5) Anthropogenic (human-caused) global climate change. Alone or in combination,

these stressors result in small, fragmented populations of wild flora and fauna that
become increasingly susceptible to inbreeding, and to the inherent risks of small
abundance, also called demographic instability. Without intervention, stressed
populations often decline further, and become endangered.

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Figure 2. Causes of Declining Biological Diversity. In this highly simplified diagram,

indirect causes (tan) interact with and amplify the effects of one another and of direct
causes (gray). All these factors interact in complex ways (Hassenzahl, Hager & Berg,
2011, p. 383).

According to Arne Næss, a Norwegian Philosophers who coined the term Deep
Ecology, explains: “the right of all forms [of life] to live is a universal right which cannot
be quantified. No single species of living being has more of this particular right to live
and unfold than any other species (Næss, 1989).”

Justification of Conservation (Botkin & Keller, 2011; Spash, & Aldred, 1998)

The role of conservation in the struggle to protect the environment is then analyzed
using underlying ethical arguments behind the economic, ecological and rights-based
justifications given for conservation. The moral considerability of species and individuals
is reviewed and different positions contrasted, most importantly utilitarianism versus
rights. A central argument with primary influence over economics is the utilitarian
justification for action and this is explored with reflection upon the use of monetary
valuation. Rights are then explored and the use of consequentialism in adjudicating
different rights claims introduced. Human preferences be practically powerful in
justifying conservation policy decisions. even when an animal-centered ethic has been
adopted. Yet ecological and non-consequentialist expressions of concern characterize the
entire problem in fundamentally different ways, e.g. biodiversity and ecosystems
maintenance versus marginal species loss, designation of wilderness areas versus
management of parklands. Leaving the wild in wilderness and the natural in Nature
cannot then be reduced to preference utilitarianism (Spash, & Aldred, 1998).

Utilitarian Justification (Botkin & Keller, 2011)

Many of the arguments for conserving endangered species, and for conserving
biological diversity in general, have focused on the utilitarian justification: that many
wild species have proved useful to us and many more may yet prove useful now or in the
future, and therefore we should protect every species from extinction (Pearson, 2016).

Ecological Justification (Botkin & Keller, 2011)

When we reason that organisms are necessary to maintain the functions of ecosystems
and the biosphere, we are using an ecological justification for conserving these
organisms.

Individual species, entire ecosystems, and the biosphere provide public-service

functions essential or important to the persistence of life, and as such they are indirectly
necessary for our survival. Such functions involve the entire biosphere reminds us of the
global perspective on conserving nature and specific species.

Aesthetic Justification (Botkin & Keller, 2011)

An aesthetic justification asserts that biological diversity enhances the quality of our
lives by providing some of the most beautiful and appealing aspects of our existence.
Biological diversity is an important quality of landscape beauty It is a very human quality
to appreciate nature’s beauty and is a strong reason for the conservation of endangered
species.

Moral Justification (Botkin & Keller, 2011)

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Moral justification is based on the belief that species have a right to exist, independent
of our need for them; consequently, in our role as global stewards, we are obligated to
promote the continued existence of species and to conserve biological diversity. Thus, a
moral justification for the conservation of endangered species is part of the intent of the
law.

Moral justification has deep roots within human culture, religion, and society. Those
who focus on cost-benefit analyses tend to downplay moral justification, but although it
may not seem to have economic ramifications, in fact it does. As more and more citizens
of the world assert the validity of moral justification, more actions that have economic
effects are taken to defend a moral position.

Cultural Justification (Botkin & Keller, 2011)

Certain species, some threatened or endangered, are of great importance to many

indigenous peoples, who rely on these species of vegetation and wildlife for food, shelter,
tools, fuel, materials for clothing, and medicine. Reduced biological diversity can
severely increase the poverty of these people. For poor indigenous people who depend on
forests, there may be no reasonable replacement except continual outside assistance,
which development projects are supposed to eliminate.

Endangerment of Species based from International Union of Conservation of Nature

(IUCN)

Conservation is most commonly thought of at the species level: endangered species

conservation is central to the missions of environmental organizations such as WWF and
is the basis for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Pearson, 2016);

Human activities have largely contributed to a rapid rate of decline to the most
valuable species of this country. This includes the Philippine Eagle, the Tamaraw and the
Philippine Crocodile that lead to their demise. The threat of a sixth species-level mass
extinction has been widely associated with the current biodiversity crisis.

Endangerment is as wide-ranging issue, one that involves the animals, plants and
fungal species including the environments where they thrive and interact with one
another. Thus, to solve or even slightly elevate this problem, every aspect must be
carefully sort out. An endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by
extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of
genetic variation.

According to recent studies, humanity could extinguish one out of every three species
on Earth during the next several centuries, if we continue our current habitat-destroying,
resource-monopolizing path (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
2010).

A Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are
vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes
characterized by the population dynamics measure of critical dispensation, a
mathematical measure of biomass related to population growth rate.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Version 13 as of March

2017, is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as
a single category, but as a group of three categories:

1. Vulnerable species - one which has been categorized by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that

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are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. mainly caused by habitat loss
or destruction of the species home
2. Endangered species - a species which has been categorized as very likely to become
extinct. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species: for example,
forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Population
numbers, trends and species' conservation status can be found in the lists of organisms
by population.
3. Critically endangered species -

At present Philippines is a home to over 6,355 identified species in land and in marine
ecosystem. According to IUCN Red list as of March of 2018 the proportion of
approximately 556 species that are considered vulnerable, of approximately 173 species
that are considered Endangered (EN) and approximately 115 species that are considered
Critically Endangered (CR).

Current models of Conservation and Species Management

Figure 3. A generalized model of a conservation project of 2002. the term “project”

refers to any set of actions undertaken by a group of practitioners to achieve some
defined end (Salafsky, Margoluis, Redford, &Robinson, 2002).

Figure 4. A revised general model of a conservation project of 2008. Conservation

actions can be applied to contributing factors, direct threats, or even to biodiversity
targets as indicated by the box around these factors (Salafsky, Salzer, Stattersfield,
Hilton-Taylor, Neugarten, Butchart, Collen, Cox, Master, O’connor, & Wilkie, 2008).

Terminologies:

 Biodiversity targets: The biological entities (species, communities, or ecosystems)

that a project is trying to conserve (e.g., a population of a specific species of fish or a

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forest ecosystem). Some practitioners also include ecological and evolutionary

phenomena and processes as targets. Biodiversity targets are synonymous with focal
conservation targets and biodiversity features.
 Stresses: Attributes of a conservation target’s ecology that are impaired directly or
indirectly by human activities (e.g., reduced population size or fragmentation of forest
habitat). A stress is not a threat in and of itself, but rather a degraded condition or
“symptom” of the target that results from a direct threat. Stresses are synonymous
with degraded key attributes.
 Direct threats: The proximate human activities or processes that have caused, are
causing, or may cause the destruction, degradation, and/or impairment of biodiversity
targets (e.g., unsustainable fishing or logging). Direct threats are synonymous with
sources of stress and proximate pressures. Threats can be past (historical), ongoing,
and/or likely to occur in the future. As discussed later, natural phenomena are also
regarded as direct threats in some situations.
 Contributing factors: The ultimate factors, usually social, economic, political,
institutional, or cultural, that enable or otherwise add to the occurrence or persistence
of proximate direct threats. There is typically a chain of contributing factors behind
any given direct threat. In a situation analysis, these factors are often subdivided into
indirect threats (factors with a negative effect, such as market demand for fish) and
opportunities (factors with a positive effect, such as a country’s land-use planning
system that favors conservation). Contributing factors are synonymous with
underlying factors, drivers, or root causes.
 Conservation actions: Interventions undertaken by project staff or partners designed
to reach the project’s objectives and ultimate conservation goals (e.g., establishing an
ecotourism business or setting up a protected area). Actions can be applied to
contributing factors, direct threats, or directly to the targets themselves (Fig. 1).
Conservation actions are roughly synonymous with strategies, interventions,
activities, responses, and measures (in the action sense, not the monitoring sense).
 Project teams: The groups of people involved in designing, implementing, managing,
and monitoring projects (e.g., a partnership between a local nongovernmental
organization and a community or the staff of a national park).

According to Salafsky (2008) he believes these classifications will be useful for conservation
practitioners in 3 ways:

1. First, they will help practitioners identify the direct threats occurring at a particular site or
affecting a particular species and what actions might be appropriate to counter these
threats. A project team can scan these classifications and see if they recognize any threats
that they may be overlooking in their analysis of the conditions at their site, or any actions
that they might use.

2. Second, they will enable managers and decision makers to tally the frequency of threats
or actions across projects at various organizational or spatial scales to help set priorities
and allocate resources. They will also allow researchers to combine threats and action
summaries with other information for more detailed analyses of conservation situations
and solutions.

3. Third and most important is that they will facilitate cross-project learning by allowing
practitioners to precisely describe the chains linking targets, threats, contributing factors,
and actions—their project-specific versions of the general chain in Fig. 3 and 4. These
chains can then be shared through common databases of conservation practice, thus
enabling practitioners to share and compare experiences more readily, ultimately leading
to the development of a more systematic science of biodiversity conservation.

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Philippine Initiatives and Conservation Effort

Laws that affects the Species Conservation in the Philippines:

The Philippines has a law design to protect and conserve biodiversity, and this is the
Republic Act No. 9147 Entitled an Act Providing for The Conservation And Protection Of
Wildlife Resources and Their Habitats, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other
Purposes (Chano-Robles, 2018)

This Law Have the following objectives to support wild life:

1. to conserve and protect wildlife species and their habitats to promote ecological
balance and enhance biological diversity;

2. to regulate the collection and trade of wildlife;

3. to pursue, with due regard to the national interest, the Philippine commitment to
international conventions, protection of wildlife and their habitats; and

4. to initiate or support scientific studies on the conservation of biological diversity.

Other Environmental laws were also created such as:

1. Executive Order No. 79- Institutionalizing And Implementing Reforms In The

Philippine Mining Sector Providing Policies And Guidelines To Ensure
Environmental Protection And Responsible Mining In The Utilization Of Mineral
Resources

2. Chain Saw Act of 2002 - Republic Act No. 9175

3. Philippine Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002 - Republic Act No. 9168

4. Mt. Kanla-on Natural Park (MKNP) Act of 2001 - Republic Act No. 9154

5. Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act - Republic Act No. 9147

6. National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act - Republic Act
No. 9072

7. Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 - Republic Act No. 9003

8. Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 - Republic Act No. 8749

9. Implementing Rules & Regulations of the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 -

10. Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 - Republic Act No. 8550

11. Animal Welfare Act of 1998 - Republic Act No. 8485

12. Agriculture & Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 - Republic Act No. 8435

13. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 - Republic Act No. 8371

14. An Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide (ASIN) - Republic Act No. 8172

15. Coconut Preservation Act of 1995 - Republic Act No. 8048

16. The Water Crisis Act of 1995 - Republic Act No. 8041

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17. Philippine Mining Act of 1995 - Republic Act No. 7942

18. Amendment to the Agrarian Reform Code - Republic Act No. 7907

19. High-Value Crops Development Act of 1995 -Republic Act No. 7900

20. Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan Act - Republic Act No. 7611

21. National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 - Republic Act No. 7586

22. Seed Industry Development Act of 1992 - Republic Act No. 7308

23. Tax Laws Incorporated in the Revised Forestry Code - Republic Act No. 7161

24. People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991 - Republic Act No. 7076

25. Toxic Substances & Hazardous & Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990 - Republic Act
No. 6969

26. An Act Creating the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) - Republic Act
No. 4850

27. Executive Order No. 927 - Further Defining Certain Functions And Powers Of The
Laguna Lake Development Authority.

28. Laguna Lake Development Authority - Resolution No. 33 Series Of 1996

29. Approving The Rules And Regulations Implementing The Environmental User Fee
System In The Laguna De Bay Region

30. Lanao del Sur National Parks - Republic Act No. 4190

31. National Water & Air Pollution Control Commission Act - Republic Act No. 3931

32. Prohibition Against Cutting of Trees in Public Roads, Plazas, etc. - Republic Act No.
3571

33. An Act Amending Section Thirty-Six of P. D. No. 705, Otherwise Known as "The
Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines" - Batas Pambansa Bilang 701

34. An Act Amending R. A. No. 5474, As Amended by R. A. No. 6145 (Re: Prohibiting
the Catching, Selling, Offering to Sell, Purchasing any of the Fish Species Called
"Gobiidae" or "Ipon"). - Batas Pambansa Bilang 58

35. Withdrawal of Lead in Gasoline - Presidential Decree No. 2001

36. Small-Scale Mining Law - Presidential Decree No. 1899

37. Amendment to the Revised Forestry Code - Presidential Decree No. 1775

38. Environmental Impact Statement System - Presidential Decree No. 1586

39. Plant Quarantine Law of 1978 - Presidential Decree No. 1433

40. The Coral Resources Development & Conservation Decree - Presidential Decree No.
1219

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41. Philippine Environment Code - Presidential Decree No. 1152

42. Philippine Environmental Policy - Presidential Decree No. 1151

43. The Water Code of the Philippines - Presidential Decree No. 1067

44. National Pollution Control Commission - Presidential Decree No. 984

45. Marine Pollution Decree of 1976 - Presidential Decree No. 979

46. Code on Sanitation of the Philippines - Presidential Decree No. 856

47. Penalty for Improper Garbage Disposal - Presidential Decree No. 825

48. Amending Certain Sections of (R.A. 4850), Otherwise Known as the "Laguna Lake
Development Authority Act of 1966."

49. Presidential Decree No. 813 - Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines
50. Presidential Decree No. 705

51. Philippine Fisheries Code of 1975 - Presidential Decree No. 704

52. Revised Coast Guard Law - Presidential Decree No. 601

53. Pertaining to the Preservation, Beautification, Improvement and Gainful Utilization of

the Pasig River, Providing for the Regulation and Control of Pollution of the River
and Its Banks in Order to Enhance Its Development, Thereby Maximizing Its
Utilization for Socio-Economic Purposes. - Presidential Decree No. 274

54. Executive Order No. 54 - Creating the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission

55. EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 65 - AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 54,

SERIES OF 1999

56. An Act to Reserve to the Philippine Legislature the Disposition of the Waters of the
Public Domain for the Utilization and Development of Hydraulic Power. - Act No.
4062

57. The Fisheries Act - Act No. 4003

58. An Act to Protect Wild Flowers and Plants in the Philippine Islands and to Prescribe
Conditions Under Which They May be Collected, Kept, Sold, Exported, and for Other
Purposes. - Act No. 3983

59. Prohibition Against Cutting of Tindalo, Akli & Molave Trees - Act No. 3572

60. Guidelines on Biological & Genetic Resources - Eexecutive Order No. 247 [1995]) -
President Fidel V. Ramos

61. Task Force Pawikan - Executive Order No. 542 (President Ferdinand E. Marcos)

62. Environmental Impact Statement System - Areas/Types of Projects - Proclamation

No. 2146

63. Subic Watershed Forest Reserve Law - Proclamation No. 926 (President Corazon C.
Aquino)

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64. Quezon National Park - Proc. No. 740|Proc. No. 594|Proc. No. 2

65. Preferential Treatment of Small Fisherfolks [15-km.Mun. Water] - DENR

Administrative Order No. 03

66. Regulations for the Conservation of Marine Turtles - Bureau of Forest Development
Circular No. 08

The Non-governmental organization (NGO) for conservation played an active part in

the in conservation of bio-diversity. They are made up of professionals of an ordinary
concerned and enthusiastic citizens and have rich human resources in strengthening the
role as partners for Sustainable Development. They recruit and engage volunteers for
most of their activities and are usually led by volunteer boards, they have missions before
profits, and when they engage in activities, such as grassroots advocacy campaigns, that
would be difficult or impossible for other organizations. (Ibrahim & Abdul Aziz, 2012).

Non-governmental organization intervene such as the Mabuwaya foundation aims to

conserve the Philippine crocodile, other endemic threatened species and their habitat in
collaboration with local communities in northern Luzon and nearby provinces
(Mabuwaya, 2018). The conservation program for the critically endangered Philippine
crocodile is implemented in close collaboration with the communities living near to the
crocodile habitat and with municipal governments, the provincial government of Isabela
and relevant government agencies, especially the Department Of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR).

Mabuwaya uses a community-based conservation approach aimed at raising

awareness about the Philippine crocodile and local acceptance and participation in
crocodile conservation. The conservation program consists of five main components:

1) Communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) campaigns

2) Research
3) Protection
4) Capacity building
5) Philippine crocodile population re-enforcement and recovery

The tamaraw conservation program is a government initiative to save the tamaraw

from extinction. It is a strategy that addresses the various causes of the decline of
tamaraw population in Mindoro. The TCP is a government initiative to save the tamaraw
from extinction. It is a strategy that addresses the various causes of the decline of
tamaraw population in Mindoro. Wild population and habitat management is done in the
areas of Mts. Iglit-Baco national park and Aruyan-Malati tamaraw reservation.

And finally, the national bird, the Philippine eagle. The Philippine Eagle Foundation
focuses on the great Philippine eagle not only to recover its dwindling populations but
also to protect its forest habitats and ensure the sustainable use of the forests' bounties for
the people.

Conclusion

How can we be a contributory agent of change in saving the endangered species and
conserving our environment?

1. Changing Personal values. Consider the basic human value ‘man in nature’
rather than ‘nature for man.’ This needs to be infused through environmental
education which play an important role in building positive attitudes about
endangered species and the suffering environment.

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2. Social values. Love, empathy, open-mindedness and justice which are the basic
social teachings of most people in the society needs to be woven in the very
foundation of social norms. Teaching these values nurtured civilized man so that
all forms of life and biodiversity are well protected.

3. Cultural and religious values. It teaches us to accomplish such purposes as

would protect and nurture nature and respect every dimension of nature, treating
them as sacred.

4. Ethical values. Environmental education and species conservation should

encompass the ethical values of earth-centric rather than human-centric world-
view. The educational system should promote the earth-citizenship thinking.
Instead of considering human being as supreme we must think of the welfare of
the earth.

5. Global values. The concept that the human civilization is a part of the planet and
similarly nature and various natural phenomena over the earth are interconnected
and inter-linked with distinct ties of congruence therefore, disturbance in
equilibrium can impact ecological imbalance leading to catastrophic outcome.

Natural species are the primary expressions and repositories of organic nature’s order,
creativity, and diversity. They represent thousands of millions of years of evolution and
achievement. They show incredible functional, organizational, and behavioral complexity.
Every species, like every person, is unique, with its own history and destiny. When people
take so many resources or degrade so much habitat that another species is driven extinct,
we have taken or damaged too much, and brought a valuable and meaningful story to an
untimely end (Cafaro & Primack, 2014).

The prime motive of science is not to control the Universe but to appreciate it more
fully. It is a huge privilege to live on Earth and to share it with so many goodly and
fantastical creatures. From this perspective, even one anthropogenic extinction is one
too many. From this perspective, the goodness of the human career on Earth depends as
much on how well we appreciate and get along with other species, as on how well we do
so with other people (Tudge,2000).

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