The Impact of Urbanization Essay Example

The Earth teems with life and includes thousands of species of wild animals. And yet, this rich profusion of animals seems paltry compared to the ecosystem of the deep past. By most reckonings, since the beginning of life on Earth, a whopping number of wild animals are on the verge of extinction or the endangered list. These escalating numbers of wild animals extinction are caused by man's activities such as urban development and illegal hunting, and also the presence of invasive species in ecosystems. It is a global issue that everyone should concern about, but there are solutions to solve this problem nonetheless. We can take responsibility and actions by ensuring law enforcement, practising the "3Rs" and educating the younger generation about animal extinction.

Urbanization leads to habitat fragmentation, where larger continuous habitats are divided into smaller unconnected patches. It also causes habitat loss, through an increase in roads and buildings which required deforestation. All these developments are exposing wild animals to danger. Wild animals no longer have shelters as the habitats are destroyed and also the dwindling food supplies cause their populations to decrease gradually. Besides, environmental pollution is caused during the urbanisation process such as air and water pollution which can affect the optimum of wildlife habitat. For example, algae will flourish in water due to the pollutants and produce toxins which can threaten the life of marine organisms such as fish, seabirds and turtles. In short, urban development plays an important role in wild animal extinction.

In addition, illegal hunting or poaching is pushing animal extinction to a higher rate. Selfish human-being that earn money by selling animals' body parts are putting wild animals at risk. Nowadays, wild animals like elephants, sharks and tigers are still menaced by poaching and hunting. They are used to make food, jewels or luxury decorations to fulfill the unlimited desire of humans. All of these are causing a decrease in wild animal populations. Thus, we cannot deny that illegal hunting did cause the extinction of wild animals.

Additionally, biologists and ecologists believe that the presence of invasive species is a leading cause of species extinction. Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world that don’t belong in their new environment. They can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often, by people. They will compete with the native species for limited resources, causing them to lose their habitats, which will indirectly cause the extinction of the species. For instance, the accidental presence of brown tree snakes in Guam has gobbled up almost all the native birds, placing these birds at the edge of extinction. As such, the presence of invasive species gives rise to the extinction of wild animals by altering their habitats.

As the number of animal extinction is escalating, we should take our responsibility to prevent this. We cannot stop this situation directly but a little effort goes a long way, so we can stop animal extinction with only a simple habit in our daily lives, which is practicing the "3Rs", namely reduce, reuse and recycle. We know that thousands of marine lives such as whales, seals and turtles are killed every year due to the plastic bag litter in the marine environment as they often mistake plastic bags for food which cannot be digested. This will eventually kill them and lead to species extinction. By practicing "3Rs", we are encouraged to use reusable products such as shopping bags, reusable cutleries and water bottles. Take an example, the Malaysian government had taken action to encourage citizens to use their shopping bags by charging 20 sen for each plastic bag in shops and malls, which also reduces the number of plastic bags used. Thus, people have to practice 3Rs in order to reduce the rate of animal extinction.

Furthermore, governments all around the world should enforce the law to save animals from extinction. For example, patrol teams should be recruited to protect wild animals and wild habitats from illegal poachers and a heavy punishment is imposed on illegal poachers. The number of hunting licenses given to the people should also be controlled to prevent overhunting which results in a serious reduction of wildlife. In Malaysia, national parks are set up to prevent invaders and poachers to hunt endangered animals such as Malayan tigers and Asian elephants. Hence, the strict enforcement of the law can ensure the survival of wildlife.

Last but not least, we must educate the younger generation and aware them of the rapid extinction of wild animals. The extinction of animals will destroy the food chain, which can be a massive problem for human life. Hence, education should be provided to younger generations, no matter by parents or by the school. The whole society should take the responsibility to inculcate the younger generation about the generation so they will be more conscious of this issue, leading them to put the effort into innovations and inventions that can stop this problem in future. In brief, educating the younger generations can raise awareness about wild animals' extinction, which can make more people involved in the action of saving wild animals from extinction.

In a nutshell, animal extinction is happening rapidly due to urbanization, illegal hunting and the presence of invasive species. It is easy to see that humans are most likely to be the major factor that causes animal extinction. To solve this problem, we should start practicing "3Rs", enforcing the law and educating the younger generations about animal extinction. We should take the blame for our own actions, saving these animals from danger. I sincerely hope that animals will be far from extinction one day as they are gifted by Mother Earth to make our life wonderful by maintaining the stability of the….