Page 316 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

stress cooperation with landowners and provincial governments, shade-grown coffee, and has moved some rice-growing Asian
and not to present the law as a decree from the national govern- nations away from pesticide-intensive farming practices. Yet
ment. Environmental advocates and scientists protested that the the treaty’s overall goal—“to achieve, by 2010, a significant
law was weak and failed to protect habitat adequately. reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global,
regional and national level”—was not met.
International treaties promote conservation
Captive breeding, reintroduction, and
The United Nations has facilitated several international treaties
to protect biodiversity. The 1973 Convention on International cloning are being used to save species
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) In the effort to save threatened and endangered species,
protects endangered species by banning the international zoos and botanical gardens have become centers for captive
transport of their body parts. When nations enforce it, CITES breeding, in which individuals are bred and raised in con-
can protect rhinos, elephants, tigers, and other rare species trolled conditions with the intent of reintroducing them into
whose body parts are traded internationally. the wild. The IUCN counts 65 plant and animal species that
In 1992, leaders of many nations agreed to the Convention now exist only in captivity or cultivation.
on Biological Diversity. This treaty embodies three goals: Reintroducing species into areas they used to occur is
to conserve biodiversity, to use biodiversity in a sustainable expensive and resource-intensive, but it often works and can
manner, and to ensure the fair distribution of biodiversity’s pay big dividends. In 2010 the first of 32 black rhinos were
benefits. The Convention aims to: translocated from South Africa to Serengeti National Park to
help restore a former population (Figure 11.21a). This followed
• Provide incentives for biodiversity conservation
similar reintroduction projects elsewhere in Africa.
• Manage access to and use of genetic resources In North America, a high-profile example of captive
• Transfer technology, including biotechnology breeding and reintroduction is the program to save the Cali-
• Promote scientific cooperation fornia condor, the continent’s largest bird (Figure 11.21b).
Although they are harmless scavengers of dead animals,
• Assess the effects of human actions on biodiversity
condors were shot by people in the early 20th century. They
• Promote biodiversity education and awareness also collided with electrical wires and succumbed to lead
• Provide funding for critical activities poisoning after scavenging carcasses of animals killed with
• Encourage nations to share reports on their conservation lead shot. By 1982, only 22 condors remained, and biologists
efforts made the wrenching decision to take all the birds into captiv-
ity, in last-ditch hopes of boosting their numbers and releasing
The treaty has helped African nations gain economic ben- them. Today the ongoing program—a collaboration between
efits from ecotourism with their wildlife preserves. It has also the Fish and Wildlife Service and several zoos—is succeed-
prompted nations worldwide to protect more area in reserves, ing. As of 2013 there were 170 birds in captivity and 234
has enhanced global markets for sustainable crops such as birds living in the wild. Condors have been released at sites in

(a) A black rhino is air-lifted into Serengeti National Park (b) Biologists use hand puppets to nurse condor chicks CHAPTER 11 • Bi odiv ER si T y A nd Cons ER vAT i on Bi ology

Figure 11.21 We can re-establish populations and rescue species by reintroducing them to areas where
they have been extirpated. Black rhinos (a) have been helicoptered in to Serengeti National Park from other
areas where populations are increasing. To save the California condor (b) from extinction, biologists raise chicks
in captivity with hand puppets that mimic the heads of adult condors. The chicks are shielded from contact with
humans so that when grown, they do not feel an attachment to people. 315

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