Dear Future President,

Almost 25% of mammals in the world today are threatened with extinction and about half are on their way there. Our population of marine mammals is on the decline and there are 29 species already declared “probably extinct”, such as the Yangtze river dolphin. The Iberian lynx is among the rarest animals in the world and the population of the tasmanian devil has fallen 64% in the past decade. We hear these sad tales all around the world from pandas in China to the Elephants in africa, all to way to the polar bears in Antarctica. Although the United states has been extremely involved in helping these animals, I believe that we can and should do more.

We need to take certain measures, such as putting more time and money, into helping the endangered animals. The government could help by passing appropriate laws and regulations to help facilitate this. According to BBC Earth, the extinction rate has increased by a hundredfold in the past century and there is significant scientific evidence that human activity is to blame. Beyond that, the reason that we need to help these species is because we want to. Nature is beautiful and animals are fascinating. We need to preserve them as we would any artistic masterpiece.

We can help these animals by raising money and awareness. Some possible ideas could be to boost ecotourism by taking tourists on Safari Holidays to see the animals that need our help. This could raise money for the animals and expose people to what is happening around the globe. Using ecotourism to raise money would offer a way for the beauty of nature to pay for itself. To make a change, we need to make people aware of the problems that endangered species are facing.

What is the point of conservation? Surely, we have better things to be spending our time and money on. Studies have shown that conserving nature and preserving biodiversity actually has economic benefits. By slowing down the destruction of earth’s natural resources and saving the homes of the animals, we can ensure that the global economy and businesses that drive it prosper in the long run.

Jane Smart, head of the IUCN’s species programme, said, “The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to prevent future extinctions.” We know what the threats are and what needs to be done. So now, we need to take action. Although saving endangered species and helping these animals may not seem like a priority for the government with everything else that is going on around the world at the moment, we must act quickly because extinction is irreversible and once a species is extinct it is lost forever.

Sincerely,

Alexie Kindy