Happy World Wildlife Day 2015

In 2013 the United Nations General Assembly declared that the 3rd of March every year would be the day of"the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)", known simply as World Wildlife Day. This day would not only be a great opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the natural world but also to raise awareness of the plight of many species due to wildlife crime.

Both plants and animals provide the Earth with everything it needs to make it habitable for people to exist and thrive here, providing oxygen, clean water and food and even primitive tools came from plants and animals, along with clothes. Even fossil fuels have evolved as a result of decaying plant and animal species over billions of years, providing people with energy to give us heat and electrical power.

Although there are currently numerous conservation initiatives around the world that promote the importance of large, iconic species such as elephants, tigers and polar bears, World Wildlife Day is about also promoting the importance of smaller species whose significance to the eco-system is often overlooked. Such species include frogs, bats and even crabs amongst numerous others.

For example, the Mexican government has recently announced a commitment of $37 million to help to secure the future of the vaquita which is the smallest porpoise in the world. With less than 100 individuals thought to be left in the wild (only a quarter of which are thought to be breeding females), the species is constantly underthreat from the gillnets used by fisherman in the Sea of Cortez in their hunt for totoaba fish.

Ultimately this World Wildlife Day, we should all take the time to appreciate the signifcance of wildlife not only in our local areas but also all around the world. Like us, animals are able to use tools to aid their survival, form strong bonds between one another and are able to experience complex emotions including both happiness and pain. We share our world with both animals and plants that quite simply, we cannot live without.