EDUCARE
Many of us share a passion for traveling to national parks and exploring the fascinating world of plants and animals. Wildlife enthusiasts revel in discovering diverse species in their natural habitats. Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans.
Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems like deserts, plains, grasslands, woodlands, forests, and other areas including the most developed urban areas, all have distinct forms of wildlife. The most interesting fact is that 50,000 wild species meet the needs of billions worldwide and more than half of the world’s GDP is dependent on nature, making biodiversity loss a significant threat to financial stability. Globally although USD 143 billion is invested annually in biodiversity conservation, this falls short of the estimated USD 824 billion needed each year.
There is no doubt that we rely on wildlife and biodiversity-based resources to meet our needs - from food, to fuel, medicines, housing, and clothing. For us to enjoy the benefits and the beauty that nature brings us and our planet, people have been working together to make sure ecosystems are able to thrive and plant and animal species are able to exist for future generations.
In this regard World Wildlife Day(WWD) is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora, to raise awareness of their many benefits to reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.
On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3rd March as WWD to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. The date is the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.
This 2025 the theme of the international day is “wildlife conservation finance: investing in people and planet”, explores how we can work together to make our current – an insufficient - financial flows more effective and sustainable to build a resilient future for both people and the planet. With over 1 million species estimated to be threatened with extinction, and facing the intensifying triple planetary crisis, innovative finance for wildlife conservation is more urgent than ever.
The Secretary General of the UN on his message on the occasion said that “the recently adopted Pact for the Future includes a revitalized commitment to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss by 2030. Getting there requires financing. Together, let’s invest in a future where nature and people thrive together."
There are many courses related to wildlife. One may study veterinary sciences and become veterinary doctor and help the wild animals during distress like floods and other calamities. They work in rescue centers or join the rescue teams whenever needed in wild areas or national parks . One may also study environmental sciences, ecology, eco restoration, life sciences like zoology or botany, etc and work in the field of wildlife careers.
Established in 1982, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an internationally acclaimed Institution, which offers training programs, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues.
One may get jobs in the government sector like the forest and climate change department or in different agencies that work at national as well as international level. Aspirants may also become wildlife educators and work in the field of awareness related to conservation. There are online courses too and one must possess employability skills to be successful in this field. If you are passionate about wildlife or conservation then you should consider a career in wildlife conservation as this field offers diverse job opportunities, both in India and abroad.
(The write is a Career Mentor and Skill Trainer and currently the Advisor, Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Department of Bodoland Territorial Council and can be reached at bkranjan@gmail.com or 8473943734)
