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Jointly covering an area of nearly 2,40,000 hectares in South America, the Iguazu National Park in Argentina and its sister park, the Iguacu National Park in Brazil, are regions centred around the spectacular Iguazu Falls. The falls is among the widest in the world, wider than the popular Niagara Falls of North America. The Parks contain remnants of highly endangered rainforests, and were set up in the 1930s to preserve not just the scenic beauty of the falls but also the vegetation and wildlife in and around the region. Huge clouds of spray continuously immerse the several river islands and the riverine forests around. This creates a very humid environment giving rise to fertile and thick vegetation that supports a variety of wildlife. In 1984, the Iguazu National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while Iguacu received the recognition two years later.

Wildlife

The region boasts vegetation that is both rich and varied. The subtropical rainforest surrounding the falls is believed to nurture more than 1,000 species of plants from orchids, pine, and bamboo to palm and even moss. This makes it a perfect haven for wildlife, which is said to be as varied as the vegetation itself. In addition to more than 400 species of birds, the area is said to support over 75 mammal species and countless varieties of invertebrates. Among the mammals that can be spotted here are iguanas, tapirs, giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots (cat species), and jaguars. It's also a spot to see caimans (crocodiles). The birds found in and around the area include swifts, swallows, parrots, herons, toucans, flycatchers, trogons, owls, falcons, kites, nighthawks, thrushes, shrikes, kingfishers, quails, and the near-threatened harpy eagles.

Threats

Changing landscapes due to a variety of reasons such as deforestation and development, tourism, agricultural encroachment, and poaching are among the threats in the region. But dominated as it is by water, the threats on this resource is of particular concern.

Water management: There are dams outside the parks that feed the waterfalls. However, the water flow to the waterfalls is controlled depending on the electricity requirement. For instance, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the water flow during weekends could be lower than ususal due to lower demand for electricity. This fluctuation could affect flora and fauna of the region.

Farmland run-off: On one side of the Iguacu National Park is the beginning of land parcels used for intense agriculture. The practices here involve the use of pollutants such as pesticide. The streams that run through these areas and flowing into the falls carry with them polluted sediments. In the long run, this could affect the plants and animals of the region.

And some good news!

As recently as 2008, only eight jaguars roamed the Brazil's Iguacu National Park.

That's quite a dramatic fall from about 400 in the 1990s near Brazil's border. The cats were pushed to the brink of extinction due to hunting and intense deforestation, resulting in the loss of the animal's habitat. And gradually after 2010, their numbers began increasing, thanks to steps such as setting up of camera traps initiated to tackle poaching. By 2018, the place was home to 28 cats, and the numbers are said to have increased by 2020. But there's a proposal to build a road that will cut the park in two. If this project is implemented, the road will pose a severe threat to the region's biodiversity, and will be a setback to the conservation efforts of the cat.

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Situated in China's southeast region of Sichuan, the panda sanctuaries comprise Wolong Nature Reserve, Mount Siguniang, and liajin Mountains. Spanning more than 9,000 sq km., the area holds within itself seven nature reserves. The sanctuaries make up the largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda. In fact, the region is also a very important place for the captive breeding of this mammal, listed as "vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Since the panda's habitat is fragmented, the area is protected and has green corridors that not only help in the safe movement of these mammals within established boundaries but also play a role in avoiding in-breeding. The area is botanically very signicant too for the rich diversity it exhibits- a whopping 5,000 species at least - from magnolias and bamboos to rhododendrons and orchids! This very diversity is what makes it valuable in welcoming several species of mammals, reptiles, and birds to the region. In 2006, the property was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Due to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, at least two pandas at the Wolong Panda Centre within the reserve lost their lives. The Reserve, situated as it was near the epicentre of the quake, was severely damaged. However, despite fears, several pregnant pandas (including one that was injured during the quake) at the Centre went on to deliver healthy cubs.

Wildlife

Though the focal species of the sanctuaries is the giant panda, the place also houses endangered animals such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. It nurtures more than a 100 mammal species and 300 bird species, many of which are said to breed locally. The animals also include deer, golden monkey, and gnu. Among the bird species that can be spotted here are partridges, snipes, monals, thrushes, finches, rubythroats, pheasants, cuckoos, accentors, robins, tragopans, vultures, sparrowhawks, griffons, buzzards, tits, leaf warblers, fulvettas, yuhinas, nuthatches, and pipits.

Threats

The region holds about a third of the world's total panda population. and so is very crucial for the species. But it is faced with several kinds of threats. In addition to the grave threat of climate change, direct human actions are a cause of concern.

Habitat loss and fragmentation: A large portion of panda's natural habitats has been lost to agriculture and infrastructure development. When their living area shrinks, the animals face the risk of infection and in-breeding too.

Loss of bamboo: Roads and railway lines cutting through forests not just alienate sections of the panda population, but also result in bamboo die-offs. Bamboo is an integral part of panda diet, and sustained and large-scale loss of bamboo could lead to severe food deficit for the pandas.

Logging: Logging in the sanctuaries was banned as early as 1998. However, a two-year investigation by a non-government environmental organisation a few years ago revealed that logging continued in the region illegally, using loopholes in the country's regulations. The investigation also revealed that more than 3,000 acres of natural forests within the sanctuaries were wiped off.

Harvesting: Herbs are an important part of traditional Chinese medicine, and so people harvesting such herbs in the sanctuaries degrade the forests during the process. In addition, people harvest bamboo, and also gather firewood, leaving the region more vulnerable to degradation.

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Believed to be named after a mangrove species called sundari, the Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest. It marks the area where land meets sea and freshwater meets seawater. Covering a vast area that spans more than 10,000 sq. km., the Sundarbans straddles the two countries of India (West Bengal) and its neighbour Bangladesh. While around 60 % of the total area falls in Bangladesh, the rest is in India. One of the last preserves of the endangered Bengal tiger, the region is said to be the only mangrove habitat of this big cat. The area is also part of the world's largest delta, showing an incredible level of biodiversity both in flora and fauna. It is said to support more than 300 species each of plants, animals, and birds. This includes many threatened and endangered animals too. Marked by a chain of tidal waterways, mudflats, and tiny islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, it is an impressive representation of continuing ecological processes. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Wildlife

Though the Bengal tiger is the most noted species here, several other animals, amphibians, and reptiles can be spotted in the area. They include estuarine crocodiles, fishing cats, common otters, water monitor lizards, Gangetic dolphins, snubfin dolphins, river terrapins, turtles such as olive ridley turtles, green sea turtles, hawksbill turtles, a few species of sharks and rays, wild boars, spotted deer, porcupines, rhesus macaques, king cobras, common cobras, banded kraits, Russell's vipers, pythons, checkered keelbacks, and green whip snakes. Herons, egrets, kingfishers, woodpeckers, storks, owls, terns, flycatchers, sunbirds, flowerpeckers, cormorants, storks, orioles, bitterns, babblers, pigeons, sandpipers, spoonbills, darters, eagles, seagulls, teals, partridges, wild geese, and ducks are some of the local and migratory birds that can be found in the region.

Threats

• Located as it is in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, the Sundarbans has always been threatened by cyclones and tidal waves. This has only increased with global warming and climate change. These factors have led to increasing temperatures and sea-level rise. A recent study found that when more and more (salinated) seawater enters land, coupled with hotter temperatures, they affect the vegetation of the region. If they gradually begin to disappear, the spotted deer in the region would too. Since the spotted deer is the Bengal tigers top prey, the big cat will be affected too.
• Not just that. The study added that without adequate prey, the chances of tigers venturing into human territory could go up, resulting in increased incidence of human-animal conflict.
• As it is, the tiger population has been a cause of concern, with only a few thousands left in the wild today. Along with the results of the study, other aspects such as encroachment and development too are reasons for concern.

But there's good news!

According to the census conducted during the first half of 2020, the number of tigers in Sundarbans increased by eight to reach 96. Since 2016, the big cats number has been increasing, and this is said to be the highest since then. This news is particularly heartening because of the numerous threats the species faces.

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Eugenie Clark, American ichthyologist noted for her research on poisonous fishes of the tropical seas and on the behaviour of sharks. She was also an avid marine conservationist.

While diving, Clark studied animal behavior and visited places very few people had explored, such as the Red Sea. There she discovered several fish species, including one that releases a natural shark repellant when threatened. Known as the Moses sole, the fish makes hungry sharks not only stop in their tracks, but then proceed to thrash their heads from side to side. Clark studied potential human uses for the repellant, but found that it would not be effective long enough to be useful in products like sunscreen. 

At the laboratory, Clark was able to further engage the public. She spent a good amount of time teaching about sharks, and tried to clear them of their bad reputation. She gave lectures to the public, taught at the University of Maryland, and even rode on the back of a 50-foot whale shark (we don’t recommend following her example on this one!). She didn’t slow down either, completing her last dive at 92 years old, the year before she died.

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Timothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, and documentary filmmaker and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos), which he called grizzly bears, in Katmai National Park in Alaska for 13 summers

Beginning in the late 1980s, Treadwell began summering in Alaska. For 13 summers in a row, he would camp along the Katmai Coast, an area of Alaska well known for its large grizzly bear population. During the early part of the summers he would stay on the “Big Green,” a grassy area on Hallo Bay. Later, he’d move south to Kaflia Bay, an area with thick brush.

Big Green was good for sighting bears as the grass was low and visibility was clear. Treadwell called it the “Grizzly Sanctuary” since it was where they came to rest and mosey around the coast. The Kaflia Bay area, thicker and more densely wooded, was better for getting in close contact with the bears. Referred to as the “Grizzly Maze,” the area was full of intersecting grizzly trails and was much easier to hide in.

While camping, Treadwell would get up close and personal with the bears, and film all of the interactions on his video camera. Some of the videos even showed him touching the bears and playing with cubs. While he claimed he was always careful to develop a sense of trust and mutual respect, there were many who thought otherwise.

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Valmik Thapar is a naturalist, conservationist and writer. He has authored, co-authored and edited more than 25 books and several articles; he has produced a range of programmes for television and has devoted four decades to the tiger and its habitat.

He is today a severe critic of government policy regarding tigers, wildlife and the habitat they live in. He continues to campaign and fight for a new way of thinking and action in the governance of the natural world in India.

His stewardship of the Ranthambore Foundation was recognised and he was appointed a member of the Tiger Task Force of 2005 by the Government of India. He criticised the majority Task Force view in his dissent note as excessively focussed on the prospects of co-existence of tigers and humans, which was, in his view not consistent with the objective of the panel.

His writings have analysed the perceived failure of Project Tiger, a conservation apparatus created in 1973 by the Government of India. He has critiqued Project Tiger, drawing attention to its mismanagement by a forest bureaucracy that is largely not scientifically trained. His most recent book The Last Tiger (Oxford University Press) makes this case strongly.

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Romulus Earl Whitaker is an Indian herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, and founder of the Madras Snake Park, the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET), and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. 

Whitaker was the founding director of the Snake Park in Chennai. The park was conceived to rehabilitate the Irula tribe, who are known for their expertise in catching snakes. The tribals were left jobless after the ban of snake trading. Whitaker helped the Irula tribe to get involved in extracting snake venom used for the production of antivenom drugs. Rom is the founder-director of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust Centre for Herpetology, actively involved in crocodile breeding and conservation programs. 

Whitaker is currently coordinating an effort to save the gharial, a critically endangered species of Crocodilia on the brink of extinction, with less than 250 individuals left in Indian waters

 In 2008, Whitaker was selected as an associate laureate in the 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise for his efforts to create a network of rainforest research stations throughout India. In 2005, he was a winner of a Whitley Award for outstanding leadership in nature conservation. He used this award to found the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station in Karnataka, for the study of king cobras and their habitat.

For his work in wildlife conservation, he received the Padma Shri award in 2018.

Picture Crdeit : Google

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the tropical rainforest regions in Indonesia's Sumatra Island comprise three national parks, namely Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. Spread across more than 25,000 sq.km. a portion of the area falls within Sumatra's Leuser ecosystem that's often described as "the last place on Earth where tigers, rhinos, orangutans and elephants still live together".

The Parks, which are located on the spine of Bukit Barisan Mountains of Sumatra, show amazing uniqueness in biodiveristy, and are home to 10,000 species of plants. The regions also show a stunning variety in ecosystem from lowland rainforest to montane forest and subalpine low forest to scrub and shrub vegetation. The Gunung Leuser National Park is the place to see both the world's largest flower (Rafflesia arnoldi) and the tallest flower (Amorphophallus titanum).

Wildlife

The area is said to nurture more than 500 species of birds. Ducks, geese, partridges, scrubfowls, pheasants, grebes, pigeons, doves, quails, cuckoos, coucals, malkohas, koels, frogmouths, nightjars, swifts, swiftlets, needletails, rails, waterhens, crakes, thickknees, stilts, plovers, lapwings, snipes, jacanas, sandpipers, pratincoles, gulls, terns, petrels, shearwaters, storks, frigatebirds, tropicbirds, boobies, darters, cormorants, pelicans, herons, bitterns, egrets, ibises, kites, buzzards, eagles, owls, harriers, trogons, hornbills, kingfishers, bee-eaters, rollers, woodpeckers, barbets, kestrels, falcons, parakeets, broadbills, pittas, ioras, minivets, shrikes, orioles, drongos, fantails, flycatchers, magpies, swallows, bulbuls, warblers, tailorbirds, white eyes, babblers, thrushes, mynas, starlings, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds, spiderhunters, wagtails, weavers, munias, and finches are among the birds that can be spotted in the region. The place also supports more than 200 mammal species, including several that are endemic and endangered. The mammals include the endemic Sumatran orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, dlouded leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and the Malayan sun bear.

Threats

• Given the expansive wealth of natural resources in the region, Sumatra has attracted heavy international financing zeroing in on extractive industries, "from precious hardwoods and minerals to palm oil, rubber, and coal". As a result, the precious wildlife in the area is losing their habitats and faces a very bleak future.
• Road development in the rainforests is of great concern because they not just destroy the natural landscape and displace wildlife, but also provide access to people for illegal logging, encroachment, and poaching.
• Agriculture is another cause of worry. As rainforests are wiped off to give way for agriculture, it becomes difficult to reclaim the lost forest area. In fact, a study less than a decade ago had said that the rainforests of Sumatra are likely to disappear in 20 years. So, right now, we have perhaps about 10 years to save the rainforests. This would also mean the eventual, permanent disappearance of some of the rarest wildlife species on the planet.
• In 2011, the UNSECO placed the region under its List of World Heritage in Danger. Mining, encroachment, development activities, and, to a certain extent, invasive species are among the several threats to the rainforests in Sumatra listed by it.

Picture Credit : Google