Endangered Wildlife on the Brink of Disaster: Program Funds Eliminated

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the current House Funding bill, containing dollars to fund the United States Agency for International Development in an unprecedented move, has been totally eliminated.

The House version of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2013 fails to fund the U.S. Agency for International Development Biodiversity Program and Sustainable Landscapes and Adaptation programs. It also fails to meet the committed level of the U.S. contribution to the Global Environment Facility. These are programs which serve as a lifeline for globally endangered species but apparently seem no longer necessary, or sufficiently important to keep them going.

As a result of Congress’ decision not to re-fund these programs, disaster looms ahead for hundreds of wildlife species, which include elephants, apes and the big cats who are on the verge of extinction. But I imagine reminding our children and grandchildren about the remarkable animals which once inhabited our planet can be easily accomplished by watching nature programs on TV.

Last February, almost 500 elephants were slaughtered in the Njidda National Park in Cameroon. Without the vital foreign aid needed to prevent these brutal massacres, the survival of the species is certainly a huge question mark. But after all, since there are an ample number of elephant photographs available in picture- books, and an abundance of pachyderms videos uploaded to YouTube, our kids can watch, with resources of this nature in place, it’s not a high priority to fund programs to protect these amazing animals. Let’s give our legislators the benefit of the doubt,

Sardonic humor set aside, unless congress grasps the gravity of this issue, and acts accordingly to reinstate this crucial funding, a huge number of programs are at risk of disappearing, as will our precious wildlife. Some of these programs include:

• Programs that protect several key source sites in Southeast Asia which contain some of the last tiger breeding grounds on the planet.
• Protection of the world's second largest terrestrial wildlife migration in South Sudan.
• The establishment of corridors and national parks to help preserve this key route for migrating giraffe, gazelle and a species of antelope- the white-eared kob.
• Training eco-guards who ward off poachers and measures to prevent the extinction of elephant, gorillas and chimpanzees native to the Congo Basin.

Please take a few minutes of your time today to get involved.  With every email sent to Congress through the secure area provided by The Wilderness Conservation Society, the possibility of restoring these funds increases.

Additionally, call your representatives today; asking to have funds restored which protect our precious wildlife. Together we can make a difference for our endangered species.

How do you feel about the elimination of these funds? Share about it in a comment.