Thursday, December 1, 2011

Improving and Protecting the Savannah:


      Humans have established certain protected areas for maintaining the richness and diversity of the African savannah.  Namely, national and peace parks have been established in several parts of Africa, especially South Africa.  These are maintained by South African National Parks organization, which also manages Murchison Falls National Park and Serengeti National Park.  The goal has been to protect the flora and fauna of the landscape.  As well, Free State and Eastern Cape are provinces in South Africa that are heavily protected to protect the existing savannah landscape from poaching, burning, encroachment, and destruction.  The European Union is greatly contributing to the conservation efforts to restore habitats and biodiversity throughout the savannah lands in Africa.  Somewhat ironically, although tsetse flies carry and spread fatal parasites to both humans and their livestock, they are saviors for the African savannah as large groups of tsetses keep areas of this ecosystem untouched by humans.  These measures are great strategies for improving the condition of the landscape in areas where it has been damaged.  And, in areas that are fully or at least somewhat untouched by anthropogenic influence or activity, such establishments of national parks and protected areas will help to keep the species richness alive, as well as the proper balance of the ecosystem.  This will better both the ecosystem, as well as improve the condition of surrounding ecosystems and environmental conditions which get affected by changes to the African savannah.
    Another way in which the African savannah can be improved and preserved is by humans continuing their global tourism activities.  When thousands, even millions, of people come from around the world to see a magnificent, electrifying display of thousands of unique species of plants and animals dotting the yellow and green expanse, they bring in tons of money for the funding of conservation programs in the country they are visiting and also show the government and local authorities how important it is to conserve and preserve the environment of this ecosystem so that it can continue to be viewed as a beautiful, intriguing, rich, and diverse landscape and continue bringing in tourists, which in turn continues to enhance that country’s economy.
    As well, humans must be convinced to stop buying products made from skins of wild, endangered animals.  Furthermore, mankind must develop new sustainable methods and renewable sources for necessary resources, such as using elephant poop to make paper, rather than chopping down the remaining scattered trees on the savannah landscape. 
In addition to the above-mentioned strategies, an important way to maintain and improve the African savannah ecosystem is to keep indigenous peoples on the lands, since the animals and indigenous peoples evolved together on the African continent.  Because of the conjoined evolution of these groups, the indigenous peoples know how to care for the land and use its resources sustainably.  By learning from them and understanding their ways, as well as educating them about the effects of their living styles, people looking to settle or work the land can learn more sustainable methods that have less environmental impact on the land and its species.
    In sum, considering the best strategies towards improving and maintaining, conserving and preserving, one finds that all strategies start with education.  The local farmers clearing lands for agriculture, the hunters poaching elephants, rhinos, etc., the rural folk killing bush meat, and urban developers must be educated about the consequences of their actions for them to consider what course of action they must take to improve the condition of the environment which they have had a hand in damaging.

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