Unchecked globalization is leading to a devastating and steady loss of biodiversity – natural forests, wetland areas, native species populations, and marine and coastal ecosystems.

Currently, more than 8,400 species of wild fauna and flora are critically endangered, while close to 30,000 more are understood to be endangered or vulnerable. Drawing from these estimates, it is presumed that over a million species are threatened with extinction.

This is especially detrimental to the planet as animals and plants in the wild have an inherent value to the ecosystem and contribute to the scientific, genetic, ecological, social, cultural, economic, educational, recreational, and aesthetic aspects of human life and well-being.

To appreciate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to humanity, people across the globe celebrate World Wildlife Day on 3 March each year – the day of the signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.

The day also serves as a reminder of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and species reduction due caused by human activities, which have vast economic, environmental, and social impacts.

The theme for this year’s World Wildlife Day is “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”, and it is in alignment with goal 15 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, “to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems… and halt biodiversity loss”.

This is a way to draw worldwide attention to the plight of some of the world’s most critically endangered species and the habitats that support them, implement solutions to conserve them by supporting the restoration of their habitats and ecosystems, promote humanity’s sustainable use of them.

The theme also highlights the impact of conservation efforts and promotes best practice examples where species were brought back from the brink.

Now more than ever, it is important for governments and private corporations across the globe to embed wildlife conservation strategies into their project planning and management.

They can also factor in the following when carrying out projects:

• A rapid ecological assessment to report on the range and state of biodiversity present in an area proposed for development
• A biodiversity management plan to identify, protect and manage flora and fauna habitats native to a project site
• An offset management strategy to help offset any negative environmental impacts of a project and limit the impacts within the area of influence of a project.
• An ecosystem services assessment to assess all the ecosystem services provided by the ecosystems of a project’s site, and propose measures to limit the project’s impacts and dependence on those ecosystems.