10 Conservation Wins of 2020
Source: Africa Odyssey
As this strange year comes to an end and we welcome 2021, let’s look back on some of the positives of 2020. One of the biggest wins of this year has been the break us humans have given the earth and animals around us. Since we’ve been at home, we’ve allowed other species to reclaim their freedom; not to mention, we’ve been a little bit kinder to the planet in terms of transportation emissions.
So let’s choose to look on the bright side with these 10 conservation wins of 2020!
Kenya had an elephant baby boom this year! Their population has doubled since 1989 thanks to all the anti-poaching efforts in place.
Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked animal, have been granted protection in China. Now, their scales cannot be used in traditional Chinese medicine!
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles came ashore in India during lockdown and laid over 60 million eggs. This is the first time in years that the turtles have been able to safely lay eggs thanks to a lack of human disturbance!
Scientists are calling to protect the coral reefs in the Red Sea. This is a major step as the world’s coral reefs continue suffering due to the changing climate and human destruction.
Several at risk species have seen increasing population numbers, including humpback whales, mountain gorillas, and tigers.
After being hunted to extinction 400 years ago, beavers have returned to the UK! With their dams, many territories are seeing a reduction in flooding. Scotland has even made beavers a protected species.
A record size hole in the ozone layers over the Arctic has been healed and closed!
Pandas living in the Hong Kong zoo were finally able to successfully mate (after decades of no luck), once the zoo was closed to the public due to covid-19!
With the election of Joe Biden, the United States is finally back in the fight against climate change with a new 4-step plan.
Colorado approved the reintroduction of endangered gray wolves, giving wolves the ability to completely reclaim their natural habitat!
And finally, as we head into the new year let’s all remember the most important lesson we’ve learned this year. When we disrespect wildlife and push the earth to its limits, there are consequences. We are currently living those consequences and hopefully we will bring that tidbit of knowledge with us into 2021 and start the year off with compassion for the earth and the lovely creatures we share our planet with.
Although we will always remember 2020 as a challenging year, we should also remember it as the year the earth fought back and reclaimed some control over the pollution, exploitation, and carelessness humankind is constantly throwing at it. I personally think it is a wake up call we all won’t soon forget, but it’s up to each and every one of us to determine whether or not we’ll use the opportunity to grow and change our ways.
Want to share some of these conservation wins on your social media? Feel free to share these graphics I made to spread some positivity as we enter 2021!
