Proposal to Protect and Restore Elephant Populations in Africa

Proposal to Protect and Restore Elephant Populations in Africa
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Proposal to Protect and Restore Elephant Populations in Africa
Background
A biome is defined as an ecological community with specific characteristic that are defined by their plant and animal life. Biomes are considered essential in the regulation of the global climate while providing a habitat for different plant and animal species. There are five major types of biomes namely aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra. African elephants are mainly found in the grasslands biome which is characterized by its warm and dry climate, providing abundant vegetation and water resources for them to thrive (National Geographic Society, 2022). African elephants exist in an ecosystem, which is defined as the community of organisms that live in a specific area that is composed of both biotic and abiotic factor that constantly interact in the environment.
Apart from the grassland biome, aquatic biomes are characterized by bodies of water that could be marine or freshwater. While freshwater aquatic biomes include bodies such as rivers and lakes, marine biomes are larger and extensive, include oceans and coral reefs. Forest biomes are majorly dominated by trees with a significant portion of the global terrestrial biodiversity such as insects, birds, and mammals. On the other hand, the desert biome consists of dry areas with extreme conditions and receive very little to no rainfall. Lastly, the tundra biome consists of regions with extremely low temperatures with little biodiversity and vegetation (National Geographic Society, 2022).
Threats to Elephant Populations
African elephants are continuously experiencing a myriad of challenges that are leading to a decline in their population. Firstly, poaching leads to the slaughter of a significant number of elephants for their precious tusks that sustain ivory trade. This poses a threat to the population since more elephants continue to be hunted and killed. Apart from that, the loss of their habitats due to an increase in human populations that encroaches on the grasslands affects the available area for them. Such limited movement and resources in their habitat leads to potential negative effects on elephant populations. Furthermore, changes in climate in the grasslands leads to extreme weather conditions that affect their food sources including vegetation and water (Segniagbeto et al., 2022). As a result, such changes can exacerbate the decline of their population to catastrophic levels.
Effects of Biodiversity on Elephant Populations
Ecosystems thrive in diversity since the variety of plant and animal species have mutually beneficial relationships that ensure their survival. Consequently, biodiversity is considered an important aspect in maintaining the population of African elephants. This is because they are considered keystone species in their ecosystem capable of changing the environment by dispersing seeds and reshaping the landscape (Thouless et al., 2016). As a result, the loss in ...