Environmental Science: Human Activity

Environmental Science Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name September 25, 2019 Primary Liu, P., Wen, H., Harich, F. K., He, C., Wang, L., Guo, X., & Yu, Y. (2017). Conflict between conservation and development: cash forest encroachment in Asian elephant distributions. Scientific reports, 7(1), 6404. Retrieved from /articles/s41598-017-06751-6 Human activity is considered as one of the main causes for the decline of Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) population in the world. The pursuit for economic gains as well as the consistent growth in population have led to the exploitation of these species and the reduction of their natural habitats. In this study conducted by Liu, et al. (2017), they discussed about how prospects for ‘conservation’ and ‘development’ have clashed directly with one another. They did so by “mapping historical distribution of elephants versus human land use” CITATION Liu17 \l 1033 (Liu, et al., 2017). One the one hand, the authors found that ideas for conservation (such as forestry policies) have aimed to protect these species by keeping them in their natural environment and protecting the environment itself. On the other hand, development have always pushed for the expropriation of forests for productive use. Some examples of development policies stated in their study includes the appropriation of forests lands for rubber ad tea plantations, among others. However, a survey of the long-term use of these lands shows that as the sizes of natural forests decline, the distrbution of Asian elephant population also become decrease and become more sparse. In other words, this shows a direct correlation between the effects of development to the habitat (and consequently the population) of these species. In line with this study, it could be seen that the reduction of Asian Elephant’s population is directly and indirectly due to economic forces in the society. This includes the understanding of how Climate Change and decline in the number of these species are interrelated to one another, since Climate Change is also an effect of human entreprise. In turn, this would be critical in analyzing how “buffer zones” should be established in such a way that it would be protected from future desires for development. Secondary Parameswaran, S. (2017, August 17). Freeze-dried dung gives clue to Asian elephant stress. Retrieved from BBC.Com: /news/science-environment-40950303 As according to studies, Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) are one of the most endangered species in the world. This predicament is due to the combination of several factors including man’s overpopulation, climate change, and exploitation of their species, among others. Accordingly, understanding their vulnerabilities and creating solutions to protect these species would require an effective method of understanding their physical functions. Specifically, one that would not add any dangers to their way of living. In this news article written by Parameswaran (2017), she discussed about how ‘freeze-drying’ an elephant’s stool becomes an effective and non-invasive way to monitor a wild elephant’s physiological conditions. Particularly, by freeze-drying a fresh elephant stool, hormones such ...