Wilderness

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the state of wilderness on the various continents differs greatly. Nevertheless, one characteristic is common to all - the human footprint has put wild areas under siege. Time to act becomes smaller each day.

Although protected areas have increased on paper, the actual situation on the ground is very different - especially in poorer countries and regions. Many of these 'protected' areas are subject to illegal hunting, tree cutting, and human settlement. Inadequate resources are being provided for protecting what wilderness remains.

Wilderness Supporters

Numerous organizations are involved in preserving endangered habitats and their wild inhabitants. Some purchase land for preservation of natural environs. Others are active in advocating for wilderness and habitat preservation. Others focus on preserving endangered species.

International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world’s largest and most important conservation network. The IUCN is a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO (non-governmental organization) member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.

Land Protection

Many governments have been quite active in preserving natural areas. If effort is measured by the percentage of the natural landscape protected, the little country of Costa Rica in Central America would be a winner. NGOs generally preserve land by using privately donated funds. The Nature Conservancy is the non-governmental organization that has probably preserved the most land worldwide. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) focuses on preserving natural areas in America. The Peninsula Open Space Trust has been active in the San Francisco Bay Area.

International Advocates

The World Wildlife Fund aims toward saving endangered species, protecting endangered habitats and addressing global threats such as toxic pollution, over-fishing and climate change. Conservation International works to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. The Global Forest Watch purpose is preserving the remaining natural forests worldwide.

North American Advocates

The Wilderness Society advocates wilderness preservation in the United States. The Wildlands Network works to reconnect the continent with vast pathways that tie natural places together. Within each 'MegaLinkage' it proposes regional systems of connected protected areas - mosaics of public and private lands that provide safe passageways for wildlife to travel freely from place to place. The Rewilding Institute advances continental-scale conservation through four megalinkages in North America, particularly the need for large carnivores and a permeable landscape for their movement.

Information

The IUCN Partnership maintains a Redlist - a database of endangered species throughout the world. The World Wildlife Fund has a map-driven, searchable database of more than 26,000 species worldwide, with a powerful search tool to find (1) where specific species live or (2) what species live in specific places. Conservation International maintains information on biodiversity hotspots around the world. World deer provides information on deer species throughout the world. Wilderness.net provides a database regarding wilderness in the USA.