IELTS Essay: Declining Animals

Vocabulary

What do the words in bold below mean? Make some notes on paper to aid memory and then check below.

There is widespread concern over recent declines in global biodiversity. In my opinion, the clearest causes relate to human overpopulation and the solutions are for governments to prioritize conservation reforms.

The primary catalyst for these declining numbers is the growth of human population figures. The global population increases yearly and this has a number of ramifications for the natural environment. Most directly, residents require homes and that necessitates intrusions, as evidenced by the uncontrollable urban sprawl around major metropolitan areas. This means plants and animals lose their natural habitats. A more significant consequence concerns industry. In order to provide food and various products and services for a large human population, corporations have razed entire forests, drilled for oil in pristine natural environments, and greatly exploited the natural world at the expense of wildlife.

This problem can only be effectively tackled by governments. Governments must establish clear regulations concerning the habitats of various plant and animal life. A good example of this would be the numerous national parks established in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, industry was threatening to corrupt the majority of usable land and so the government and visionary reformists acted decisively out of a spirit of conservation. Other countries that take similar steps will also be able to curb the relentless, and often thoughtless, progress of humanity.

In conclusion, plant and animal life is at risk due to growing human populations and governments can best mitigate this threat. Individuals should also play a small role by reducing their consumption.