Introduction - Declining elephant numbers
In this next lesson, we look at the status of animals.
We are going to look at the decline of animal species. Whilst many animal species are endangered, a regulatory body assigns more precise conservation statutes to them. For example, some species are in danger of extinction or threatened whilst others are in a ‘critical’ category.
This means that they are all threatened but at different levels. We look at some animals in these categories and then we move on to the involvement of famous people, or celebrities to help save these animals.
Does the involvement of these famous people make a difference?
This lesson contains 4 steps and an evaluation.
Work them through step by step.
Step
Activity
Introduction
Find out what you already know.
Step 1
Speaking
Read about conservation status of animals. Tick aspects. Do an exercise about the conversation status. Discuss questions with a classmate.
Step 2
Reading
Decide if sentences are true or false. Read an article about Declining Elephant Numbers. Read the speech of Prince William. Answer questions. Study the checklist for giving a speech.
Step 3
Words
Complete the table with verb, noun, adjective or adverb form of a word. Complete the text using correct form of words.
Step 4
Task
Choose an animal and research some information about it. Make use of the five 5 points.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
Reading
You are going to read a speech given by the Duke of Cambridge as one of the Royal Patrons of the
environmental organisation, Tusk. Tusk is a British conservation charity.
He gave a keynote speech at the Time for Change charity event.
He spoke about declining elephant numbers in Africa.
Before you read, decide if these sentences are true or false.
Elephant numbers have generally decreased.
Poaching is just one of the reasons for the decline.
The ivory trade is legal in some countries.
Volunteering is a good way to help the elephant crisis.
Read the article and check your answers.
by Denise Haggerty
On Sept 22, 2016, Prince William gave a keynote speech on the declining elephant numbers at the Time for Change charity event. The event was broadcast live in Johannesburg and Tokyo ahead of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and was organized by Tusk, a British conservation charity with Prince William as Royal Patron. In his keynote address, Prince William delivered a sobering message about declining elephant numbers in Africa.
According to the final report from the 2016 Great Elephant Census (GEC), there was a 30 per cent decline (144,000) in savannah elephant numbers between 2007 and 2014. Prince William stated he was “not prepared to be part of a generation that lets these iconic species disappear from the wild.” He further stated that by the time his daughter turns 25, there will no longer be wild elephants roaming the African savannah—if the current rate of poaching continues.
According to the GEC survey, the current rate of decline in the savannah elephant species is eight per cent per year. This is primarily due to poaching for ivory, but other factors include habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. Large proportions of elephants live outside protected areas, encroaching on small farming communities;
farmers often kill elephants to protect their land and crops from damage. Survey results also indicated that a high number of savannah elephant carcasses were found in protected areas, suggesting a greater need for security as poachers are breaching conservation zones.
Prince William urged members of CITES to not be complacent, to not let materialistic greed “win against our moral duty to protect threatened species and vulnerable communities,” and to unite by declaring the ivory trade “a symbol of destruction, not of luxury.” According to GEC statistics, there are only 352,271 savannah elephants left in Africa. Saving the remaining elephants requires the global community to apply increased pressure on governments to crack down on the ivory trade and illegal poaching, to preserve habitat, and to educate communities beyond the continent. Consumers need to understand that purchasing ivory threatens the future of the savannah elephant species, as they are killed for their tusks. Despite a global trade ban on ivory since 1989, countries such as China and Japan perpetuate both the legal and illegal trade of ivory domestically and internationally. The crisis surpasses individual consumers buying ivory trinkets.
The declining elephant numbers are bleak and governments are not acting quickly enough to reclassify the savannah elephant to Appendix I—the highest threat level assigned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). This would effectively end commercial trade. Fortunately, there are ways for individuals to help protect these majestic and threatened creatures: volunteering with a conservation organization in Africa, hosting a fundraiser, learning more about the elephant crisis, not purchasing ivory products, or pursuing a career in wildlife conservation. Donating money to charities is also a good place to start.
Now you are going to read the full transcript of Prince William’s speech.
Answer the questions in your own words.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted we are joined by those of you in Tokyo and Johannesburg as we prepare for a pivotal moment in the fight against illegal wildlife trade. I am particularly grateful to TUSK for providing this unique platform, and to ISPS Handa Foundation and Tusk’s other sponsors for making such an ambitious occasion possible. To John Scanlon and Dr Handa, thank you for sharing your thoughts on an issue I particularly feel passionate about.
Today’s event, on the eve of the CITES conference in Johannesburg, is timely and its global nature reflects the global scale of this challenge. Earlier this month the Great Elephant Census was published. And it confirmed what many of us have feared for some time – one of our planet's most treasured species is on course for extinction at the hands of poachers and traffickers.
When I was born, there were 1 million elephants roaming Africa. By the time my daughter Charlotte was born last year, the numbers of savannah elephants had crashed to just 350,000. And at the current pace of illegal poaching, when Charlotte turns 25 the African elephant will be gone from the wild. And the risk is not just to elephants. Today is World Rhino Day. A species that, due to demand for its horn, is being killed at a rate of nearly three animals a day. Rhinos face extinction in our lifetimes as we struggle to correct lies about the supposed benefits of using its horn as a drug. However, this crisis is not just about animals – this crisis is also about people. It is some of the world's poorest people who will suffer when their natural resources are stripped from them illegally and brutally. It is families in the world's most vulnerable regions who suffer when two rangers are killed every week on the frontline of this fight. It is fragile democratic systems in many nations that are at risk from the scourge of violence and corruption that the illegal wildlife trade fuels. Ladies and gentlemen, I am not
prepared to be part of a generation that lets these iconic species disappear from the wild.
I am not prepared to explain to our children why we lost this battle when we had the tools to win it – and I know that none of you in Tokyo, Johannesburg or here in London want this either. I fear we will not know what we have lost until it has gone. But there is hope – we can do something. There is huge momentum building from governments, businesses, conservationists, and the public to take the steps required to stop the killing.
Three and a half years ago I spoke on the eve of the last CITES conference and I urged Parties to redouble their efforts to tackle illegal wildlife trade. As we stand on the eve of another CITES gathering there is much to celebrate: - The London Conference in 2014, which showed that Governments were taking this seriously; - The Elephant Protection Initiative, now with 14 member countries; - China and America's leadership when last year they were the first to announce domestic bans on ivory trade; - the recovery in Giant Panda numbers in China - one example of how concerted action can deliver results; - The Transportation industry led by Lord Hague acting with resolve through the Buckingham Palace Declaration to tackle their role in this issue; - And last week, the overwhelming vote at the IUCN World Conservation Congress calling on all countries to close their domestic ivory markets. These are all significant steps, but progress is fragile and we cannot be complacent. As leaders gather for CITES, and later at the third Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in Vietnam in November which I will be attending, we have the chance to seize a huge opportunity.
We have the opportunity to end, once and for all, the mixed messages we have sent for too long about the value and desirability of wildlife products. We have the chance to say that ivory is a symbol of destruction, not of luxury and not something that anyone needs to buy or sell. We have the chance to say that rhino horn does not cure anything and does not need a legal market. Now is the chance to send an unambiguous message to the world that it is no longer acceptable to buy and sell ivory, rhino horn or other illegal wildlife products. Indeed I would challenge anyone who knows the truth of how these wildlife products are obtained, to justify desiring them. Materialistic greed cannot be allowed to win against our moral duty to protect threatened species and vulnerable communities. This is not just an issue for people on the other side of the world – the British Government announced yesterday that it is looking closely at this issue in respect of our own domestic trade. Wherever we are in the world, we must all play our part. The opportunity that the CITES conference presents to halt the illegal wildlife trade will not come round again for another three years.
I sincerely hope that the Parties are able to unite around an unmistakable message to the world about the crisis in which we find ourselves – in my personal opinion, a tightening and not a loosening of the rules around the international trade in ivory and rhino horn. Mixed messages about the viability of trade in elephant or rhino parts would surely serve only to confuse would be consumers at this crucial time. We cannot undo the mistakes of the past. But we can and must take moral responsibility for the decisions we make today.
Please let us not lose momentum or focus. If we are to succeed, we must do more; we must do it faster; and we must do it better. But most importantly, we must do it together. Thank you.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
De onderstaande antwoorden moet je zelf nakijken; vergelijk jouw antwoorden met de goede
antwoorden, en geef aan in welke mate jouw antwoorden correct zijn.
Writing Task
You have been invited to speak about an animal that is in danger of extinction.
Look at the points to talk about below.
Choose your animal and research some information about it.
Complete the file.
Status
How many are there?
Threats to habitat
Emotions that you can exploit when talking about this animal
Future of the animal?
Write your speech. Use 200-220 words.
Evaluation
Fill in the schedule and answer the questions below.
Activity
Needs improvement
Satisfactory, good
Excellent
Step 1 - Speaking
I can read about conservation status of animals and discuss questions with a classmate.
Step 2 - Reading
I can read an article about declining elephant numbers and answer questions.
Step 3 - Words
I can complete a table with verb, noun, adjective or adverb of a word.
Step 4 - Task
I can research information about an animal and write a speech.
What have you learned in this lesson?
Answer the following questions:
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Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:
Toelichting
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Environment'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Declining elephants numbers. In deze les gaat het over het afnemen van diersoorten. Hierbij wordt over bedreigde diersoorten gesproken en hoe er gewerkt wordt om de afname te verminderen of zelfs terug te keren. De mate waarin een diersoort bedreigd wordt, wordt uitgedrukt in de 'conservation status'.
Deze les valt onder de arrangeerbare leerlijn van de Stercollectie voor Engels voor havo, leerjaar 4 en 5. Dit is thema 'Environment'. Het onderwerp van deze les is: Declining elephants numbers. In deze les gaat het over het afnemen van diersoorten. Hierbij wordt over bedreigde diersoorten gesproken en hoe er gewerkt wordt om de afname te verminderen of zelfs terug te keren. De mate waarin een diersoort bedreigd wordt, wordt uitgedrukt in de 'conservation status'.
Speaking
by Denise Haggerty
Words
Writing Task
