>> T united nations wildlife
conferencehis week targeted by
poachers.
There are roughly one million
species around the world facing
extension.
With -- extinction.
Difficult choices have to be
made.
Geoff Bennett spoke with Rebecca
Nesbitt, an author for " tickets
for the ark, how do we choose
what to save?"
>> Give us a sense of some of
the less popular species that
are integral to an ecosystem but
that aren't getting the funding
and the resources and the
research you think they deserve.
>> There's all sorts of species
that either we ignore or even we
hate.
I think of wasps.
Common yellowjackets, force,,
that lots of people really
despise -- but they are playing
important roles such as they
help with pest control.
We have got lots of caterpillars
that eat our crops, and various
species of wasps will control
those caterpillars.
So, we can release direct
benefits from the species that
we actively disliked.
>> What is an ethical way to
make a decision about which
species to save?
>> It is a really complex
decision that we need to make
each time and sometimes we're
talking about extinctions.
Sometimes we're just talking
about what is happening in a
local area.
We're not necessarily going to
lose a species to extinction but
we're just going to ignore it
and let the. Population decline
the kind of ways we can think
about our, what is that species
do?
We could think about the
species' role in the wider
ecosystem, for example.
I'm going to think of an
ecosystem that stores carbon.
We all know what problem we are
facing with climate and how
important it is to store carbon.
So, if we were to think of
wanting to use an area for
forest to have a lot of trees to
store carbon, then we could be
taking that reasoning we want to
prioritize species that will
create an ecosystem that stores
carbon.
But that's one possible way, and
another way we could take this
question is who decides?:
At the moment a lot of
conservation has been decided by
a very small number of people.
Whereas we could bring far more
people into this debate because
we have, for example, around the
world indigenous societies
relying on nature, protecting
nature, and not having their
voices listen to to.
So, part of how we decide is who
to bring into the conversation.
>> Consider the panda, for
instance, species that gets a
lot of attention, a lot of
funding.
A few months ago, I spoke with
Melissa sander who works at the
national zoo in Washington,
D.C., about the overall
conservation effort.
The panda conservation effort in
many ways is helpful to other
conservation efforts.
>> Absolutely.
The research and the things we
learn about their ecology and
their ecosystems benefits the
species they are sharing the
space with.
So, when we work to conserve a
large mammal like the giant
panda we are also conserving
habitat for a range of species.
The new giant panda national
park is estimated that 4000
species, known species, so even
more than that will be
protected.
That is one of the reasons we
call it an umbrella species.
>> What do make of that
phenomenon?
The sense that when you were to
preserve habitats for things
like pandas, animals like
pandas, their other species who
benefit.
>> I think that is absolutely
true.
And from saving a species like
the panda, we're protecting the
forest, which is not just
amazing for all the other
species by four all the things
that a force -- but for all the
things that a forest does, flood
control and climate regulation
and providing some goods for the
local people living there.
Forest is amazing for so many
reasons and sometimes it is, it
takes a species like a panda to
get us all behind that effort to
save that forest.
And I think the panda is so
important as an icon, because
the panda has shown us how
successful conservation can be.
That the conservationists turned
around its fortunes and seeing
those success stories is just a
reminder of how valuable and
successful conservation can be.
>> As we wrap up this
conversation, what are some best
practices based on research to
preserve global bio diversity?
>> There are also some things
that need to go into protecting
wildlife.
And this is everything from
thinking about how we live our
lives, our diets.
Do we waste lots of food?
Because that land was used to
grow that food, and we throw it
in the bin, that is land that
could been used for wildlife
that is now wasted.
Bringing more people into
conversations, and all of us
taking part in conversations
about how to save wildlife, how
to prioritize is very important,
and thinking of an environmental
justice position when talking
about how to make those
decisions.
>> Dr. Rebecca Nesbitt is an
ecologist and author of the book
" tickets of the ark, how do we
choose what to save."
Thanks for your time and
insights.