Recent research has confirmed that human activity has become the greatest threat to plant and animal life. Why do you think this has happened? How can we reduce our impact on the natural world?

Humans have been responsible for the loss of wildlife, as they tend to exploit the natural

world

for their own purposes. Our ancestors,

by contrast

, understood their relationship with other

species

much better. I would argue that it is

this

sense of harmony with nature that we need to recapture in order to reverse the damage that we have caused. One of the main reasons why certain

species

of wildlife have become threatened is the loss of habitat. As the population of the

world

has grown, humans have claimed increasingly large areas of land for the construction of homes and cities. An inevitable result has been the removal of plants and trees and the destruction of animal territories. Increasing urban development has, in turn, led to global warming, which is another contributing factor. Temperature and rainfall are critical to the survival of wildlife. Global warming has brought about a shift in weather patterns, resulting in drought, flooding and heatwaves, all of which have taken their toll on the natural

world

. I believe that the problem has to be tackled on a number of levels. As individuals, we should ensure that we treat the countryside with respect, avoid activities that harm animal life and, if possible, participate in projects or donate to charities that work to protect the

world

around us.

However

, it seems that the real work has to be done on a national and international level. What governments need to do in their own countries is to encourage sustainable building practices, limit urban growth and reduce human activities which contribute to global warming. But they

also

need to sign up for treaties that enable nations to collaborate in the protection of the

world

’s diverse

species

. To conclude, many of the threats to plant and animal life are a direct result of human activity, so it is now time to redress the situation. If we do not do

this

, we may be the

next

species

to become endangered.