Wazzup Pilipinas!
The world - in the midst of economic development and unprecedented advances in technology – faces an uncertain future as far as conservation and preservation of the environment is concerned. Rapid industrialization, massive deforestation, and other unscrupulous and indiscriminate ways of man have led to the deterioration of the environment and climate change whose ugly manifestations – landslide, flooding, and the unusual weather – have cost lives and properties.
The scale and magnitude of this environmental catastrophe gave rise to such international organizations as the World Wide Fund for Nature established in 1986 (its predecessor was the World Wide Fund conceived in 1961 and initially covered the protection of endangered animals). It mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is available, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
One aspect of the environment which is adversely affected by man’s wicked activities is the freshwater biodiversity which is among the most threatened in the world. Human activities such as overfishing, pollution, and economic development have pushed a number of species to the brink of extinction. Estimates show that 7.5 million people depend on freshwater fish for food and income. It was reported by British scientists that freshwater fish are the most endangered group of animals on the planet with more than a third threatened with extinction.