Terrestrial resources: are divided into two sections: riparian vegetation and wildlife species

The human population explosion is not only an environmental concern but also an issue for animal rights.The population in the continents and the entire world is mounting rapidly but the resources of the Earth that are for all life forms to share are reducing.The carrying capacity of the Earth has clearly been exceeded; carrying capacity is defined as the maximum number of individuals of a specie that can exist in a habitat indefinitely without threatening other species in that habitat Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich, authors of The Population Explosion explain: The planet is experiencing a trend of rapid population growth and virtually every nation is already vastly overpopulated. Africa is overpopulated now because, among other indications, its soils and forests are rapidly being depleted and that implies that its carrying capacity for human beings will be lower in the future than it is now. The United States is overpopulated because it is depleting its soil and water resources and contributing mightily to the destruction of global environmental systems. Europe, Japan, the Soviet Union, and other rich nations are overpopulated because of their massive contributions to the carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, among many other reasons. (About,2007) If the stressor of population wasnot enough,human activities, including mining, transportation, pollution, agriculture, development, and logging, take habitat away from wild animals in addition to killing animals directly. An imbalance in the climate is also observed because of these activities which is a threat to even the most remote wild habitats. 30,000 species are lost every year in what is called Earths sixth major extinction.The 5 th major extinction is infamous for wiping out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.However, this extinction of terrestrial reserves is the consequence of humans rather than some asteroid hurtling through space.

If statistics are anything to go by human population will reach 11 to 15 billion by 2050 which will spell out the extinction for over 25% of the Earths wildlife (Wilson 1992). The World Wildlife Fund believes one-third of all plant and animal species could be gone within 20 years( Wrigley,2010).Already the giant consumer that is the human race utilizes half of the entire worlds photosynthetic capacity(Giradet,1999) a nd this clearly shows that there simply isnt enough room for humans and wildlife to exist in comfort.Already the planets population is 3 times the earths carrying capacity(Pimental, 1994). A december 2005 report shed light on the fact that human activities are spurring an extinction trend that is 100 times greater than natural rates(Thomson ,2011),The World Conservation Union states that 800 irreplaceable species have been extinct since 1500 while 794 are on the brink of oblivion.
These species are confined to 595 sites around the world; only one third of them have legal protection, and most are surrounded by human population densities approximately three times the global average. The country which has the worlds worst record for species extinction turns out to be Australia. 27 mammal species, 23 bird species, and 4 frog species have become extinct over the past 200 years.

Reg Morrison put it like this: the 300 million tonnes of humanity that the Earth currently supports has an appetite so vorac ious that the planet and its biota can meet our demands only by divesting itself of vast numbers of other energy consumers.

With every specie that is extinct or faces extinction because of our selfish squandering of resources, we must realize that they are our kin with a common ancestor dating back to 3.6 billion years.This common heritage propels us to conserve nature and its creations in all its diversity and beauty.The answer is not cocooning these species in reserves or zoos but to provide them with the ecosystem and habitat that are so akin to a womb to them.Maintanance of natural ecosystems and increasing awareness of the domino effect of increasing population density is something that we should all know and embrace.Natural ecosystems must be returned to what they once were, an action that can only be completed by a cut down in human population.This means further awareness,family planning,education and female empowerment.All of these efforts though colossal would not be futile as Earth and its resources are integral for our survival.