World Wildlife Day celebrates the lives of wild animals all around the world. But firstly, let us define what wildlife is. Animals that are not domesticated in other words not tamed and mainly live in the natural environment are considered as wildlife.

Every year, on the 3^rd of March, people get together to celebrate World Wildlife Day. The proposal for naming a day for wildlife was introduced at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly on the 28th of December, 2013. The main purpose of this proposal was to raise worldwide awareness on flora and fauna found in the wild. 

The observation of Wildlife Day therefore started from 2014. One of the reasons behind choosing 3rd of March was, it was the same day that the world commenced adopting CITES (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species) agreement.

Wildlife roughly translates to life in the wild. But it is important to know that wildlife not only include wild animals but also wild plants and such. They are just as important. Let us take the biosphere for example. It is simply, the zone of life on earth. Even we humans are a part of it. The biosphere is, in fact, composed of many ecosystems and each one of those ecosystems is a basic mixture of biotic and abiotic components. The biotic component includes both animals and plants and of course, the microorganisms, more popularly known as decomposers. Hence, for the right balance of ecosystems, it is a must that animals (fauna), as well as plants (flora), should be preserved and protected. 

Over the course of years, a number of agreements have been put forward and even conventions have been held for that matter, internationally.

• CITES – This is the only treaty to ensure that international trade in plants and animals does not threatened their survival in the wild. Entered into force in 1975 and currently there are 183 parties adhering to this including 182 member countries and the European Union.
• RAMSAR convention – International treaty for conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Currently 171 parties have signed it and this came into effect in 1975. The only RAMSAR wetland in Sri Lanka is Muthurajawela. 
• Montreal Protocol – An international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

Even so, there’s still excessive utilization of resources, deforestation & reclamation of low lands, etc. which have led to the loss of habitat and survival of wild animals. The use of agrochemicals, irregular utilization of land, and employment of improper technology have threatened the survival of plant life in the wild. It is clear as day, that we humans are solely at fault for this mayhem, and it is we who should take the responsibility and start correcting our mistakes for the betterment of wildlife.

Celebrating Wildlife Day will be meaningful if only we stick to our principles on wildlife conservation and act accordingly. Thus, the Rotaract Club of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura stepped forward to raise awareness among the community about the value of preserving wildlife and the importance of protecting the rights of domestic animals. The Community Service Avenue and the Environmental Service Avenue got together to organize the project ‘Animalia 2.0’. The project covered both Wildlife and Domestic Animals in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Goals 14 and 15; “Life underwater” and “Life on Land”. 

Moving onto the project, it was executed under three phases. As the first phase, Team Animalia 2.0 took action to relaunch the official website for Animalia 2.0 (<https://racusj.wixsite.com/animalia>). It included articles on Animal Rights, what we as responsible persons could do to protect these animals and real incidents related to animal cruelty, under the categories wildlife, aquatic life, birds and domestic animals, to increase awareness.

As the next phase of the project, our team provided financial and non-financial aid to the Hiyare Wild Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. The centre is home to the rescued and threatened animals species in the country. We donated essential medicine and milk needed for the animals and cleaned the facility. Moreover, in commemoration of Wildlife Conservation Day, the majority of the members in the club updated their Facebook profile picture under the pledge “Today, I pledge to support the goal of Wildlife Protection and Conservation with the aim of serving Humanity and Earth.”

The third phase was carried out in different levels where we conducted a public relations campaign to dispel and create awareness on the myths surrounding the animals and aid an animal shelter that requires basic facilities. We lend our hand to Mr. Lesley Rodrigo’s Animal Shelter in Kelaniya, where we vaccinated the unvaccinated animals in the shelter, provided dry rations and cleaned the facility. 

Further, in commemoration of the International Animal Rights Day, we joined project ‘Happy Tails’ initiated by YGSLc and Team Law and Humanities, to feed the street dogs as a prime effort to protect the rights of these animals. We believe that through this project we could achieve our primary target which is to preserve the wildlife and protect the rights of the domestic animals. 

Not to forget our efforts on conserving the flora on planet Earth, we the Rotaractors of RACUSJ are currently carrying out Project ‘Growing Green 3.0‘ for its 3rd consecutive year on taking the responsibility of protecting and conserving the greenery in Sri Lanka. As the main phase of the project this year too, we were able to plant over 1000 saplings of plants that are endemic to Sri Lanka as well as plants that were on the verge of extinction. Most of the plants we planted also carried medicinal importance as well. The plantation took place at the Yagirala National Forest Reserve premises. The project is a sustainable effort of preserving nature year after year.

Last but not least, keeping in mind our duties and responsibilities towards the animal and plant kingdoms let us not limit ourselves to a particular date but engage in the mission of protecting these innocent lives by being an example to all in our words and in our actions.

Written by Rtr. Inuri Hettiarachchi and Rtr. Malithi Fernando