Wildland and urban interactions issues and solutions

There are many possible threats that wildlife faces when urban area expands. A few of these challenges are habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species to new environments, pollution, hunting (illegal or legal), and possible death of wildlife due to urban causes, tourism, and explorations. I have been fortunate enough to travel and see how different places around the world manage to integrate nature into their urban areas. 

Eastern European countries such as Russia (where I was born) implement very strict laws on hunting, fishing, and even coming close to any contact with wildlife. Although hunting is somewhat legal, similar to the US, hunters have to go through a long process to obtain a permit. In a few parts of Russia, you can go bear hunting, however, all of them are being monitored and the hunter has to pay a fee if they get to kill a bear. Certain parts of the country, such as Chukotka, are dream places for hunters - bear, moose, wolverine, and even snow sheep hunting is legal as well, but anyone who decides to enter these zones has to acquire permission to cross the region border. It is done for wildlife and nature protection. 

Central Russia took a different approach to wildlife management. Although there is not as much wildlife, the government has decided to put long fences up around every interstate highway. Besides that, all the wildlife is kept away from regular civilians. Wild boars and deers are fairly common to encounter in the forests, so every major forest is secluded with a net. People may enter at their own risk, but there are signs posted everywhere warning visitors of a possible danger.  

Argentina, South Africa, and Uruguay are known for their biodiversity and all three places allow hunting to control wildlife populations. When we were on the plane to Argentina, we sat next to a couple of "advanced" hunters who were going bird hunting. As a lot of urban areas grow due to human population growth, people start to "push the limits" of nature explorations and they even create "nature tourism". Diving with humpback whales has been growing as a tourism industry lately. I don't believe I would ever be brave enough to do that, but I did get a chance to swim with wild dolphins in the VI. I was terrified when I saw a massive stingray underneath me, but locals reassured me it is okay. A minute later dolphins appeared and all the locals ran into the water. When I asked them how they were so calm when giant turtles and a family of dolphins were swimming right by them, they said that they just learned to live with it. They do not bother wildlife, they instead respect and praise it. 

Cambodia and India took similar approaches to the manage wildlife and urban living due to their religious views and the location of the countries. Monkeys are free to go anywhere they want in Cambodia and India. Although they do transmit a lot of possible diseases, people just learned to live alongside them. People feed them like raccoons and nobody seems to care. Cows are recognized as sacred animals and can be easily and often seen on the streets. Just like Cambodia and India, Peru integrated their nature and urban living. Peru has strictly regulated hunting laws but the majority of wildlife does not even come down to humans. Wildlife stays up in the mountains partially due to the elevation. We were lucky enough to see a lama and a few chinchillas when we were hiking, but none of these animals had any interest in us. Another interesting aspect of Peru is that you won't find a single car or even a motorcycle once you get to Cusco. It is done to protect nature and wildlife and for safety reasons. 

Although I do like the style of living alongside wildlife and nature, however, it can be extremely dangerous not just for us as humans, but also for the wildlife. We should have stricter consequences for illegal hunting, provide more hunting education for those that do hunt, and possibly create more protective barriers between forest areas and roads. I think that the best way to pair our desires to be close to nature and actual ecosystems and habitats is by teaching kids t, the importance of nature and how to respect nature from a young age. If the right habits are taught to kids, then hopefully they will take it all the way to adulthood. People should be able to enjoy nature, but they need to understand that it's not exactly our territory and we are just "guests" - do not litter, do not approach or feed animals, and be respectful of their habitats. Every step we take in the forest can have drastic consequences, so rules such as no breaking sticks or trees, eating berries and fruits, or even making a fire in non-designated areas always must be followed. 

Here are a few photos from our previous trips. The second photo doe snot necessarily demonstrates a wildland-urban interface how we understand it nowadays, but centuries ago it probably did. The first photo with the iguana was taken in the middle of the road. Locals are so used to seeing them everywhere that they stopped even paying attention to wild animals.