Christian Conservationists Lead Rescue Effort as Half of Migratory Species Decline

Nearly half of the world's migratory species are declining in what many scientists see as the beginning of a major extinction event. 

In response, Christian conservationist Dr. Bob Sluka with A Rocha, faith-based creation care organization, is calling for an urgent move to safeguard the planet before it's too late. 

"The Bible has so much to say about how important God's Creation is to God, and if we're going to love God and follow Him, we need to love the things that he loves," said Dr. Sluka. 

The recent U.N. State of the World's Migratory Species Report found roughly 44% of migratory species are declining in population and 20% could become extinct. Dr. Sluka believes biodiversity and ecosystem collapse could be a contributing factor. 

"Things like corals are in decline, amphibians: frogs and toads," said Dr. Sluka. "Even, think about all the insects – there's been talk about the 'insect apocalypse,' just a crash in numbers of insects." 

Dr. Sluka points to The Red List of Threatened Species, put out by the respected International Union for Conservation of Nature, which estimates more than 44,000 of the earth's species are at risk of disappearing. 

"I think most scientists would agree already that we're in the sixth major extinction event," said Dr. Sluka. 

Against the backdrop of this grim news, there has been a resurgence in the populations of certain migratory animals around the world, such as the humpback whales along the Atlantic Coast, whose numbers have rebounded to levels seen before the period of commercial whaling.

Efforts to save whales and other threatened animals include the Marine Mammal Conservation Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act, to name a few. Beth Porterhouse with the Virginia Beach Aquarium & Marine Science Center believes effective conservation though begins with people not police – and says there are things you can do to help your 'non-human neighbors.'

"Very simple things, like don't release balloons," said Porterhouse. "Reduce plastic consumption as much as possible and look for opportunities in your everyday life to think of yourself as part of the whole community of life." 

Despite their recovery, an increase in beached whales on the East Coast is raising alarm among environmentalists, as whales serve as indicators of the ocean's health. The presence of juvenile humpbacks ashore, bearing scars from entanglements, suggests human activities are to blame. Furthermore, another whale found just south of Virginia's border exhibited signs of infectious disease, marking four whale deaths within a single week.

"Every other breath comes from the ocean," said Porterhouse. "The whales support those ecosystems, they're kind of the farmers of the ocean, by moving nutrients through the water column." 

Porterhouse and Dr. Sluka say it's a somber reminder that our activities impact the land, the ocean and everything that lives there.  

"When's the last time you heard a sermon on Creation care in a church?" asked Dr. Sluka. "Or, if ever, the challenge is for those pastors out there – it's not political, it's biblical, and you've got to preach it."