The second half of the 20th century saw the most significant and widespread advances in environmental awareness in human history . It was around this time that people began to think about the effects of their polluting cars and wasteful habits. People began to realize that something needed to be done to reduce the negative impacts of humans on their environment and thus the environmental movement was born. One of the most important factors resulting from this expansion of environmental consciousness in recent decades has been the protection of endangered species. Much has been done in the legal world to ensure the continued longevity of our planet's diversity, including two major policies: CITES and the Endangered Species Act. Each of these policies has addressed the welfare of endangered species in a different way, with varying degrees of success. Each strategy will be summarized and analyzed, beginning with the CITES treaty, as it was enacted before the Endangered Species Act. However, before examining the function and effectiveness of each strategy, it is important to understand the history of each. In 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, a piece of legislation designed to provide limited protection to a list of native species. animal species. The Ministries of Interior, Agriculture and Defense were responsible for protecting these species and preserving their habitats. It also allocated land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help maintain these natural habitats. In 1969, the law was changed because additional protection was needed. Faced with the threat of global extinction, the amendment called for an international meeting and debates among the papers rather than the officials who manage them, but all things considered, these two policies go a long way towards ameliorating the problem of human-caused extinction. Works Cited Doremus, Holly and Joel E. Pagel. “Why Listing May Be Forever: Perspectives on Delisting Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.” Conservation Biology, Vol. 15, no. 5 (October 2001): 1258-68. Hemley, Ginette. “CITES: how useful is a tool for wildlife conservation?” Bulletin of the WildlifeSociety, Vol. 23, No. 4, Changes and Challenges in the Wildlife Profession (Winter 1995): 635-39. “History and evolution of the Endangered Species Act 1973, including its relationship to CITES.” Fish and Wildlife Service. May 1, 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. December 2, 2008. Reibstein, Rick. “Endangered Species Act.” CASE GE 521, Boston, MA. November 19.2008.