IELTS Modest · Cuối khoá · Reading: Wildlife Crossings and Local Radio

Every year, millions of wild animals are killed on roads around the world. Deer, foxes, frogs and even bears are hit by cars when they try to move from one area to another in search of food, water or a partner. These accidents are dangerous for drivers too. In some regions, collisions with large animals such as deer cause hundreds of injuries to people every year and cost a great deal of money in car repairs. In one country alone, insurance companies receive tens of thousands of claims each year for this kind of accident.

Roads also cause a less visible problem. When a busy road cuts through a forest, it divides the animals that live there into two smaller groups. Over time, these groups can become isolated from each other. If animals cannot meet partners from the other side, the population becomes weaker, because there is less variety in their genes. Scientists call this “habitat fragmentation”, and it is one of the main reasons why some species are disappearing.

One solution is to build crossings that allow animals to go over or under the road. The simplest type is a tunnel, which is often made from a large concrete pipe. Tunnels are cheap and work well for small animals such as badgers, frogs and hedgehogs. Larger animals, however, usually avoid dark, narrow spaces. For them, engineers build wide bridges covered with soil, grass and small trees, so that the crossing looks like part of the natural landscape. These “green bridges” can be more than 50 metres wide.

Building a crossing is not enough on its own, because animals will only use it if they can find it. For this reason, crossings are always combined with long fences along the side of the road. The fences stop animals from walking onto the road and guide them towards the entrance of the bridge or tunnel. Planners also study where animals already cross before they choose a location, because a crossing in the wrong place may never be used. In some places, small reflectors are also placed beside the road, which shine in car headlights and warn animals that a vehicle is coming.

At first, many people doubted whether these structures were worth the money. A green bridge can cost several million dollars, and critics argued that the money should be spent on schools or hospitals instead. However, cameras placed on crossings have shown impressive results. On one mountain highway, accidents involving large animals fell by more than 80 per cent after a series of crossings and fences was built. The cameras also recorded more than ten different species using a single bridge, including some that are rarely seen.

It can take several years for animals to get used to a new crossing. Deer, for example, are often nervous at first and may walk up to the entrance many times before they finally go across. Young animals usually learn the route by following their mothers, so the number of crossings tends to rise each year. Experts now believe that wildlife crossings should be included in the plans for every new road that passes through a natural area, rather than added later at a higher cost.

When television arrived in most homes in the 1960s, many people predicted that radio would soon disappear. Sixty years later, the same prediction was made about the internet and smartphones. Yet radio has survived both times. In fact, in many countries, local radio stations – small stations that broadcast to one town or region – are attracting more listeners than they did ten years ago. Many of these stations are run from a single small studio, sometimes in the back room of a shop or a community hall.

Media researcher Dr Clara Venn, who has studied listening habits in twelve countries, believes the main reason is trust. In her opinion, people are tired of news that seems to come from nowhere. On local radio, they hear voices they recognise, talking about streets and schools they know. In her surveys, listeners rated local radio as much more reliable than social media. She also found that listeners were more likely to phone in or send messages to a local presenter than to a national one.

Another reason is convenience. Radio is one of the few media that people can enjoy while they are doing something else, such as driving, cooking or working. Engineer Tomas Reyna points out that modern technology has actually helped radio rather than harmed it. Most stations can now be heard through smartphone apps and smart speakers, so a listener who has moved to another country can still follow the programmes from their home town. He adds that many stations now record their programmes as podcasts, so people can listen later at a time that suits them.

Local radio also plays an important role during emergencies. When storms or floods cut off electricity and mobile phone networks, battery-powered radios often become the only source of information. During one severe flood, a small coastal station stayed on air for three days without a break, telling people which roads were closed and where they could find clean water. Sociologist Dr Amira Hale argues that this kind of service creates a strong bond between a station and its community, which national media cannot easily copy.

However, life is not easy for small stations. Most of them depend on advertising from local shops and businesses, and when the economy is weak, this money quickly disappears. Many stations survive only because volunteers present programmes for free. Some of these volunteers are students who want to work in the media, while others are retired people who enjoy meeting the community. Dr Hale warns that relying on volunteers can be risky, because the quality of programmes may fall if experienced presenters leave. Some stations have started asking listeners for small monthly donations, and a few have been surprised by how generous their audiences are.

In my view, local radio deserves more support from governments. It is cheap to run, it reaches people who do not use the internet, and it gives ordinary people a chance to speak to their neighbours. A small yearly grant would cost far less than the damage caused when a community loses its only trusted source of local news. Radio may be old technology, but it is clearly not finished.