Countries face many challenges when trying to protect wildlife according to both national and international laws, like the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and CITES, which is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Here are some of the main challenges:

1. Lack of Resources:

   • Many countries, especially those still developing, don’t have enough money.
   • It is estimated that we need about $200 billion each year worldwide to support conservation efforts that really work.
   • Also, many national parks in Africa are short on staff. Around 52% of these parks don’t have enough rangers to help protect the animals and plants.

2. Political Will:

   • Changes in government can make it hard to keep wildlife protection policies on track.
   • A survey from 2019 showed that over 70% of conservation organizations said that the lack of political support was a major problem for getting policies to work well.

3. Local Community Engagement:

   • Often, conservation policies don’t pay attention to the needs of local communities.
   • About 1.5 billion people rely on forests to support their lives. If we ignore these people's needs, they may resist conservation efforts.

4. Enforcement Challenges:

   • Rules like those in CITES, which control international trade of endangered species, can be hard to enforce.
   • In 2018, only 11% of countries reported that they fully followed CITES rules.
   • Poaching is a huge problem, too, with around 30,000 elephants being illegally hunted each year to get ivory.

5. Habitat Loss:

   • When land is used for farming or building cities, it destroys animal habitats and leads to a loss of biodiversity.
   • The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that about 60% of animal populations have shrunk since 1970. This shows how urgent it is to have effective conservation policies in place.

In summary, protecting wildlife is a complex issue with many hurdles to overcome, but it's vital for our planet's health.