Human encroachment on nature is the main cause of the coronavirus pandemic, which has almost become self-evident.
For all subsequent discussions about songbirds returning to the city center, declining pollution, and increasing appreciation of the natural world, the cold reality at this moment is that the funds for protecting our environment are almost zero.
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In Africa, the situation is particularly bleak. Before the crisis, wildlife tourism contributed £17.2 billion to the African economy each year. In Kenya, in 2019 alone, wildlife tourists contributed more than £740 million to the economy and provided 1.6 million jobs.
Endangered
But in the past year, the number of wildlife tourists to the African continent has fallen by 99%. The Ranger patrol has been cut. The project has been completely postponed or cancelled. At the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservation Association, we have lost 90% of our source of income.
Without funds or tourists, we have fewer and fewer means to protect the natural world.
The inevitable result will be continued deforestation, triggering extreme changes in temperature; irreversible loss of plant and animal species; and the possibility of wild animals causing new deadly diseases has risen sharply, and these diseases may have the potential for pandemics.
In a United Nations report, 22 leading experts fully agreed that there is a clear relationship between natural degradation and the risk of uncontrollable infectious diseases. There is no doubt that another pandemic will sound the death knell for countless conservation efforts across the African continent.
This protection is very important. At MKWC, we work tirelessly to protect the critically endangered mountain bongo, one of the largest forest antelopes and a native species of Kenya.
shortage
The result of this conservation action is to protect the wider ecosystem, which is one of the five main water towers that provide clean fresh water for 80% of Kenyan people.
However, in the absence of tourists and no donations, protection efforts across Kenya are at risk. Illegal activities have become easier, partly because there is no tourism at all and there are fewer rangers patrolling in areas rich in wildlife.
If there is no funding, this will not change. It will not remain the same. As time goes by, poachers and others who harm the animal kingdom for personal gain have become more bold and reckless, and the possibility of a culture of indifference increases.
Before the pandemic, tourists in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa were content to pay for accommodation in five-star hotels, which played a key role in funding conservation efforts.
SecondIt is expected that the tourism industry will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 or even 2024, which will lead to fiscal shortages and have serious and direct consequences for the natural world.
generous
Donations are urgently needed, and I urge anyone who can donate to organizations such as the WILF Foundation or directly to protected areas such as MKWC to do so.
The case of Mountain Bongo is a small example that reminds us that we cannot simply remove ourselves from the natural environment.
We are all part of the ecosystem, and for our own benefit, we must protect the ecosystem. The pandemic shows that if we do not take our role as environmental stewards seriously, there will be increasingly destructive and deadly consequences.
But-more importantly-the earth is a common treasure house, and love is a greater motivation than fear.
I believe that after working in nature in the past year, if we can ignite our natural feelings for the world we live in, we can all find the energy and generosity needed to protect it. In fact, we are falling into disaster while sleepwalking.
This author
Dr. Robert Aruho is a senior veterinarian with the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservation Association, which is part of the Janus Continental Group (JCG) conservation agency.
