Giraffe of Ol Pejeta in Northern Kenya

CONSERVATION IN PERIL AS NATURE TOURISM DISAPPEARS

Editors comment

It’s been a fantastic ‘wake up’ call for many in the conservation and wildlife arena, who have disparaged and put their noses up at nature tourism and safari goers for decades. Now that its switched off – the world and media suddenly recognise just how vital it has been in saving species and their landscapes. Let’s work together better in the future please. 

Julian Matthews, Founder TOFTigers 

From Kenya to the Seychelles, coronavirus has dealt a devastating blow to efforts to protect endangered wildlife

From the vast plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya to the delicate corals of the Aldabra atoll in the Seychelles, conservation work to protect some of the world’s most important ecosystems is facing crisis following a collapse in ecotourism during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organisations that depend on visitors to fund projects for critically endangered species and rare habitats could be forced to close, according to wildlife NGOs, after border closures and worldwide travel restrictions abruptly halted millions of pounds of income from tourism.

Throughout the pandemic, scientists have repeatedly urged humanity to reset its relationship with nature or suffer worse outbreaks. But the economic consequences of the Covid-19 lockdown have raised fears of a surge in poaching, illegal fishing and deforestation in life-sustaining ecosystems, with tens of thousands of jobs in the ecotourism sector at risk around the world.

Extract taken from Guardian article by and Peter Muiruri of the Guardian in UK on 5th May 2020

Read the full article on The Guardian article here