Wildlife at risk as park patrols reduce amid pandemic
Elephants at Amboseli National Park.
What you need to know:
- Anti-poaching and park patrols have been impacted in more than half of Africa’s protected areas.
- At the same time, bush meat hunting has also increased.
Africa’s protected areas are threatened as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to undermine conservation efforts.
With tourism having collapsed during the pandemic, anti-poaching and park patrols have been impacted in more than half of Africa’s protected areas.
This is due to the impact of closures and lockdowns on parks revenue, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
IUCN conducted surveys which showed that more than half of protected areas in Africa had halted operations or had reduced field patrols and anti-poaching operations.
"Parks have emptied out to a large extent and there's no money coming in," said Nigel Dudley, co-author of a paper in the journal.
At the same time, bush meat hunting has also increased due to reduction of patrols and growing poverty, he added.
A survey showed that a fifth of rangers in 60 countries had lost their jobs due to pandemic-related budget cuts. Many had their salaries either being delayed or reduced.
