Swift action needed on wildlife
Conservation awareness and activities must be implemented to save Mother Nature – EWT
IN THE past two years, illegal wildlife trade has featured more strongly in the rhetoric of politicians, global media, and the public, as people began to face the very real possibility of losing a number of species if serious action is not taken, says the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).
In the EWT’s 2017/2018 integrated report, chief executive Yolan Friedmann said many countries and cultures that previously engaged in enormous volumes of wildlife trade have decreased their consumptive use of wildlife.
“In several countries, there is a strong awareness that many wildlife species cannot sustain large volumes of trade; that the trade is often cruel and unethical; and that better alternatives for their uses (fashion, medicinals, and so on) are available for less money.
In some cultures, the use and trade in wildlife has even become stigmatised,” Friedmann said.
However, the consumption of wildlife and their products has increased in many parts of the world due to increasing wealth, popular beliefs, financial speculation and “investment”, and ease of access to illicit markets.
“Coupled with the decline in many species and the associated increasing value of their body parts; the free flow of illicit goods via established black markets; the ease of access for buyers and sellers to social networks and the ‘Dark Web’; the escalation in corruption globally, and its impact on law enforcement; and the dynamic nature of illicit trade flows, it is little wonder that several species now face a very real extinction risk. Or may already have succumbed.
“South Africa has, although not many people know this, already lost three cycad species to illegal trade in the past decade and several others face a similar future,” Friedmann said.
“We work with the Department of Health and our partners working on human health and sexual rights. We support several projects that address the broader educational standards in schools, in the communities in which we work; and we work with partners who address literacy levels, adult education, and skills development for unemployed people.”
Board chairperson Dirk Ackerman said conservation activities are needed now more than ever.
“But a raft of exponentially increasing commercial, political, operational and criminal obstacles continue to challenge a co-ordinated and cohesive approach of giving Mother Nature the co-operation she deserves from humankind to protect our most valuable asset: the planet.
“It is time that the people develop a more active conservation culture and make this voice heard by political and commercial leaders.”