The protection of Africa's iconic wildlife species should remain a focus even as the continent grapples with disruptions linked to COVID-19 pandemic, an African foundation said on Thursday.
Kaddu Sebunya, chief executive officer of Nairobi-based African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) said that proactive measures are required to strengthen protection of the continent's wildlife and their habitats amid competing priorities like the fight against the disease.
"The world is understandably trying to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and respond to the critical short-term needs, "Sebunya told Xinhua during an interview in Nairobi.
But we must not forget that wildlife/ecological health is a critical resource for economic recovery in Africa once this pandemic is over, he added.
Sebunya acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic will adversely impact wildlife conservation in Africa amid falling tourism revenues and the risk of poaching alongside human-wildlife conflicts.
"Given extremely limited resources, governments are likely to abandon wildlife protection in the short to medium term and redirect resources to humanitarian considerations," said Sebunya.
He said that critical wildlife conservation programs could face funding cuts due to revenue shortfalls occasioned by COVID-19 disruptions.
"Some protected area managers have said that they only have three months' worth of funding reserves after which they might have to cut some programs entirely," said Sebunya.
The AWF official said that it is possible for Africa's wildlife to thrive amid disruptions triggered by COVID-19 pandemic once governments prioritize enactment of policies that promote ecologically sensitive economic development.
"Wildlife will thrive in Africa if correct decisions are made today about Africa's development trajectory," said Sebunya.
Sebunya urged African governments to allocate more funding towards environmental conservation and limit investments in projects that harm ecosystems. Enditem
