Global Neocrown Outbreak Affects Wildlife Conservation

Dan Zhao

According to the Washington Post, wildlife refuges and ecotourism around the world are facing new threats as a result of the new crown epidemic, and the impact on wildlife and people is being felt and is expected to be far-reaching.

As a result of epidemic prevention and control measures such as border closures and visa restrictions in many countries, most of the world’s tourist destinations have been forced to shut down, including national parks, game reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, resulting in a significant decline in wildlife tourism revenues and a cutback in funding for programs that support wildlife conservation. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that by the end of 2020, international tourism revenues will have lost trillions of dollars, a 60 to 80 percent decline from the previous year, costing millions of jobs. In addition, according to a recent report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the collapse of global tourism has led to an increase in the illegal killing of wildlife and a rise in the number of threatened species.

In recent years, the recovery of endangered and rare species such as the giant ibis and white-winged duck in northern Cambodia has led to the rapid development of ecotourism in the region. Among them, the giant crested ibis has grown to nearly 300 birds 20 years after its near extinction, attracting thousands of tourists, providing an important source of income and funding for local rural communities and wildlife conservation, and becoming an important catalyst for local economic development. According to Wildlife Conservation Society International, the increase in visitors has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue for community funds and conservation projects. However, due to the global epidemic, not only is there now a shortfall in funding for projects, but the local economy is struggling and some giant ibis, white-winged ducks, painted storks and other wildlife are also being hunted.

Not only in Cambodia, but the stagnation of ecotourism during the epidemic has had a profound impact on the global wildlife conservation process. For example, in Costa Rica, an ecotourism project aimed at protecting the white-lipped wild boar is becoming more and more endangered due to increased deforestation and big-game hunting, while tourist visits are almost non-existent; in Namibia, the “Cheetah Conservation Center” is unable to sustain itself on the income generated by tourists. operations; the government of Gabon and other African countries have closed great ape parks to visitors since March 2020, a prolonged blockade that has nearly depleted funding for the conservation of critically endangered populations of great apes and other gorillas.

The outbreak has led to increased deforestation and poaching in Central and South America, severely disrupting long-established livelihoods of businesses and populations. Suddenly cutting off rural communities' main source of income will have a huge impact on budgets for hunting areas and their wildlife conservation," said Jeremy Radachowski, director of Wildlife Conservation Society International’s Central America and Western Caribbean program. Reduced funding will exacerbate the degradation of natural ecosystems, encourage wildlife smuggling, and ultimately increase the risk of infection and spread of zoonotic diseases. To avoid similar outbreaks in the future, supporting rural communities that rely solely on ecotourism is an important area of funding that we need to explore right now." To this end, various organizations are taking a variety of initiatives to increase their support. For example, some animal protection foundations are providing small grants to communities in developing countries that rely on ecotourism; other organizations have begun to draw on reserves and emergency funds to protect employees' wages and provide them with basic necessities.

Experts speculate that to achieve effective global wildlife conservation, government and philanthropic funding should be more than twice the size of the pre-epidemic level. As a result, viable conservation alternatives to sole reliance on ecotourism are gaining popularity, including conservation trusts, debt-risk management schemes, and other forms of financing. Programs such as natural environmental conversions, biodiversity offsets, tax incentives, and debt instruments to finance ecological goals - Green and Blue Bonds. For example, the Seychelles government raised $15 million through Blue Bonds to protect marine life and diversify the economy of a tourism-dependent region.

It is hoped that humanity will recognize that nature conservation and regional economic development are interconnected and that ecotourism development is vital to global wildlife conservation," said Wildlife Conservation Society International’s Global Conservation Director. As the closure period is lifted and tourism gradually recovers, ecotourism will be repositioned in the post-epidemic era."