Scientists estimate that there are at least half a million viruses in wildlife populations with the potential to spill over to humans. “Our essayists point out again and again that all of these global crises are interconnected, and the root cause is that our use and abuse of nature has reached the Earth’s limits,” reads the introductory paper.īrent Mitchell, the nature stewardship co-editor of the special edition of PARKS, says: “What we learnt from our 150 contributors is this: if the shock of Covid-19 is not enough to make humanity wake up to the suicidal consequences of the destructive course of much-misguided development, with its onslaught on nature, then it is hard to see how further calamities - far worse than the current pandemic - can be avoided.” While the impacts have been devastating, other pandemics are sweeping the world: climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem change on a massive scale.

“Sometimes, incomers have arrived or returned from cities to compete for the forest, wildlife and fishery resources upon which resident communities depend.” To avoid the next pandemic, keep nature intact The pandemic has hit those who most depend on nature the hardest, including those who live far from life-saving health services, employment and income opportunities. Some rangers lost their lives and jobs to the pandemic, and many had their health and livelihoods put at risk, taking on new roles as public health advocates or field staff. There were reports of more incursions and illegal extraction of natural resources, and destabilising relationships between PCAs and indigenous and local communities.” “These include massive reductions in visitor numbers (except near cities) and associated loss of income for PCAs and for the economies linked to them as income from tourism collapsed and government support was cut. Common themesĪlthough “the news is not universally bad”, according to the editor’s introduction, there are common themes. While 17 countries maintained or increased their support for protected and conserved areas (PCAs), 22 rolled back protections in at least 64 cases, favouring road construction or oil and gas extraction in areas designated for conservation. Rangers from Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Africa and Asia were worst affected. More than half of Africa’s protected areas reported how they were forced to halt or reduce field patrols and anti-poaching operations, conservation education and outreach work.Ī survey of more than 60 countries found more than one in four rangers had their salaries reduced or delayed, while 20% lost their jobs because of Covid-19-related budget cuts. Stephens added that CapeNature has been working closely with law enforcement to keep poaching under control.Īcross the world, Covid-19-related job losses among protected area rangers, reduced anti-poaching patrols and environmental protection rollbacks have undermined nature conservation efforts, according to a collection of new research papers published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in a special issue of PARKS, the journal of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.Ĭonservation efforts in Africa and Asia were the most severely affected. There will have been an increase in activity during the pandemic in the coastal areas.” “The impact on livelihoods has been extreme. In the fallout of Covid-19, poaching has risen too.

The real losers are local communities and businesses, he says.ĭe Hoop’s wider projects contributed close to R500-million per year to the local economy this has now fallen to about one third. “The remaining rangers’ contracts have been changed from monthly to hourly contracts … Rangers continue to earn at a good level, but spread between a reduced number of guides.” “We’ve been forced not to renew some contracts,” says William Stephens, the De Hoop Collection chief executive.

Before Covid-19 struck, the De Hoop nature reserve in the Overberg, world renowned for its whale-watching and rare fynbos, employed 80 people. But over the last year, that number has dwindled to around 50 as tourism operations in the Unesco World Heritage Site have plunged to one-third of their pre-Covid levels.

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