You asked; we answered. Below are answers to questions posted in our first installment of the Road to Vladivostok webinar series. Keshav Varma, CEO of the Global Tiger Initiative, debuted the series in February.
1. Keshav, can you talk about the impact of the Covid pandemic on tiger conservation in Asia? As we understand, the reduction of tourism in National Parks in Africa has resulted in decreased revenues and increased wildlife poaching on this continent. Is the situation similar in Asia?
The impact of Covid- 19 has been felt on all sectors, including conservation. A TRAFFIC report indicated that the cases of poaching in India (particularly those of ungulates, which serve as the principal prey for big cats like tiger and leopard) had more than doubled during the Covid-19 period. However, the Government took proactive steps to classify forest and wildlife protection under the list of “essential activities”, thus, day to day enforcement activities, particularly in protected areas had minimal impact, and in fact high number of arrests and seizures were made due to extra vigilance on surrounding covid-19 pandemic, and the report suggests that expedient legal actions were taken for the same.
The impact of wildlife tourism was more evident on local communities, living in the surrounds of heavily visited protected areas, as it meant a direct loss of income due to travel restrictions. The sovereign funding for wildlife and forest protection in countries like India makes sure that any loss in tourism revenue does not directly impact flow of funds of basic monitoring and patrolling activities, but the impact on communities and stakeholders’ communities dependent on tourism visitation can be definitely felt, just like the loss of employment in several other sectors of the economy. The problem accentuates in several other regions of Southeast Asia, and East Asia, where wildlife protection already suffers from lack of financial and human resources nor the tourism is as profound as their counterparts in Africa, and incidences of poaching, particularly in fringe areas of outside protected areas had increased due to dependence on forests, as the easiest source of sustenance.
Though stockpiling of wildlife derived products were reported from parts of Asia, the illegal trafficking due to within country and inter-country transport restrictions impeded free flowing wildlife trade. However, more efforts are required to uncover and eliminate these stockpiles before the resurgence of international movement.
2. There is now a real momentum behind the idea of preventing future pandemics by reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases. For instance, EndPandemics.earth is moving very fast on the issues of combating wildlife trafficking, reducing demand, and protecting landscapes. Can we use Vladivostok as a platform to convey the urgency of changing our relationship with nature and protecting tigers and snow leopards?
The Vladivostok Summit would be the ideal platform to strengthen the cause of conservation to prevent another pandemic like the Covid-19. The removal of natural habitats, like the forests also eliminated the disease regulation cycles which operate in nature, providing the much-needed buffering against spread of zoonotic diseases. The plundering of forests and encroachment upon wilderness is clearly a major health and well-being threat to human life and sustenance.
Despite understanding these linkages, spending billions of dollars on reviving the economy, the critical aspect of conservation and ecology has somehow been pushed back, as evident by reduction of funding for the wildlife sector across several countries post the pandemic. The economic planners are missing the value of ecosystem services, and what it gives back to us in terms of a life support system with far much less investments. In the eye of this pandemic, it is pertinent that the highest level of political will and support from the global community is put behind the protection and conservation of our remaining wildlife and their habitats, as no number of economic offsets could bring back the natural fabric that supports human life on earth. Short term and short-sighted economic gains have been thwarted by the pandemic, and it is high time that the economic equation of GDP and growth, not only includes the green agenda and ecology, but is re-structured around it to ensure human well-being at large.
3. What do you think is the most important action people in the United States can take to help save tigers in the wild?
The people of the United States can serve as the voice of action across the globe. The universities with their student base from wildlife range countries can be stewards and voices for conservation back in their home countries. The country, home to several leaders with a global following in the field of politics, business, entertainment, sports, academia, among others can be champions for tiger and wildlife conservation and motivate millions of others to support and make it the most important Citizen’s driven movement of our times.
