Negative:
Tourists have declined by over 75% for most safari companies
For January 2021, a total of 293 African safari businesses stated that 83.6% of them had decreases by 75% or more in actual bookings, the same percentage said they had experienced a change in excess of 75% fewer booking requests, and 62.5% reported a 75% or more increase in cancellations. This same trend has been apparent since April 2020, and 69.6% said over half of their potential clients had “concerns” about the coronavirus. The situation, or course, was not helped by many travel restrictions and airlines ceasing to fly to safari destinations, but no small to medium-sized safari operator can hope to survive much longer. And of course it is not only the safari operators seeing a collapse of their business – other sectors of the tourism will be similarly affected – hotels and lodges, restaurants, taxi drivers, curio shops, local air transport companies, community concessions and of course the national parks and reserves seeing a huge fall in visitor income.
Parks and protected areas are greatly at risk
For national parks and protected areas, the tourism falloff will have been devastating – reports are emerging of significantly reduced anti-poaching activities, road maintenance, game surveys, and ability to purchase crucial equipment. Rangers and office staff have been reduced to bare bones in many cases. Europe and the USA quickly implemented ways to bail out impacted businesses and industries but cash-strapped governments in developing countries lack such ability as they were already impoverished well before the pandemic. Also, foreign contribution to conservation efforts is also likely/has already decreased. Many of Africa’s protected areas are dependent on financial assistance from NGOs, private individuals, corporations, developed world governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies. One protected area for example, the Virunga National Park famous for mountain gorillas, is almost entirely dependent on support from the EU and foundations. A recent analysis stated “Consequently, we expect increased poaching, tree cutting, artisanal mining, encroachment, agricultural conversion and possibly the ultimate degazettement of the most-affected protected areas. With many ecosystems and wildlife populations already near tipping points, the current crisis may result in population declines, local extinctions of some species, and intensified disruptions of ecological processes”.
Financial support for conservation is diminishing
Financial support for wildlife charities is decreasing rapidly as granting agencies are focusing more and more on humanitarian causes due to COVID and the poverty it has caused. COVID has also seriously impacted the ability of wildlife charities to raise funds. Potential projects have been put on indefinite hold in many cases and many grant-makers are holding back on funding as their own resources dry up. We at LionAid are well aware of these funding problems…
Rising poverty entails more bushmeat poaching
Levels of bushmeat poaching by rural communities already living in poverty before the pandemic have increased, directly and indirectly affecting predators. Directly because they get caught in snares set for herbivores and indirectly as their natural prey base is decreasing – resulting in more and more cases where hungry predators turn to feeding on livestock, resulting in retaliatory killing.
(Somewhat) positive outcomes:
Lion trophy hunting and lion captive breeding are in decline
The pandemic has greatly decreased levels of lion trophy hunting – simply because the hunters are no longer arriving. The pandemic has also had serious consequences for the future viability of captive breeding of lions in South Africa, where an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 lions are kept in 400-600 captive breeding farms. Profits were made from cub petting, lion walking, trophy hunting and the Asian bone trade for traditional “medicine” purposes. Reports are emerging that without such income, lion breeders cannot feed their animals and some have already been euthanized. Seeing the tail end of this horrific business would be a good outcome from the pandemic although it will entail much animal suffering before the industry finally folds.
Illegal trade has decreased and wildlife markets have closed
There are some initial indications that illegal wildlife trafficking has fallen off with decreased shipping opportunities. As it is highly likely that the pandemic had origins in trade and consumption of wildlife, some “official” wildlife markets in Asian countries have now closed.
Long-term finances for African wildlife conservation need to be rescued and vastly increased.
Overall, the pandemic has revealed significant weaknesses in the “durability” of wildlife conservation funding in times of crisis. Without sustainable funding, decades of conservation efforts in the past could be overturned in a single year. Developed countries and their citizens must accept that the conservation burden to maintain Africa’s biodiversity cannot be adequately maintained by ad-hoc and piecemeal funding, tourism or philanthropy alone. The pandemic must result in development of a clear and present way forward to conserve Africa’s wildlife based on sound and lasting financial commitments.