My WED Radio Commentaryby | 07-06-2016 03:57 |
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 COMMENTARY ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY By Chiagozie Udeh.
The 5th of June is annually is celebrated as the World Environment Day. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 on the day the United Nations Conference on Human Environment began. It is a day used to raise awareness on issues concerning the environment. The theme of this year's event which is "ZERO TOLERANCE FOR THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE" couldn't have come at a better. Wildlife is one of the most prized natural heritages of the Earth's people. Independent and biologically diverse, they evolve in nature's own way. Wildlife brings a lot to the economy of many nations. In 2014 Rwanda's Mountain Gorillas earned her $304 million dollars in eco-tourism revenue. Wildlife brings about $36 billion dollars in revenue to subsaharan Africa and contributes 7% of the region's economy. However, the world's wildlife population is steadily decreasing with poachers dealing a heavy blow to the Africa's wildlife and Asia providing a very lucrative market for illegal trade in wildlife to thrive. Elephants and Rhinos are the most endangered species as poachers consistently target the two owing to the huge market value of the Elephant Ivory and Rhino horn. For the Elephant, they kill to harvest the Ivory while for the Rhino, they can harvest the horn from the live animal as the Rhino horn will grow back after some time. The elephant population in Africa is rapidly decreasing as according to a UNEP report, "It is estimated that between 2010 and 2012, 100,000 elephants were killed for their ivory, out of a population of less than 500,000. The population of Forest Elephants has plummeted by two-thirds between 2002 and 2011 due to poaching, while reports released in 2015 show that African Savannah Elephants have declined by 60 per cent in Tanzania and by 50 per cent in Mozambique since 2009". According to a rapid response report published on the 4th of June, 2016 by the United Nations Environment Programme, "the value of environmental crime is 26 per cent larger than previous estimates, at $91-258 billion today compared to $70-213 billion in 2014". "Environmental crime dwarfs the illegal trade in small arms, which is valued at about $3 billion. It is the world's fourth-largest criminal enterprise after drug smuggling, counterfeiting and human trafficking. The amount of money lost due to environmental crime is 10,000 times greater than the amount of money spent by international agencies on combating it - just $20-30 million". The recent demonstration of the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta after the Giants Club meeting in Nairobi to burn 1.35 tonnes of Rhino horns and 105 tonnes of Elephant Ivory from 7000 elephants, recovered from poachers has set a perfect example. However, the fight against illegal trade in Africa is facing some threats. Ahead of the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in September 2016, countries like South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe are proposing that they be allowed to sell the Elephant Ivory recovered from poachers to help raise the desperately needed funds for the conservation of these endangered species against the stance of most countries especially Kenya who wants a total ban on illegal trade in Wildlife. While the debate may linger for long, Kenya?s position is the best way out this menace. In Nigeria, the major issue is that the country serves as a transit location for this eco-crimes and this has a huge effect in ensuring successes from these criminals. The vulture population in Nigeria is also decreasing owning to increased demands for the bird by traditionalists for various purposes. Unfortunately, there no laws protecting our wildlife in Nigeria, no laws prohibit illegal trade in wildlife or at least make Nigeria unattractive to poachers as a transit point. Also, animal rights are nonexistent in Nigeria. The brutal murder of the lion in Jos park by security operatives who were called in to help guard the escaping animal back to the park is a perfect example. The joy of the ignorant operatives, who were expected to use a tranquilizer on the prized animal, on killing the animal say a lot about the absolute disregard we have for animals in Nigeria. The government and the Nigerian parliamentarians must rise to the responsibility of securing our thin wildlife resources. For Nigeria, the solution is law, law and law. We must make laws that will ensure that Nigeria ceases to thrive as a transit point in this prohibited trade as well as respect the rights of animals to live like we do. As we celebrate the World Environment Day, join the "wild for life" campaign and help save these species from extinction. Our fore parents met and watched them with joy we met and kill them for funds. Generations before left them for us, we must do same for the next generation. By Chiagozie Udeh, Eco-Generation Ambassador to Africa. Photo by: UNEP |
