The latest special issue of PARKS, the journal of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, published today reveals massive negative impacts on global environmental conservation efforts seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic and its economic fall-out have put rangers out of work, forced cuts to anti-poaching patrols, and sparked a range of environmental roll-backs, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said.?
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However, few bright spots from around the world have emerged as studies showed Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) with governance power over their lands and waters were in many cases able to continue to steward their resources and protected areas even amid massive economic downturns and significant increases in local reliance on ecosystem resources for food and livelihoods.
A special edition of the IUCN¡¯s PARKS journal, containing a collection of new research papers on the pandemic¡¯s various impacts on nature conservation, indicated the crisis was being felt in protected areas worldwide.
¡°While the global health crisis remains a priority, this new research reveals just how severe a toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on conservation efforts and on communities dedicated to protecting nature,¡± IUCN director-general Dr Bruno Oberle said in the statement.
Surveys done of protected areas across 90 countries showed that in general, the impacts had been most severe in Africa, as well as in Latin America and Asia.
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More than half of Africa¡¯s protected areas reported they had been forced to halt or reduce field patrols and anti-poaching operations.
¡°There has been a massive impact on wildlife tourism, so there has been a massive loss of jobs, loss of income,¡± PARKS journal co-editor Adrian Philips, of IUCN¡¯s World Commission on Protected Areas, told AFP.
¡°Many poor communities which were previously dependent upon tourists, have found themselves unable to survive without doing some poaching to find food,¡± he said.A survey of rangers in more than 60 countries found that more than a quarter of them had seen their salaries reduced or delayed, while one in five had lost their jobs due to Covid-related budget cuts.
¡°We cannot allow the current crisis to further jeopardise our natural environment,¡± Rachel Golden Kroner of the environmental organisation Conservation International warned in the statement.
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¡°If we are to build a sustainable future, roll-backs of environmental protections must be avoided,¡± she said.
Findings in this PARKS issue give governments and other institutions a timely opportunity to thoughtfully mitigate identified gaps in global conservation efforts and infrastructure and bolster needed financial investments heading into the post-2020 decade of ocean conservation.? Al