“I am a hunter, I supply fresh wild animals like pangolins, big snakes, antelopes, wild cats, etc.”

This tweet on January 15, 2019, by Onayemi Temitope (@trotsky27), generated a massive online buzz, especially on Twitter where it had over 5,000 engagements. Many called out this young man and labelled his action “wicked” and “punishable”, while others praised him highly for his courage and bravery.

No doubt, wildlife trade remains a very controversial subject on the African continent, perhaps across the world. World Economic Forum asserts that with an annual upper income of $23 billion, wildlife trade is the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, humans and arms. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is clear about international trade, with emphasis on sustainability, we must further accept that poaching of wildlife resources in Nigeria is largely unchecked, contributing to Nigeria’s rapid biodiversity loss.

While some very wealthy folks and greedy businessmen are keen on exploiting these resources at the expense of sustainability, the hunters – mostly stack illiterate in local communities – are paid only 3% of the total income, just enough to keep them poor and fuel their thirst to hunt more fauna.

Having carried out numerous wildlife field studies, first-hand interviews with hunters and with a few publications about wildlife – education, trade and conservation in Nigeria, I found Mr. Onayemi Temitope’s case completely different. Onayemi Temitope Timothy is a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Benin, with a second degree (Masters) in Sociology (Major – Criminology) from the University of Ibadan. Four years after his graduation, having remained unemployed, Temitope took to wildlife hunting and trading, first as a recreative activity, then as a source of financial stability.

I asked Temitope how often he hunts and what his average kill rate is. “Presently, I don’t really live in Sagamu (the hunting location) but any time I am around, I’ll go hunting with other people. I can’t put a figure to an average kill rate, especially because I don’t hunt every day. The truth is that the recent kill rate has greatly declined and is now typically very low. Sometimes we can get just one snake, sometimes, one Pangolin or just one grass cutter. There are times we don’t even come across any at all,” he replied.

Education is the bedrock of human actions and it snowballs into our actions and inactions. At Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative, my team and I have always laid emphasis on Wildlife Education and Conservation using various platforms, formal (schools and universities), informal (communities, social and religious groups) and online advocacy.

My chat with Temitope was very insightful, I was least surprised when Mr. Temitope truthfully confided that, before now, it never felt awkward hunting wild animals – endangered species inclusive.

“Till recently, I never knew most of those animals are endangered, threatened or vulnerable. I used to believe that if humans don’t kill them, higher mammals will or they will just die a natural death and since they procreate more than humans, we cannot exhaust them. It was the Twitter response after my tweet that made me know Pangolins are endangered species. I also got to know some wild animals were of concern to the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Nigerian National Park and State Governments,” he said.

Mr. Felix Abayomi of Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative also explained the roles of CITES and IUCN list. His words: “Now, I see things in a different light. Ever since, I have tried to protect Pangolins, as well as other wildlife species. Today, I can tell the difference between conserving and hunting and I am able to create a balance and educate others too.”

In Nigeria, as with other developing countries, the present needs of the people come first and “availability is affordability”. Hence, prioritising the conservation of Nigeria’s wildlife resource would mean a series of inputs.

As a member state, Nigeria would have to revisit and adopt Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) guidelines; interest stakeholders, development partners and private sectors will consistently have to lobby and influence the government’s political will at all levels; most importantly, there is a striking need to provide lots of other environmental-friendly economic options/job opportunities that could convert poachers and hunters to conservationists and researchers.

By ‘Seyifunmi Adebote

Namibia on Monday, February 11, 2019 joined South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana in calling for the removal of a ban on ivory trade, the country’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism said.

The three countries that account for 61 per cent of the elephant population in Africa prepared a joint petition to be presented at the forthcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Sri Lanka in four months.

“CITES has acted as an inhibitor and not an enabler of progress.

“The conference of the parties has repeatedly discounted the importance of the southern African elephant population and its conservation needs against other regions in Africa.

“An end to the ban on ivory sale will give the three countries an opportunity to offload their ivory stockpiles that have been shelved for more than five years,’’ they said.

The countries also argued that they had laid strong modalities through establishment of conservancies that ensure that proceeds of sales from ivory benefit inhabitants in the conservancies financially and also through developmental projects.

“The proponents can no longer accept that their working conservation models are undermined by an international organisation that ostensibly recognises that people and states are.

“They should be the best protectors of their wild life,’’ the petition said. 

The Minister of Environment, Alhaji Suleiman Zarma, on Monday, February 11, 2019 handed over six forensic toolkits to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to detect and identify the source of illegal wildlife trade in the country.

Zarma, who gave the toolkits to Deputy Comptroller of NCS, Mr Hammi Swomen, in Abuja, said that the toolkits would also identify the finger prints of those responsible for illegal smuggling of ivory.

He recalled that the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAM) presented the toolkits at the International Wildlife Conference on illegal Wildlife Trafficking in October 2018.

“This aims at retrieving finger/palm marks evidence of ivory which has the forensic capability to detect and document finger prints/palms, including source of any person that has come into contact with an ivory illegally traded,’’ he said.

The minister urged Nigeria Customs Service to distribute the toolkits for use at the most susceptible exit points of the nation’s air and sea ports that had been associated with illegal wildlife trade.

He recalled that International trade in ivory was banned in 1989, adding that since then there had been a burgeoning illegal trade which contributed to the depletion of the elephants in the wild.

“I must say that Nigeria has been able to curtail activities of illegal poaching and thus, our elephants in their natural ecosystems are among the most protected in the world.

“Unfortunately, the impact of globalisation has predisposed us to being associated with this illegal trade as the country has become a thriving hub for this illegal export.

“The global community is aware that Nigeria is being used as a transit and it is willing to provide us with all the necessary support to stop these products from transiting through our country,’’ Zarma said.

He, therefore, urged Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant security agencies to plug all loopholes to protect Nigeria from being used as a transit hub.

Responding, Swomen, who said that Nigeria Customs Service would make good use of the toolkits, said that the service would train its staff to know how the toolkits would be handled.

The customs officer, who said that toolkits would be deployed to some nation’s exit points, requested for more toolkits to cover other relevant exits to address illegal wildlife trade and trafficking in the country.

By Deji Abdulwahab

The WWF on Monday, February 11, 2019 published a report on the “Economic impacts of hydrocarbon exploitation in Greece” as part of the launch of its international campaign to halt oil and gas drilling plans in the country. The study, commissioned by WWF and conducted by eftec, finds that a major oil spill in Greece would devastate the country’s tourism and fishing industries, and cost the Greek economy over €7.5 billion.

The report and international campaign come in response to 25-year concessions being granted for offshore or onshore oil exploration and drilling in a marine and terrestrial area covering almost 75.000 square kilometres, from the North of Corfu to Southern Crete. Oil companies that have agreed concessions include Total, Repsol, Exxon and Eni.

The marine area, which is equal to 30% of the Greek mainland, is characterised by great depths and diverse marine life – including sperm whales, fin whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales, bottlenose dolphins, loggerhead sea turtles and monk seals – while the terrestrial area consists of numerous protected areas of unique ecological importance.

“Not in our worst nightmares would we ever imagine oil and gas rigs just miles off the shores of Crete, Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Corfu, next to loggerhead nesting beaches in the bay of Lagana and Kyparissia or in the pristine landscape of Epirus. Drilling in the very deep waters of Crete and the Ionian Sea poses a lethal threat to this natural paradise and makes no climate or financial sense,” said Dimitris Ibrahim, Marine Officer at WWF-Greece.

WWF’s report is the first ever analysis that forecasts and quantifies the economic impact of a major oil spill in Greece, thus documenting the very real risk of hydrocarbon exploitation. Due to lack of sufficient, available data, the negative impact of an oil spill incident on the environment of Greece, its constituent regions and other vital ecosystem services is not included in the report. However, experience from previous oil spills suggests that including environmental costs could increase the total cost of damage inflicted by 20% – 100%.

Greek tourism, marine ecosystems and local communities are at greatest risk

The report shows tourism is the sector most heavily impacted in the event of an oil spill. In the unfortunate, yet plausible, scenario of a single major oil spill occurring near Crete, the cost could reach €2.2 billion, while up to 45,000 jobs would be lost overnight. A similar event in the Ionian Islands would cost up to €1.78 billion and wipe out up to 25.000 jobs. 

WWF emphasises that the granting of new oil concessions does not align with the fast and deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions necessary to meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement and secure a climate safe future. WWF calls on the Greek Government to immediately ban new hydrocarbon exploration and drilling, following the recent examples of Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and New Zealand.

“Drilling in Greek waters places Greece’s marine environment and national economy at risk. An oil spill would have devastating impacts on wildlife, the tourism industry and local communities. The plans also move us further from achieving the climate targets set out under the Paris Agreement. The Greek government needs to immediately withdraw the concessions granted in the area and focus on sustainable development that would be beneficial to Greece and Mediterranean in general,” said Aslihan Tumer, Head of Campaigns at WWF-International.

The WWF also called on Greece’s friends from all over the world to join the campaign and protect the Greek seas, coasts and islands that for decades have been a dream destination for millions of people.