The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday night in Monrovia predicted that Liberia would see thousands of new cases of Ebola virus in coming weeks as the virus was spreading exponentially.
It said it would take more than nine months to contain and there was possibility of the virus infecting more than 20,000 people before the time.
It said in Liberia the disease has already killed 1,089 people.
“Transmission of the Ebola virus in Liberia is already intense and the number of new cases is increasing exponentially,” it said.
“The number of new cases is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them in Ebola-specific treatment centres,” it added.
WHO said as soon as a new Ebola treatment centre was opened, it immediately overflows with patients.
“In Monrovia, taxis filled with entire families, of whom some members are thought to be infected with the Ebola virus, crisscross the city, searching for a treatment bed,” it said.
It said the WHO investigative team estimated that 1,000 beds are urgently needed for Ebola patients, as motorbike-taxis and regular taxis have become “a hot source” of Ebola transmission.
Liberia’s government announced that it was extending a nationwide night time curfew imposed last month to curb the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone has ordered a four-day countrywide “lockdown” starting Sept. 18, as part of tougher efforts to halt the spread of Ebola.
Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram has captured the key north-eastern town of Michika, residents say, gaining more territory in its efforts to create an Islamic state.
People fled into bushes as gunfire rang out in the town, they added.
Boko Haram has changed tactics in recent months by holding on to territory rather than launching hit-and-run attacks.
The government called on Nigerians not to lose hope.
The military was committed to defending Nigeria’s territorial integrity, it said.
Soldiers killed 50 militants during a raid on their hideout in the small north-eastern town of Kawuri at the weekend, the army said.
Last month, Boko Haram said it had established an Islamic state in areas it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.
Michika is a trading centre in Adamawa state not far from the Cameroon border.
Concern is mounting that the group plans to target Maiduguri, capital of neighbouring Borno state, says the BBC Hausa Service’s Bilikisu Babangida.
Thousands of people who have fled towns and villages captured by Boko Haram are taking refuge in the city, which has a population of about two million.
The fall of Michika will add to the fear and panic that has gripped the north-east, as it shows Boko Haram is gaining territory not only in their heartland of Borno but also in Adamawa state, our reporter says.
Amid fears that Boko Haram could advance further into Adamawa, the university in Mubi town has shut, she says.
On Thursday, the militants captured the small town of Gulak after earlier seizing Madagali, which borders Adamawa and Borno states.
Residents told the BBC that Boko Haram fighters entered Michika on Sunday in a convoy of vehicles.
A military jet circled over the town, causing the militants to hide in people’s homes, they said.
There was confusion as people ran into the bush fleeing gunfire, residents added.
It was unclear who opened fire as the insurgents often wear uniforms similar to the Nigerian soldiers, they said.
Last year, President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, vowing to send more troops to crush the insurgency.
However, Boko Haram has stepped up its offensive since then.
In April, the militants captured more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.
Countries such as China, France, the UK and US have sent military assistance to help find the girls but they have not yet been rescued.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has confirmed that the sister of the Port Harcourt doctor who died of Ebola has been discharged from the isolation ward in Rivers.
Chukwu, who briefed newsmen in Abuja on Monday on the current status of the virus in Nigeria, put the total number of successfully managed and discharged patients at nine.
According to him, the nine patients are among the 11 survivors of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Nigeria.
Chukwu said that the wife of the late Port Harcourt doctor was still on treatment at the Isolation ward in Lagos and would soon be discharged.
“At the moment only one person, the wife of the Port Harcourt doctor is on treatment in the isolation ward in Lagos.
“She no longer has any symptoms and is undergoing series of tests preparatory to her discharge from the isolation ward this week,’’ he said.
Chukwu said there were other contacts of the disease that were still under surveillance in Lagos and Port Harcourt, and assured Nigerians that the Federal Government was in control of the situation.
“Regarding contacts currently under surveillance, Lagos has 27 contacts under surveillance.
“A total of 339 contacts, who were previously on surveillance, have been discharged having completed 21 days of observation.
“Port Harcourt has 477 contacts under surveillance. It is a mixed group consisting of tertiary and quaternary contacts of Mr Sawyer’s.
“Five contacts have already been discharged from surveillance in Port Harcourt having completed 21 days of observation,’’ he said.
Chukwu maintained that the total number of deaths from Ebola in Nigeria so far stood at seven, adding that five were in Lagos and two in Port Harcourt.
The minister put the total number of Ebola cases in Nigeria at 19 since the first case in Lagos 50 days ago.
He also made clarification on the report that Nigeria had taken delivery of body scanning machines from the U.S government.
Chukwu said what was donated to the Nigerian government by the U.S was 30 hand-held infrared equipment for use at border posts.
He appealed to countries not to stigmatise Nigerians on the account of the Ebola outbreak, noting that it was against international practice.
The minister said the Federal Government in collaboration with other stakeholders in the private sector was working hard to contain the spread of the virus beyond the Lagos and Port Harcourt.
In the same vein, the Information Minister, Mr Labaran Maku, sought the collaboration of all stakeholders in the national campaign against Ebola.
He said the media had a critical role to play in containing the spread of rumour and the eliminate discrimination against Nigerians on the account of Ebola.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more private organisations have indicated interest to partner with the Federal Ministry of Health to fight the scourge of Ebola in Nigeria. (NAN)
NFF General Secretary Musa Amadu returned to the office on Monday after over two weeks out as Chris Giwa failed to report with a FIFA suspension looming.
“He is not here, and there is no indication that he will show up,”
Amadu told ColinUdoh.com on Monday morning. “Right now, I am in the office meeting with management staff to work a way forward so that the secretariat can function properly and our Programmes can continue leading up to elections this month.
“I hope it continues this way in the interest of peace in Nigerian football.
Amadu, who had spent the last two weeks in hiding, also stated that he would send a report to FIFA at the close of the business day
“The first report will go out to FIFA at close of work today, but there will be a caveat for further reporting in case there is a change of circumstances.”
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr John-Kennedy Opara, on Monday said that the commission would not compromise standards in its preparations for the 2014 Oct./Dec. pilgrimage.
Opara said this at the opening of the 2014 retreat of the commission in Abuja.
He said the management of the commission would not breach its regulations in the screening of intending pilgrims and the selection of ground handlers, air carriers and the medical team.
“You are witnesses that our proposal six years ago for Christians Pilgrims Family is now a reality: the structure we put in place for screening helps ensure that only genuine intending pilgrims participate in our pilgrimages.
“Our stakeholders: the Christians tour operators, air carriers, ground handlers and others increasingly appreciate our commitment and our agreed standards, and give us their cooperation’’ he said.
Opara said that the commission would continue to improve on the administration of pilgrimage to make the exercise most rewarding for all pilgrims.
The NCPC boss, however, solicited the efforts of all stakeholders in the sector to enable the commission discharge its responsibilities to Nigerians at all times.
“We will create a conducive atmosphere for pilgrims to experience Divine Encounter.
“We will ensure that the opportunity God has given us is used to impact lives of those entrusted to us; especially by our life styles’’ he said.
“Let us understand that as leaders, we cannot divorce ourselves from the affairs or governance of this great nation.
“The future of our nation tilts on balance, we must resolve to be part of the process.
“We must register to vote; our wives and husbands, families and congregation members too.
“That is the only way to vote godly men and make policies that will move Christian Pilgrimage and Nation forward,’’ said the scribe.
Opara said that Christians must continue to press on, despite distractions and inconveniences, stressing that it is in continuity that victory is won.
The secretary said that Christians should lay aside every weight that may hinder the achievement of the goal of improving private/self sponsorship and our pilgrimage operations.
He also said they must fervently seek God’s benevolences during this retreat, adding that the Commission will continue to use pilgrimage for moral transformation, rebirth and welfare.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chairman and members of the board were among dignitaries at the retreat. (NAN)
An EU survey on Monday showed Europeans’ concern about the environment has not diminished for the last three years and air pollution became the biggest issue among environment worries.
According to the survey which covered 28,000 EU citizens, 95 per cent of whom said that protecting the environment is important to them personally and many think more can be done.
“It is good to see such solid and widespread support for the protection of the environment, even in difficult times.
“People are particularly concerned about air and water pollution, chemicals and waste, and they feel that more must be done by everyone to protect the environment,’’ Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said.
However, the survey showed that the EU citizens worry most about air pollution (56 per cent) and water pollution (50 per cent) ranking highest as well as waste generation and depletion of natural resources.
An increasing number representing 59 per cent of interviewed citizens believed that social and environmental factors should be as important as economic criteria in measuring progress in their country.
In relation to the spending and investment of public authorities, 59 per cent are of the opinion that the public authorities of their country should favour environmental-friendly considerations over cost.
On the 23rd of September, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, will host a Climate Summit in New York, bringing political leaders, big business and select civil society representatives. The event appears to have been surrounded by lots of fanfare but proposes voluntary pledges for emission cuts, market-based and public-private partnership initiatives such as REDD+, Climate-Smart Agriculture and the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
However, civil society organisations have described these actions as “false solutions of the green economy that seeks to further commodify life and nature and further capitalist profit.” They have thus come together, on the premise that they represent over 200 million people around the world, to “denounce this corporate take-over of the UN and the climate negotiations process and call for a deep systemic change.”
According to them, climate change is the result of an unjust economic system, adding that, to deal with the crisis, “we must address the root causes and change the system.”
“There will be no going back from the climate chaos if we do not fight for real solutions and do nothing to confront and challenge the inaction of our governments’ policy-making being hijacked by polluting corporations. It is crucial for us to unify and strengthen our economic, social and environmental struggles and focus our energies on changing the capitalist system,” they insist.
Consequently, they are seeking signatures of fellow organisations on a statement meant to drive home there grievances. Produced here, it is titled: “September 19-23, New York: Mobilise and organise to Stop and Prevent Planet Fever!”
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General
When we, as human beings, get a fever, we immediately get worried and take action. After all, we know that if our body temperature rises to 1.5ºC, let alone 2ºC (3.6 ºF) above the normal average, there can be severe damage, while an increase of 4-6ºC (7.2-10.8 ºF) or more can cause a comatose situation and even death.
So it is, when planet Earth gets a fever. For the past 11,000 years, the average temperature of the Earth has been around 14ºC (57.2ºF). It is now about to reach an increase of 1ºC. And, if we do not take appropriate measures now to stop this fever from spreading, the forecast is that our planet will be well on its way to anywhere between 2ºC to 6ºC rise in temperature before the end of this century. Under such feverish conditions, life as we know it will dramatically change on planet Earth.
We have no other recourse but to take action now. Not just any action but the right action and at the right time. When, for example, a human person has a fever, we urge them to rest their body, give them a lot of liquids, prescribe the right medicine, and if the fever goes up we bring them to the hospital and try to find the underlying cause of the fever, which can range from a simple infection to life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Right Prescriptions
In the case of a planetary fever, the right prescription requires at least 10 actions to be undertaken and applied.
Make immediate binding commitments – not voluntary pledges – to control planetary temperature rise to no more than 1.5ºC (2.7 ºF) this century by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions per year to 38 Gigatons by 2020.
Let the Earth rest by making binding commitments to leave more than 80% of known fossil fuel reserves under the soil and beneath the ocean floor.
Move away from resource extractivism by placing bans on all new exploration and exploitation of oil, bitumen sands, oil shale, coal, uranium, and natural gas including pipeline infrastructure like Keystone XL.
Accelerate the development and transition to renewable energy alternatives such as wind, solar, geothermal and tidal power with more public and community ownership and control.
Promote local production and consumption of durable goods to satisfy the fundamental needs of the people and avoid the transport of goods that can be produced locally.
Stimulate the transition from industrialized, export-oriented agriculture for the global supermarket to community-based production to meet local food needs based on food sovereignty.
Adopt and apply Zero Waste strategies for the recycling and disposal of trash and the retrofitting of buildings to conserve energy for heating and cooling.
Improve and expand public transportation for moving people and freight within urban centres and between cities within urban regions through efficient trains.
Develop new sectors of the economy designed to create new jobs that restore the balance and equilibrium of the Earth system such as climate jobs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Earth restoration jobs.
Dismantle the war industry and military infrastructure in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by warfare, and divert war budgets to promote genuine peace.
Nnimmo Bassey of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), one of the civil society organisations that have endorsed the declaration
Wrong Prescriptions
At the same time, we must also be aware that all actions are not appropriate actions and that some initiatives can worsen the situation. Perhaps our most pressing challenge is the fact that big corporations are capturing the climate agenda to make new businesses designed to take advantage of the crises. In response, we need to send a message, loud and clear, to corporations: ‘Stop Exploiting the Tragedy of Climate Change!’
More specifically, we need to resist the ‘greening of capital’ as the solution by rejecting the following policies, strategies and measures:
The commodification, financialisation and privatisation of the functions of nature through the promotion of a false “green economy” agenda which places a price on nature and creates new derivative markets that will only increase inequality and expedite the destruction of nature.
This means saying No to REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) – No to Climate Smart Agriculture, Blue Carbon and Biodiversity offsetting – all of which are designed to create new for-profit business for corporations.
Techno-fix “solutions” like geo-engineering, genetically modified organisms, agrofuels, industrial bioenergy, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, hydraulic fracking, nuclear projects, waste-to-energy generation based on incineration, and others.
Mega and unnecessary infrastructure projects that do not benefit the population and are net contributors to greenhouse gasses like, mega dams, excessively huge highways, stadiums for world cups, etc.
Free trade and investment regimes that promote trade for profit and undercut domestic labor, destroy nature, and substantially reduce the capacity of nations to define their own economic, social and environmental priorities.
Preventative Cure
Finally, we also need to go beyond identifying right and wrong prescriptions to naming the disease that constantly causes and drives this planetary fever. If we don’t take this step, the fever will keep coming back again and again in a much more aggressive way. We need to take stock of the roots of the disease in order to weather the storm.
Scientists have clearly traced the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions back to the industrial revolution 250 years ago while tracking the spurt that has taken place during the past century. From this analysis, it is clear that the industrial model of increased extraction and productivism for the profit of a few is the prime cause of the problem. We need to replace capitalism with a new system that seeks harmony between humans and nature and not an endless growth model that the capitalist system promotes in order to make more and more profit. We need a system that links climate change and human rights and provides for the protection of most vulnerable communities like migrants, and recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Mother Earth and her natural resources cannot sustain the consumption and production needs of this globalized modern industrialized society. We require a new system that addresses the needs of the majority and not of the few. To move in this direction, we need a redistribution of the wealth that is now controlled by the 1%. In turn, this requires a new definition of wellbeing and prosperity for all life on the planet under the limits and in recognition of the rights of our Mother Earth and Nature.
We urgently need to organize and mobilize in September in New York and the world to push for a process of transformation that can address the structural causes that are driving the climate crisis.
Initial signatures: Alternatives International, ATTAC – France, Coordinadora de Organizaciones Latinoamericanas del Campo (CLOC-LVC), Corporate Europe Observatory, Ecologistas en Acción, ETC Group, Fairwatch – Italy, Focus on the Global South, Fundación Solón – Bolivia, Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and end TNCs’ impunity, Global Forest Coalition, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) – Nigeria, Indigenous Environmental Network, La Via Campesina, Migrants Rights International, No-REDD Africa Network, OilWatch International, Polaris Institute – Canada, SENTRO – Philippines, Thai Climate Justice Working Group (TCJ) and Transnational Institute
Special Adviser/Managing Director of the Ogun State Property & Investment Corporation (OPIC), Babajide Odusolu, has said that, due to the numerous reforms put in place by the present administration, aspiring land owners and subscribers to OPIC Estates have now realised that it is bad business to patronise the omo-onile (local land urchins).
Jide Odusolu, MD of OPIC
“People now know that we are business-like,” he stressed last week in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the commencement of a spate of activities lined up to commemorate the organisation’s 30th anniversary.
According to Odusolu, a lawyer by training, OPIC had over years lost landed property due to inefficiency, poor planning and poor structuring. But he added that addressing these challenges enabled the corporation to recover about 200 hectares of hitherto lost land.
“We have been able to solve the problem of inefficiency and I can assure you that OPIC is very focused and valuable. While focusing all spectrum of the market, we do affordable housing and not cheap housing. We rethink strategies of what communities really need,” he said as OPIC last week flagged-off a month-long period of events to celebrate the landmark occasion.
“This will allow us share our successes, give back to the society and celebrate our many past heroes – living and departed.
“As part of our corporate social responsibility, we are also initiating a design competition for the construction of community health centres for our host communities. The design competition is organised for all tertiary institutions in Ogun State, and it is aimed at enhancing the design skills of our undergraduates in the areas of Architecture, Building and Engineering,” he said.
According to him, the competition will span a month in which participants will come up with a concept sketch, submit a letter from the Head of Department, do design/working drawings on AutoCAD, which is submitted via email (soft copy) and physically (hardcopy).
“A panel of judges will pick the best three designs that will be given awards during the Gala Nite, the closing of a series of events, which commenced last Thursday (September 4th) with a visit to the Motherless Babies Home in Abeokuta.
The events will continue this coming Thursday and Friday (September 11th and 12th) with the commissioning of toilet facilities at Our Ladies Primary School at Ibara, and commissioning of boreholes at Ibara Police Station, respectively.
Also on Friday, the week-long OPIC Anniversary Games will commence. It will hold at the MKO Abiola and Ijeja Stadiums. While on the following Monday (September 22nd), the OPIC Estate at Alamala will be inaugurated, Wednesday (September 24th) will feature two events – the commissioning of newly-renovated Government Primary School at Igere/Ihunsa as well as the Olawale Otesile Memorial Park.
Then comes the commissioning of roads at the OPIC Estate in Agbara/Igbesa on Friday (September 26th), followed the next day (Saturday, September 27th) by the OPIC Anniversary Concert at the Cultural Centre, Abeokuta.
The next and last set of events holds on Friday (October 3rd). First in the morning is the commissioning of the Orange Valley Estate at Oke Mosan, followed in the evening by the Gala Nite, scheduled for the O.K. Events Centre, Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta.
Odusolu’s words: “Particularly, we appreciate the governor, Senator Ibikinle Amosun, whose active encouragement and vision have been the linchpin propelling us to accelerated success. The achievements and progress recorded during his tenure are outstanding and numerous.
“The Orange Valley Housing, OPIC Estate Agbara roads, New Makun City, New Dawn Site and Services Scheme and the Terrace Bungalow Scheme in Agbara are just to mention a few. These are landmark projects with immense benefits to the Ogun State people in fulfilment of the Housing and Urban Renewal Programme of the administration.”
Over two years ago, the United States listed climate change, use of biological and nuclear weapons, cyber-attacks and transnational crimes as five major events that could change the scope of global security for the worse in the coming decades.
An Ebola patient receiving treatment
The 2012 prediction contained in a report by the US National Defence may have been confirmed by recent violent events that have compromised the safety of lives and properties in Nigeria, like the insurgency being perpetrated by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, with current trends showing that it may get worse.
Climate change
The impact climate change has on national security is a 21st century fear hinged on predictions that it will cause sea levels to rise, cause severe droughts, melt the polar caps resulting in frequent and devastating natural disasters that will raise demands for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The US prediction hinted that the warming of the planet will lead to new conflicts over refugees, resources and catastrophic natural disasters, requiring U.S. military support and resources.
The arrival of the team from US to assist Nigeria in finding the over 200 girls that were abducted by the Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State, may be an attestation to this.
Borno, where the Boko Haram insurgency is rife is bordered by the Lake Chad, a body of water that has been affected by climate change more than any natural landmark in the area.
Lake Chad is a major source of freshwater for irrigated farming and projects in the countries in parts of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. However, recent satellite images have revealed a lake that has lost a larger proportion of its body within the last three decades.
A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) disclosed that, since 1963, the lake has shrunk to nearly a twentieth of its original size. This has been attributed to climatic changes and high demands for agricultural water.
Many of the conflicts in the area have been linked to the struggle for control of the water and land areas surrounding it, allegedly fueling the insurgency in North Eastern Nigeria.
Climatologist and senior lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna, Professor Emmanuel Oladapo, said, “Almost everything is attributable to Climate Change.”
“Poor maternal health, just name the issues and you may not be wrong. It is also true that Climate Change, which has put so much pressure on the vegetation in northern part of Nigeria may be responsible for the incessant migration of the herdsmen Southwards were the vegetation provides better pastures for their herd,” he added, giving another perspective to the rampages of herdsmen across the country.
He, however, said the effect of climate change on activities of the herders could only be remotely linked to climate change.
Biological weapons
Fears that biological weapons will become eventual choice weapons for terrorists attack are becoming more real. Experts have said that with timely and accurate insight on potential attacks, a biological weapon could be prevented from being used.
But Nigerian scientists are concerned that the porous nature of the country’s borders pose a huge risk factor in this regards.
This fears manifested in March, when cases of Ebola virus infection were being recorded in by Nigeria’s neighbours.
Renowned virologist and President, Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), Professor Oyewale Tomori, was first to raise the alarm.
He said, “Cases like Ebola pose serious security risk to the nation, especially that the borders are so porous. Someone with the virus could just walk into the community without knowing he has such.”
Fears that Nigeria could be an easy target for terrorists who choose to use biological weapon are heightened by the country’s lack of diagnostic capacity to handle bio-hazardous substances, as is the case with Ebola.
Registrar of the Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria (MLCN), Professor Anthony Emeribe, said, “Agreed, Nigeria has the (personnel and space capacity to detect Ebola virus. There is, however, no laboratory in the country that has the safety levels needed for its diagnosis.”
According to the MLCN Registrar, the most advanced laboratories in Nigeria that can handle such cases have a maximum Level 3 Biosafety level as against Level 4, which is the basic for culturing and manipulation of Ebola Virus and similar viruses.
Nuclear weapons
The US expressed concern in the National Defence report that black-market trade in sensitive nuclear materials might be building up. As at the time of publishing, the report disclosed that no high-tech sensors existed to help break up nuclear black markets, detect and intercept them in transit.
Nigeria has, in the recent past tinkered with nuclear technology that has not really blossomed. It was one of the issues raised for considerations at the ongoing National Conference.
Former President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, Prof. Anya O. Anya, who was also a delegate at the confab, pushed for Nigeria to endorse the idea of developing capacity in nuclear and other high profile technologies, saying that Nigeria would continue to roll over without the political will to develop science and technology.
This was countered by some of the delegates at the conference, one of whom pointed out that Nigeria, which is unable to manage its hydro electricity technology, cannot attempt nuclear technology, a more complex technology to handle.
Some others said a nuclear plant is accident-prone, and far beyond what the country could cope with. So, as it stands, the country is naïve as far as nuclear technology is concern, raising fears that it may just be helpless in case of any nuclear attack.
Cyber attacks
The use of internet video streams by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, has raised concerns that the internet could pose serious threat to national security. The White House describes the situation as one where technology becomes a double-edge sword, as it is used for positive empowerment, but could also create a platform to empower individual criminal hackers, organised criminal groups and terrorist networks.
“The cybersecurity marketplace is flooded with products that promise quick fixes but it is becoming clear that the increasing persistence and sophistication of attacks will require solutions beyond the traditional,” the report pointed out.
Dr. Charles Iheagwara, a licensed professional engineer and founder of Unatek, Inc., a US government Information Technology contractor located in Bethesda, Maryland, US, said ICT is yet to be properly deployed in Nigeria.
On how this could be used to tame insurgency in Nigeria, Iheagwara said, “The developed world and some developing countries have been using it for quite a while now for a variety of purposes including tracking and fighting insurgencies. Drones for example that are used to destroy terrorist cells are ICT-operated.”
Conservation Partnership – BirdLife International – has announced that vultures have rapidly become one of the most threatened families of birds on the planet. In a bid to stop this important family of birds slipping towards extinction in Europe and Africa, they have launched a global campaign asking for public support to Stop Vulture Poisoning Now.
Vultures scavenging on a carcass. Photo: www.maxwaugh.com
Following recent catastrophic declines of vultures in Asia that left landscapes littered with carcasses, vultures in Europe and Africa may be set to follow unless we act now – warn conservationists from BirdLife International.
Vultures are important and essential for our health: “Vultures play a fundamental role that no other birds do: they clean our landscapes”, said Iván Ramírez, Head of Conservation for BirdLife International in Europe and Central Asia.
Yet they are facing new and massive threats across Europe and Africa.
A veterinary drug that is lethally toxic to vultures has been discovered to be commercially available in at least two European countries. Used to treat inflammation in livestock, this is the same drug (diclofenac) that has wiped out 99% of vultures in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
At the same time, vultures in Africa are facing increasing threats mainly due to poisoning (deliberate and accidental), persecution for body parts to be used in traditional medicine, habitat loss and collision with power-lines.
“Three of every four old-world vulture species are already globally threatened with extinction or Near Threatened according the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”, said Kariuki Ndanganga, BirdLife Africa’s Species Programme Manager. “Unless threats are identified and tackled quickly and effectively, vultures in Africa and Europe could face extinction within our lifetime.”
The decline of vultures in Asia was shockingly fast – quicker than any other wild bird, including the Dodo. Within a decade – almost overnight in ecological timescales – species such as White-rumped Vulture fell by 99.9% as a result of diclofenac in India alone. “Where a thousand birds once flew, on average only a single bird survived the carnage,” added Ramírez.
Despite the tragic experience in Asia and the availability of safe and inexpensive drug alternatives, BirdLife has confirmed that, worryingly, veterinary diclofenac is now commercially available in Spain and Italy. Both these countries are strongholds for vultures in Europe.
As well as the impending threat of diclofenac, a multitude of other complex threats need to be unravelled further in Africa, and investment needed to tackle them.
As a result, BirdLife International – the world’s largest Partnership of conservation organisations – is calling for support towards a ‘Stop Vulture Poisoning Now’ conservation campaign.
BirdLife International knows what needs to happen, and with your support we can fight to save the lives of millions of vultures across Europe and Africa. With a Partnership of over 100 independent organisations worldwide, BirdLife has the power and the ability to save vultures.
“We know what we need to do in Europe – ban veterinary diclofenac”, said Jim Lawrence, BirdLife’s Preventing Extinctions Programme Manager. “We also know what we need to do for Africa – urgently understand fully the threats and extinction risk so we can act quickly, with priority”.
“However you see them, please support the urgent work needed to save Africa and Europe’s threatened vultures by generously supporting our appeal”, concluded Lawrence. “Your support is vital to this work and will make a real difference to its success. So please, dig deep, donate generously now and help us keep vultures flying as high as they should be”.
BirdLife International is believed to be the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership. Together they have 120 BirdLife Partners worldwide – one per country or territory – and growing with 13 million members and supporters.
BirdLife International and the Vulture Conservation Foundation are advocating for a complete ban on the use of veterinary diclofenac in the EU. In parallel, BirdLife Partners are working nationally to inform local authorities and diclofenac distributors of the risk linked to the veterinary use of this dangerous drug.
Diclofenac is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) present in many commonly used drugs that are used for treating moderate pain. It is extremely toxic to vultures in small doses. Its use on cattle wiped out 99% of the vulture population in South Asia in the 90’s. Vultures eating cattle treated with a veterinary dose of diclofenac will die in less than two days.
There are 21 species of vultures in the world, five of which can be found in the American continent. The other 16 are distributed across Africa, Europe and Asia. Of these so-called Old World vultures, 75% are globally threatened or near-threatened, with the number of threatened species expected to rise in the next conservation status assessment.
Four vulture species breed in Europe: the Endangered Egyptian Vulture, the Near Threatened Cinereous Vulture, and important populations of Griffon Vulture and Bearded Vulture. Three of the four vulture populations have been increasing steadily (except the Egyptian Vulture), partly due to the intensive conservation efforts funded by European Union budget lines. Since 1996, the EU and national governments have invested significant financial resources on the conservation of vultures, and there have been at least 67 LIFE projects related to these species – between 2008 and 2012, nine vulture conservation projects alone received 10.7 million Euros.
Of 11 vulture species found in Africa, seven (including five of the six species endemic to Africa) are listed as globally threatened. Five of these species joined the Red List of threatened species only in the last seven years. For instance, Hooded Vulture – a species that has historically been widespread in Africa – was listed as Endangered in 2011
