BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

July 2020 BBC Wildlife 29

WILDOPINION

P

icturesofpollution-free

skies,wildboarroaming

thecentreofBarcelonaand

Kashmirigoatscausing

havoconthestreetsof

Llandudnocouldmakeyou

believethatnatureis bouncingback

duringthecoronaviruspandemic.

Forsomespecies,lockdownmay

indeedbegoodnews.Thereis

someevidencethatthenumberof

hedgehogskilledonBritain’sroads

hashalved,forexample,whileinIndia

therehasbeena massivespikeinthe

numberofoliveridleyturtlehatchlings

emergingfrombeachesdevoidof

humans.Theremaybemoresubtle

benefits,too.Urbanbirdshaveto

singmoreoftenandlouderthantheir

countrysidecounterparts– whichis

time-consumingandenergy-sapping

• sotheycouldbenefitfroma little
  peaceandquiet.
  Butformuchoftheworld’swildlife,
  lockdownis anythingbutgoodnews.
  Manycountriesreporta catastrophic
  surgeinpoachingofrhinos,elephants,
  tigersandotherendangeredspecies.
  Poachersmustberubbingtheir
  handsinglee– withparkclosures,
  thediversionoflawenforcementto
  COVID-19-relatedduties,reduced
  rangerpatrolsandnotouristeyes
  andearsontheground,they’vebeen
  givenfreereintoroamandhunt.
  Meanwhile,theclosureofsafari
  tourism– worthUS$3obilliona year
  inAfricaalone– is havinga massive
  impactonlocalemployment,which
  explainsanalarmingincreasein
  wildlifekillingforbushmeat(justto
  putfoodonthetable).
  Anincreaseinpoachingandhunting
  duringlockdownis notjustworrying
  for wildlife. It makes future pandemics

MARKCARWARDINEisa frustrated and

frank conservationist.

TheconservationistdiscussestheimpactofCOVID 19 onwildlife

and the environment, and invites your thoughts on the subject.

MARK CARWARDINE

morelikely:thevast

majorityofemerging

infectiousdiseases,

likeCOVID-19,come

fromwildanimals.

Coronavirusis also

providinga handy

diversionforallsorts

ofenvironmental

wrongdoing.Brazil’s

PresidentJair

Bolsonarohasnothingbutcontempt

fortheenvironment(and,forthat

matter,COVID-19)andis allowing

illegalloggersandspeculatorstouse

thecurrentcrisisasa smokescreento

invadeindigenouslandsandprotected

areasintheAmazon;destructionof

Brazil’sAmazonrainforestis now

worsethanit hasbeenformorethan

a decade.IntheUK,theRSPBhas

beenswampedwithreportsofbirds

ofpreybeingkilledsincelockdown,

withmostincidentslinkedtoshooting

estates;theculpritsprobablyfeel

emboldenedbytheabsence of

potential witnesses.

Thenthereis climatechange.It

usedtobeheadlinenewsbutnow,

whiletheworldis preoccupiedwith

a new,marginallymoreimmediate

crisis,it hasfallenbythewayside.The

greatfearis thatwewillneverbeable

togetthatmomentumgoingagain.

Onethingwe’velearntduring

lockdownis justhowmuchis needed

totackleclimatechange.Withindustry

grindingtoa halt,fewercarsonthe

roadsandplanesgrounded,we’re

livingthroughthebiggestcarboncrash

everrecorded.It’sestimatedthatCO2

emissionsthisyearwillfallbyaround

5.5percent(equivalenttotheentire

energyrequirementofIndia).But

here’sa soberingthought.TheUNis

urgingcutsof7.6percenteveryyear

forthenextdecadejusttokeepclimate

changetomanageableproportions.So,

evenif weallstayedinlockdownuntil

2030,westillwouldn’tfixtheproblem.

It canonlybefixedwitha fundamental

shiftinclimatepolicyandexactlythe

samerapid,extensiveanddetermined

internationalactiondeployedtotackle

thecoronavirus.

Onemorepositivefeatureof

lockdownis thatweseemtobe

appreciatinggreenspacesandnature

morethaneverbefore.Thisis goodfor

ourmentalhealthand,intriguingly,it

maybegoingsomewaytooffsetting

thestressesofisolation.Whoknows–

it mightevenreconnectpeoplewith

the things that really matter.

MY WAY OF THINKING

Christian O

enberg/Alamy

Formuchof

theworld’s

wildlife,

lockdownis

anythingbut

good news.

S

T

WHATDOYOUTHINK?If you

wanttosupportMarkinhisviews

orshoothimdowninflames,email

[email protected]

Withsafariscancelled,

duetothepandemic,

poachingseemsto

be on the rise.