WWF: Lack of tourism puts wildlife at risk of illegal hunting

African nations cut back on conservation as visitor revenue plummets

Some of the world’s most precious wildlife is facing increased risk of serious injury or death due to Covid-19. An African lion approaches, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. WWF

East African communities are struggling to survive crippling losses in tourism income due to Covid-19, the WWF has warned. An African elephant in Tanzania. WWF

People have lived alongside wildlife in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya for centuries. Masai during sunrise at Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. WWF

But the downturn in tourism has hit communities that depend entirely on wildlife revenue hard. Joseph Rusei Soit, 55, a Masai pastoralist in Narok County, Kenya. WWF

Food shortages and pay cuts for conservancy rangers has put threatened species at greater risk. Wildebeests at the Maasai Mara National reserve, Kenya. WWF

Across East Africa, wildlife protected areas generate $48 billion through tourism, which has now virtually dried up. A lion is seen in the Lewa Wilderness Reserve, Kenya. WWF

Since the start of the global pandemic, cancelled tourism bookings in the Mara’s community conservancies in Kenya have already topped $5m. A rainbow appears in storm clouds over the Masai Mara reserve, Kenya. WWF

WWF’s 'Land for Life Appeal' aims to raise £2m in matched funding to improve the lives of more than 27,000 people in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, whilst protecting critical ‘wildlife corridors’. African elephants at a waterhole in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. WWF

Paul Mpoe and Nkunini Mpoe, children of pastoralists near the Masai Mara National Game Reserve in Narok County, Kenya. WWF

Rain across the landscape in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. WWF

The collapse in global tourism is putting wildlife at increased risk of illegal hunting, the World Wildlife Fund has warned.

The wildlife protection organisation said communities who depended on tourism for revenue had been “hit hard” by plummeting visits.

It has meant local authorities, particularly in Africa, have cut jobs and pay in the conservation sector, giving an advantage to poachers, the WWF said.

The group estimated the £72 million ($93m) generated by tourism in wildlife-protected areas in East Africa had “virtually dried up” since the start of the pandemic.

The WWF’s new “Land for Life Appeal” aims to raise £2m in matched funding to improve the lives of more than 27,000 people in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, while protecting critical “wildlife corridors” to allow elephants and lions to move freely.

The project aims to develop new ways for African communities to make money, reducing their reliance on tourism, through such as industries as bee-keeping, improved livestock and small-scale farming.

“Nobody wants to see more people or threatened animals suffering in this devastating pandemic and we hope our supporters will back our vital appeal this Christmas,” said the WWF UK's Africa conservation manager, Dr Jenny Cousins.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “This project will help to support people and wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania, while also protecting precious species and habitats.”

Donations to WWF’s Land for Life Appeal can be made at wwf.org.uk/life.

Donations made before February 2, 2021, will be matched by the UK government to a maximum of £2m.