Conservation is in crisis - so let’s not beat around the bush
Photo by GLP Films
Conservation is in crisis. When there are no tourists, there is no funding. It’s as simple as that. At the moment, there are many schools of thought about which travel sector will recover first. Some say cruise ships, others say camping. One thing’s for sure - reconnecting with nature and wildlife holidays are no longer going to be niche.
For our part, we highly recommend that tourism organizations start to be transparent about the potential dangers to their wildlife wonders if tourism doesn’t come back soon. People may not be able to travel to certain parts of the world yet, but they do need to know that when they land in Kruger or the Mara that wildlife has been looked after. They will donate and support necessary causes, but first, you have to raise awareness about them. In South Africa, for example, 80% of South African National Parks’ annual budget comes from tourism, supporting 19 national parks. The Uganda Wildlife Authority generates 88% of its revenue from tourist entrance fees and 50% of the revenue is from gorilla-watching tours*.
Supporting wildlife tourism during and post pandemic
The pandemic has, understandably, made humans more prone to looking inwards rather than outwards, and ensuring the survival of those employed in the industry isn’t in question here. However, it doesn’t mean that travelers’ love affair with wildlife has come to an end. They may have just put it to the back of their minds. It’s all part of the pandemic paralysis that most of us have become all too familiar with. But national tourism organizations need to start reminding travelers that some wildlife is in dire need of care and protection too.
That’s not to say that many private companies haven’t acted on the crisis. Many have been very active in seeking donations, first and foremost to sustain local communities in popular wildlife watching destinations then also to pay for anti-poaching staff, trackers and so on.
“78% of conservationists stated that they have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, including lay-offs, frozen donations or funding cuts, cancellations of seasonal crews and the inability to fully perform job responsibilities. Ol Pejeta, a Kenyan conservancy and sanctuary for the endangered black rhino, expects to lose 70% of its anticipated business this year.” - To recovery and beyond - The future of travel & tourism in the wake of COVID-19, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), September 2020.
Photo by GLP Films
Wildlife conservation needs to be funded now
However, tourist boards need to step up and send out the message to a wider audience that conservation needs to be funded now. In Namibia, money has been raised by both donors and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to help cover at least 50% of conservancies’ costs. The Government of Zambia has implemented a Priority Support Plan to protect and develop Kafue National Park. They have done so in partnership with the African Parks NGO which manages 19 parks on the African continent. African Parks may be closed to international visitors but they are very much open to donations, and yet there is little mention of this on national tourist board websites.
So, don’t be shy about saying that your wildlife needs protecting. If it’s a priority to push safaris over spas, conservancies over coasts, then do it. A storytelling and content strategy can help to communicate these urgent stories in a way that creates a much needed call to action.
From our collection of conservation films, we’d like to highlight Rosmarie Ruf who took over leadership of the Okapi Conservation Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after her husband died in 2013. Since then she has faced a lethal attack by rebels, and a pandemic. And she’s still going strong as you can see from our video below.
Promote wildlife conservation tourism in content
We have created film content about wildlife conservation and safaris for over a decade now and one thing that we have come to understand is that people play a central role. Finding a balance between conservation and culture, protecting and poaching is one that many destinations strive to find and it can be a political minefield in some cases. However, the sustainable tourism movement has worked hard over the last twenty years to show local communities who have depended on killing wildlife for an income that they are, more often than not, worth so much more alive than dead.
However, poaching has been on the rise since the tourists left and with it the funds to pay anti-poaching police. From rhino poaching in Botswana’s Okavango Delta to giraffe poaching in Uganda, as well as increased logging in Nepal’s tiger habitats, threats are most definitely significant. Which is devastating for the many conservationists who have spent decades trying to reverse these wildlife crimes.
One of the biggest success conservation stories over the last twenty years is within gorilla conservation. However, the DNA of gorillas is so close to that of humans, that it has been proven that they can catch COVID-19. You aren’t allowed near gorillas even with a common cold at the best of times, but they are totally off limits nowadays. Gorilla Doctors, who work in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are testing and monitoring the situation, and Rwanda insists on COVID-19 tests before trekking.
Their protection from poaching and disease is vital. There are also limited amounts of permits on sale, but you can book ahead for a trip in a couple of years. Promoting this in travel content, to show how this income could help sustain the primates through the pandemic, would be not only interesting but a great incentive to go there when the pandemic has passed.
“An emergency African Wildlife Crisis Fund should be established to support critical conservation activities and protect the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable groups...a strong lobby is needed to encourage African governments to provide greater budgetary and policy support for Protected and Conserved Areas.” - The International Journal of Protected Areas and Conservations, March 2021.
Urgent messaging is needed
Sustainable tourism companies and NGOs that have worked hard to educate and empower local communities still sometimes battle with destination management organizations. This is because the marketing focus continues to be on numbers of tourist visits, rather than on the quality and impact of those visits. But it’s time to bring wildlife conservation into the mainstream.
When you get a chance to tell the stories of these communities who have been conflicted about conservation, and show the journey they have made towards sustainable wildlife pursuits, this content really speaks to potential wildlife watching tourists. And in countries like Kenya where Wildlife Service’s revenue dropped by 98.8%, and conservancies-related revenue declined by 95% due to the global lockdown*, the message needs to get out there soon. Especially if visitors don’t start coming back in numbers that swell those conservation coffers anytime soon.
In our film “Joseph Ole Koyie” below, part of the ‘120 Seconds to Change the World’ video series, Joseph tells us why he changed from being a Maasai warrior to Maasai wildlife guide in Kenya’s Masai Mara.
How to create engaging wildlife content for post-pandemic times
Flag up all conservation efforts going on in your destination, be they public, private or philanthropic. It’s time to pull resources in order to protect wildlife. Crowdsourcing campaigns that have raised significant amounts of money and which should be highlighted by DMOs include &Beyond’s Africa Foundation COVID-19 Campaign, Help Protect Chumbe Reef, Great Plains Foundation Project Ranger, Fund a Ranger campaign from Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, For Rangers Fund and the Kasanka National Park COVID-19 Appeal, Zambia. The Wildlife Ranger Challenge, for example, has raised money for 45 wildlife organizations, but rarely are these extraordinary ongoing efforts featured on tourism board sites where you would think that, for the most part, it was business as usual.
Write about any long-term wildlife tourism strategies that are developing for post-pandemic times in your region. If people pay for trips now, what impact will that have on conservation? Eg. one national park entry fee pays for two anti-poaching guards per day. Pay now, travel later.
Create video content that focuses on community resilience around COVID-19 and, in particular with reference to conservation.
Create content that thanks individuals who have really made a difference during the pandemic. People who have placed themselves on the frontline to protect wildlife when funding ran out.
Develop a social media strategy in partnership with other wildlife destinations or wildlife NGOs, with a shared hashtag, in order to gain a broader engagement around wildlife conservation.
Tell the positive stories of regenerative and restorative conservation that have occurred during the pandemic.
Create infographics or maps of COVID-19 safe zones and create content about any protective policies that have been put in place in order to combat the virus.
Develop a content strategy that is committed to all pillars of sustainability, not just those linked to biodiversity and wildlife. Prioritize content that focuses on regions where wildlife conservation is most in need of tourism income, not the usual tourism honeypots which depend on a regular flow of tourists.
*Source: The Future of Nature-based Tourism, The Luc Hoffmann Institute, 2021