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NCF, CITIES, Traditional Medicine Practitioners Brainstorm on Vulture Conservation in Nigeria
NCF, CITIES, Traditional Medicine Practitioners Brainstorm on Vulture Conservation in Nigeria
Bennett Oghifo
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES), and the Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Nigeria have agreed to work towards the prevention of the extinction of vultures in the country because of their useful role in the environment.
According to BirdLife, “Vultures play a critical role in our ecosystems by preventing the spread of diseases. Without them, carcasses rot, leading to an increase in pests and deadly pathogens that threaten human and animal health. By ignoring the plight of vultures, we risk passing on a dangerous legacy to future generations.”
The Director General of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Dr Joseph Onoja, also stated this fact during the brainstorming session at the Lekki Conservation Center recently.
Dr. Onoja said. “This (the conference) is part of NCF’s vulture conservation strategy that we developed some years ago. And we did that in response to the rapid decline of our vulture species in Nigeria. And this is because of the very important role that vultures play in our environment as the environmental sanitation agents. If we lose our vulture species, there are consequences, both for human health, for the economy and for the environment.”
Vultures, he said needed to be conserved for them to play their crucial role, “which is very important for humans. We are at the top of the ecosystem. So when the ecosystem collapses under us, we’ll be in big trouble. And that is why we continue to talk about the fact that we are part of the ecosystem.”
Onoja said, “Over the years, we found out that the decline of the vulture population is largely due to human activities, from habitat destruction, persecution to use in belief-based activities. So that’s why we say, okay, let’s bring all the practitioners together. Let us discuss, can there be alternatives to these vultures, since we know that they are declining in population, can there be alternatives? And luckily, about two or three years ago, we worked with some practitioners who developed plant-based alternatives to them, and we are trying to see how the adoption of that plant-based alternatives can be used nationally and probably regionally, as well.”
He said NCF led the West African Vulture action plan that they just launched, which was led by CITES, explaining that “this time around, we’re implementing this to reduce the belief-based use with the CITES Secretariat, and traffic as well, so that we’ll be able to see how we can reduce the demand. I mean, we can have a demand reduction in vulture parts, as they do in belief-based use or in traditional medicine practices.”
He said, “Vultures are critically endangered, all our vulture species, apart from the Palmnut Vulture, all our vultures are critically endangered.”
Yuan Liu from the CITES Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, who was at the meeting, said, “Vultures are appendix two species, which means the trade can be regulated; can be legally happening, but we now deal with the demand for illegally acquired vultures. So for the conservation, our protection of the species, you need to take different measures, for instance, law enforcement, livelihoods and demand reduction. And this particular workshop is about demand reduction.”
He said to stop this illegal trade in vultures, “We have to follow a guidance adopted by CITES’ contracting parties, which is 184 countries plus the European Union. “A guidance on how to engage in demand reduction strategies to deal with illegal trade, illegal trade in the endangered species, because I highlight that there is also legal trade. So the approach is to recognise the motivation of the demand, which is believed to be culturally-based. So we have to follow the scientist’s guidance, to follow the five-step approach, which is to find out, guide the evidence of trade, the audience and the tailor-made, the messages and to find the messengers. All the five steps are necessary in order to achieve demand reduction.
The National President of National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Alhaji Doctor Shabani Kudi, said they gathered a lot in this programme, explaining that “even the WHO said that 85% of the world population today depends on traditional medicine for their needs or for their survival.”
He said they actually use plants, animal substances and other valuable things that are very effective “in curing our people.”
He said they noticed that some of the plants and animals have started disappearing, especially vultures that were usually everywhere picking up rotten animals.
There is need to manage these plants and animals so that they do not disappear, he said.
Bennett Oghifo The Nigerian Conservation Foundation, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES), and the Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Nigeria have
