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The growing demand for game for meat and traditional medicines, especially in urban settings, increases the exposure of humans to zoonotic diseases and the pressure to hunt in forests.
Zoonotic diseases include Covid-19, Ebola virus, an intestinal disease acquired by reptiles, and Bartonella henselae (cat scratch disease) which is a bacterial infection transmitted by cat bites or scratches.
Head of Conservation Education and Projects at the Ghana Wildlife Society (GWS), Ms. Louisa Kabobah, who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, explained that wild meat was a source of essential food for millions of indigenous and rural populations, accounting for more than 50 percent of the protein intake in many tropical and subtropical regions.
However, she said recent studies estimated 285 species of mammals were threatened with extinction due to game hunting, which required an urgent appeal to protect and conserve the nation’s remaining wildlife.
She made the statement on Wednesday when GWS and Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark ‘World Wildlife Day’ 2020 in Accra with the theme: ‘Forests and livelihoods: supporting people and the planet’ .
The day that is commemorated every March 3 is used to observe the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.
The day was commemorated with activities such as education and awareness campaigns in basic schools on the need to protect wildlife, donation of wildlife story books to schools and awareness campaigns in local schools. media (traditional and social).
Ms. Kabobah said the goals were to highlight the immense social and economic value of forests for humans, especially for indigenous and local communities in Ghana.
There is a relationship between humans and forests; however, there are repercussions of upsetting the fine balance.
She explained that forests are home to around 85 percent of earth’s life – both animal and plant species and that at least one billion people depend directly on forests for their most basic needs, including food, shelter. , energy and drugs.
“We all agree that the past 12 months have been a wake-up call to rethink our relationship with nature, as around 70% of emerging infectious diseases, and almost all recent pandemics, including Covid-19 and Ebola, originate from livestock and wildlife.
“Our forests have traditionally served as a natural barrier to the transmission of disease between animals and humans, but as we increasingly encroach on wildlife habitats for agriculture and other illegal captures of wildlife, the risk of disease spreading from wild animals to humans is increasing exponentially, ”Ms. Kabobah stressed.
On the current state of forests and wildlife in Ghana, she cited (Acheampong et al., 2019) an academic article, claiming that deforestation and other illegal activities such as mining (galamsey), Chainsaw operations, agricultural expansion and bush burning had degraded about 85 percent of the forest region of Guinea in Ghana.
Forest reserves alone, she said, suffered average annual deforestation rates of 0.7 percent, 0.5 percent, 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent for the periods 1990 –2000, 2000–2005, 2005–2010 and 2010–2015, respectively.
Despite government efforts to maintain and protect Ghana’s forest reserves, deforestation continued, she added.
“On this World Wildlife Day, let us remember that to support people and the planet, we must say no to the consumption of endangered species and save forests by going digital with our bills, our transactions and our books to save money. paper.
“When we protect wildlife, forests and landscapes, we ensure a sustainable future for all of us and by protecting nature, we protect ourselves. And remember, without forests, we won’t be here, ”advised Ms. Kabobah.
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