Govt, make Internet accessible for sustainable wildlife conservation
On this World Wildlife Day (yesterday) let us raise awareness about the extraordinary diversity of marine life and the crucial importance of marine species to sustainable development. Let everyone pick up any social media tool to spread the word. That way, we can continue to provide these services for future generations.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Dissemination of information has never been easier than it is today. The Internet, specifically social media sites, provides opportunities for sharing concerns and finding solutions on numerous issues.
The need to conserve wildlife is not exceptional. Internet can bring attention to important conservation issues instantly with people around the world. With millions of daily tweets, Facebook status updates, YouTube videos, Instagram pictures, Flickr uploads, and blog posts, one cannot help but ask if this actually helps or hinders wildlife conservation.
Wild life conservation organisations and private conservationists have huge presence on the World Wide Web. The use of websites linked to Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and YouTube, among others, give followers daily updates on research and related topics that affect the species they care most about. Globally, biologists estimate that there are between five million and 15 million species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms existing on Earth today, of which only about 1.5 million have been described and named.
The estimated total includes about 300,000 plant species, between four and eight million insects, and about 50,000 vertebrate species (of which about 10,000 are birds and 4,000 are mammals). However, today, about 23 per cent (1,130 species) of mammals and 12 per cent (1,194 species) of birds are considered as threatened by human activities. Global biodiversity is being lost much faster than natural extinction due to changes in land use, unsustainable use of natural resources, invasive alien species, climate change and pollution, among others.
Uganda is facing intense poaching for skins, tusks and horns. This activity is done at the expense of both the present and future generations.
While heightening public awareness through social media can enhance wildlife conservation and management, efforts with high cost to access internet for Uganda’s poorest remains in balance.
For instance the social media tax, which was effected on July 1 last year, has contributed to a reduction in number of Internet users, especially among the unemployed poor youth, who are the most active group in Internet usage. According to the latest report by the Uganda Communications Commission, in June 2018, a month before the introduction of the social media tax, the internet penetration rate in Uganda stood at 47.4 per cent (18.5 million internet users), but three months later, it had fallen to 35 per cent (13.5 million users).
It is against this background that government should nullify the social media tax and review other laws that limit internet freedom for wildlife sector to reap big from the diverse benefits of internet.
Florence Nabukeera, [email protected]
