04 MARCH 2021, THURSDAY Headline STRATEGIC March 04, 2021 COMMUNICATION & Editorial Date INITIATIVES Column SERVICE 1 of 2 Opinion Page Feature Article
04 MARCH 2021, THURSDAY Headline STRATEGIC March 04, 2021 COMMUNICATION & Editorial Date INITIATIVES Column SERVICE 1 of 2 Opinion Page Feature Article Pandemic brought new hurdles to curbing lucrative illegal wildlife trade March 3, 2021 | 8:14 pm Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu inspects confiscated sulfur crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) and other species at the Biodiversity Management Bureau Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City in this March 2018 photo. — DENR THE GLOBAL health emergency made efforts to monitor and curb the lucrative illegal wildlife trade more challenging as fewer manpower could be deployed, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on March 3, observed as World Wildlife Day. “The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has made it more difficult for us at the DENR to keep poachers and hunters at bay with less eyes and boots on the ground,” DENR Undersecretary Jim O. Sampulna said during the World Wildlife Day celebration on Wednesday. Despite the challenges, however, collaborative programs kept wildlife protection active. Last week, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu lauded the inter-agency task force Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife (POGI) for winning the 2020 Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards conferred by the United Nations Environment Programme. Mr. Sampulna, citing a 2019 Asian Development Bank (ADB) study, said wildlife crime was considered as the fourth most lucrative illegal business after the trafficking of weapons, drugs and people. “Our country is losing an estimated 50 billion (pesos) yearly from wildlife crime alone (which is) not just destroying pristine habitats like our forests, lakes and coral reefs, but reducing their capacity to provide food, water, medicine, shelter and livelihoods for millions of our fellow Filipinos,” he said.
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