African kino tree (Pterocarpus erinaceus). Photo by Philippe Birnbaum.
Happy World Wildlife Day! This year’s World Wildlife Day theme is “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet” to highlight the central role of forests, forest species, and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people globally.
In West Africa, wildlife crime, including illegal logging and timber trade, is causing irreversible damage to ecosystems. Animal and plant species are being decimated at an unprecedented rate in large part due to these illegal activities.
Flora parts for sale in Burkina Faso. Photo by Born Free USA.
Born Free USA works to stop illegal trafficking – including that of plant species. From 2016 to 2020, we held 25 training courses for more than 500 law enforcement officials from across West and Central Africa. These courses focused on a range of topics, including species identification; investigational techniques and best practices;
03 Mar 2021 / 16:40 H.
KUALA LUMPUR: Communities must keep working together to preserve forest ecosystems that are increasingly being threatened, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (
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In his message in conjunction with World Wildlife Day today, he said forests are not only the main habitat for flora and fauna but also contribute to ecosystems such as clean water supply, wildlife habitat and recreation.
It also contributes to the socio-economic development of communities directly dependent on its resources, he added.
“Forests need to be preserved and conserved to protect increasingly endangered ecosystems and to help reduce environmental impact due to climate change.
With the theme for UN World Wildlife Day 2021 being ‘Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet’, SocialStory lists some NGOs that are on a mission to protect forests.