Plastic waste threatens birds globally

Conservationists worldwide are calling for urgent action to stop plastic pollution by highlighting its negative effects on seabirds and other migratory birds.

A new research has revealed that plastic pollution poses serious health risks to wildlife globally, affecting a wide range of species including whales, turtles, fish and birds.
 
The research was releaed on the heels of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day, (WMBD), two United Nations wildlife treaties and conservationists around the world are calling for urgent action to stop plastic pollution by highlighting its negative effects on seabirds and other migratory birds.

These figures show that almost all marine and freshwater birds are at risk of entanglement in plastic waste and other synthetic materials. A wide diversity of landbirds from eagles to small finches are also affected, and these numbers are bound to increase.
 
Research further shows that about 40 per cent of seabirds contain ingested plastic. Marine ducks, divers, penguins, albatrosses, petrels, grebes, pelicans, gannets and boobies, gulls, terns, auks as well as tropicbirds are particularly at risk.

Ingesting plastic can kill them or more likely cause severe injuries, and plastic accumulations can block or damage the digestive tract or give the animal a false sense of satiation, leading to malnutrition and starvation.
 
“One third of global plastic production is non-recyclable and at least eight million tonnes of plastic flows unabated into our oceans and water bodies each year,” Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment said. “It is ending up in the stomachs of birds, fish, whales, and in our soil and water. The world is choking on plastic and so too are our birds on which so much life on earth depends.”

The project is in partnership with Birdlife International Africa, launched a United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)./ It is tagged “Combating the West African Illegal Trade in Threatened Vultures and their parts for Belief-based use”

NCF hosted some stakeholders at Lekki Conservation Centre on Wednesday, 8th May, 2019 in a Project Inception and Induction Workshop to discuss the project, unveil Celebrity Vulture Ambassador and presents efforts in combating Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT).

This followed an earlier two-day internal planning with the NCF and BirdLife Project Implementation Team to review the workplan and stakeholders involvement in the delivery of the project.

NCF Director-General, Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, in his welcome address, said that vultures were being “actively harvested” in Nigeria and across Africa for various mystical reasons and that efforts were on by NCF to tackle the menace.

He further revealed that the Foundation was carrying out awareness campaign among trado-medics on herbal alternatives to vulture parts as well as seeking collaboration with security agencies on law enforcement.

He said “Vultures are very important, they are our unpaid sanitary inspectors, some people call them garbage collectors, but they are beyond just collectors, they actually clean up the environment and prevent us from having deadly diseases.

They prevent the proliferation of pests because they eat up carcasses. If vultures go into extinction then we are in trouble, it means that there will be diseases, there will be deaths, there will be revenue loss to the country and also we will deprive future generations of knowing that vultures ever existed”

Dr Joseph Onoja, NFC’s Technical Director, while making the project presentation identified hotspots for the trade in vultures in Nigeria to include Osun, Oyo, Ogun in the South-West and Kano, Sokoto and Katsina in the North.

Onoja further explained that vultures were used for ritual rites to cure madness and evil omen, while their eggs were used for money making rituals and some people consume the meat as food.

Dr. Beckie Garbett, Vulture Conservation Manager for Birdlife International Africa, in her project introduction said that efforts were on targeting Nigeria to reduce IWT and trade in vultures and its parts by 20 per cent by year 2021.

Mr Peter Thomas, the Deputy Head of Mission, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, while delivering his keynote address said that the British Government has been at the forefront of eradicating IWT which has become the highest criminal revenue spinner after drugs.

He said “The IWT continues to be a global problem, involving serious organised crime networks and work worth up to 17 billion pounds per year. That is more than 75 countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If that figure alone is not shocking in itself, if estimates for illegal logging and fishing are included, the figure goes up to 114 billion pounds. And that is more than 130 countries’ GDP.”

Meanwhile, in his opening remark, Mr. Adejo Andrew, Director of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, who was represented by Mr. John Timothy Daniel stated that “As the focal point for the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) and the African Eurasian Migratory Water Birds Agreement (AEWA) in Nigeria, the Federal Department of Forestry will always collaborate with the NCF on bird conservation related issues as manifested in our various interactions”

He further mentioned that “This current initiative to conserve the endangered Vultures, with the kind financial assistance by the USFWS fund is a welcome development, as this will also be a tool to conserve the forest ecosystems that provide habitat for the bird and other wild animal species.”

After the opening ceremony, presentations were made by Mr. John Timothy Daniel, CITES Focal Point on Illegal Wildlife Trade in Nigeria, and Mr. Emmanuel Bassey who shared experience of Wildlife Conservation Society in Nigeria’s effort in combatting IWT.

Celebrity Vulture Ambassadors were unveiled. Among them were Mr. Peter Uduak, popularly known as Tito Da Fire. He’s a Nigerian musician, Voice Over artiste and On-Air-Personality; Mr. Seyi Asurf, a movie producer based in Lagos; Mr. Yomi Fash-Lanso, a movie producer/director/actor; Mr. Tope Alake, a movie producer based in Ibadan and Mallam Shehu Kano, an actor based in Kano.

Thereafter, participants drawn from Nigeria Customs, Nigeria Police Force, Traditional Medicine Practioners (native doctors), National Association of Hunters, Federal Ministry of Environments, State Ministry of Justice, NESREA, Academics and media were shared into four groups to contribute and compliment the project.

The groups were: Strengthening law enforcement; Alternatives to Vultures for Belief-based use; Wildlife trading and Public Awareness with leading questions on What is the problem? Why is the Problem? What can be done? and What is your role?

The outcome of these group discussion will further help to realign the project design and activities in order to achieve the project objective.