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Kaddu Sebunya Correspondent
The African Union has recognised African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) as an important partner in achieving the goals of Agenda 2063, especially desired future statement 2 of aspiration 1 – Africa’s unique natural endowments, its environment and ecosystems, including its wildlife and wild lands are healthy, valued and protected, with climate-resilient economies and communities.

The fulfilment of this aspiration is critical for the future sustainability of the continent.

The 2063 plan recognises that Africa must conserve its natural resources – wildlife and wild lands included – because these resources play a significant role in its development by providing ecosystem services (regulatory, support and cultural) and related goods (food, water, raw materials, tourism, etc.).

Globalisation has expanded trade between Africa and other parts of the world. This has increased exports, but also opened opportunities for illegal trade in Africa’s natural heritage, especially wildlife.

To supply this market with ivory, poachers kill more than 30 000 elephants each year across Africa for their tusks. Rhino poaching for horn, especially in South Africa has increased 9 000 percent between 2007 and 2015 with over 1 000 rhinos killed in last year. Lion poaching has reduced the continental population in half from 50 000 in 2005 to an estimated 23 000 today.

The Sudan Story . . . you have all watched “Black Panther” – the rhinos – well . . .

1909 in the wildness Africa had 3 000; in 1915 – 500; in 1984 – 15; 2006 – 4; and in 2009 – zero.

Sudan has left a daughter and mother. The lineage or clan, or family tree is gone.

This rhino Sudan could as well tell the story of Africa – the Africa that will be handed to you.

You are the guardian for the future!

Historically, Africa has lost its people to the international slave trade and more recently brain drain, its sovereignty to powerful forces during colonialism, and many of its natural resources to international exploitation.

Astonishingly, the loudest voices advocating for stopping the illegal trade and promoting the conservation of Africa’s wildlife are coming from outside the continent, from global figures like Prince William, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jackie Chan among others.

There is distinct absence of a clear, loud and authentic African voice advocating against the destruction of Africa’s natural wildlife heritage. You know, Africa is a continent of many superlatives.

The youngest and fastest growing human population in the world. Many of the world’s fastest growing economies are found in Africa. It is the continent expected to be most impacted by climate change. The continent with the most diverse and charismatic large fauna in the world.

The continent with the largest area of unexploited arable land. The richest, yet poorest continent on earth.

The most underdeveloped region of the world. These superlatives describe the importance, opportunities and challenges associated with Africa that must be addressed or exploited for the future transformation of the continent – as spelt out in our Vision 2063, The Africa We Want.The good news is that – Africa has never been in a better place than it is today, with the longest unbroken period of peace and progress ever, despite the extreme difficulties some countries still face. Our continent is currently undergoing an unprecedented and rapid transformation as a result of high economic growth rates.

The bad news is that – while this transformation is positively impacting economic development and quality of life of Africans, in many cases it is stealing from your future. The ecological infrastructure of Africa, which is the foundation that provides goods and services that support economic development and high quality of life, is being exploited unsustainably.

If this development is not managed well – the future is not very good.

You have probably heard it being said many times that “the future belongs to the youth”.

With 200 million Africans aged between 15 and 24, it’s no doubt you are very many. With 60 percent of the entire continent aged below 25, Africa is youngest continent in the world.

When I say the future belongs to the youth, it is really saying you have to make a large part of that future. The present Africa might not work for you. So you have to fix it.

You are the custodian for the future!

It’s your time to take charge. You actually have the means to.

Your generation is the most educated that Africa has ever had. You have travelled more widely than your parents ever did and the Internet has opened the world to you in ways that previous generations could not dream of.

You are also the most innovative in the history of our continent. Together, these attributes have created a youthful force to be reckoned with.

With so much going for you, this is the perfect time to bring all your education, expertise, youthful energy and experience to bear to shape Africa’s great future.

The challenge to you is that you are playing handicap. You don’t – or soon won’t – have the resources that your parents and grandparents had to work with.

My generation – 40th and above – are making decision that likely will determine the Africa we leave to you.

These decisions are mostly driven by economic development visions and could as well not be sustainable.

You are the custodian for the future!

In regions of Africa, deforestation has already wiped out roughly 90 percent of original forest.

Rivers and lakes that your grandparents swam and fished in are disappearing, the best example being Lake Chad.

Over the last 60 years, Lake Chad’s size has decreased by 90 percent as a result of over use of the water and other climate change factors. Cape Town is running out water, Nairobi likely next.

Last year was the hottest, with the longest drought in history of the continent.

Your grandparents thatched their huts with grass. Today, in parts of Africa, grass is for the rich, and the poor have to struggle to buy tin roofs that are cheaper.

The air you breathe, is dirtier. You are the first generation that is growing up in an Africa where air pollution is causing more premature deaths than unsafe water or childhood malnutrition.

Therefore, while 60 years ago Africans of your age could choose whether or not to fight for independence, today you don’t have a choice. As they say, you haven’t chosen this war. It has chosen you. You have been chosen to be an environmental warrior. You might be asking why an Africa youth should be an environmental warrior – be part of the anti-poaching efforts to conserve wildlife and wildlands.

Primarily, it is not directly for jobs, and get rich quick. It’s simply because we are losing the battle to protect wildlife and their habitats – the water they need, the grass they eat, the trees whose shelter they require to make “home” or to nest in.

Remember, it’s the same water you will need to drink, to build your homes, the trees will give you rain to water your gardens and feed you, and to keep drought away.

So first, the way you will be a great conservationist is not necessarily to care about the animals first, but to be selfish about preserving and rebuilding the natural architecture that will give you a good life.

Yes – to be selfish.Second reason is that environmental crimes such as ivory smuggling, illegal logging and toxic waste dumping have been valued at between $91 billion and $258 billion per annum. These are illicit revenues that would otherwise boost African economies. So, again, be selfish. Should $91 billion go to the pockets of traffickers, or to build innovation hubs for you?

Beyond economics, therefore, by destroying our Africa’s environment for profit, we are destroying our home, and our livelihood. But more specifically, it is an attack that takes away the future of a specific group – the youth.

You are the guardian for the future!

The question then becomes, what can we do? And simple answer is: conservation and development must go hand-in-hand.

Economists have told us that exploitation of natural resources is growth-oriented. But growth and development are not the same things. Not all growth is development. Not all that grows leads to development.

While poverty eradication and ecosystem protection might seem like contrasting issues, they are in fact interlinked.

Poverty begets environmental degradation, but so does wealth if consumption and production are not sustainable.

In other words, if you to have a good future and want to succeed in building peaceful and productive societies, it is imperative that you understand the role our ecosystems play in the development process.

Development and the protection of our ecosystems, need not be mutually exclusive.

Without stopping the pace of development, we can make better choices to minimise the consequences and net impact on nature’s ecosystems.

Finally, you must hold African governments to account on their conservation promises – your future.

Remembering that the key to leveraging conservation opportunities is better governance, both in terms of overall governmental structure and in the sense of accountability and the integrity of our leadership.

To do this, you must demand and support leaderships who deliver on these promises.

Yes, you are the custodian for the future, and the future belongs to you, but it’s not a given – you must work for it, and you must be selfish guardians.

I urge all of you to use your education, exposure and innovation to avoid the conservation pitfalls of past generations.

Do all you can today to secure a better tomorrow for yourselves – and the rest of us who will still be around.

You are the guardian for the future!

Kaddu Sebunya is the president of African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).