Yes we should conserve, but also utilise our natural resources

| Monday May 28, 2012 00:00

The objective of the summit was to reach a consensus or strike a balance between use of natural resources for economic upliftment and conservation. We heard deliberations from all quarters in which speakers accused west economies and multinationals of manipulating the prices of these resources to satisfy their greedy lust for profit.

The multinationals responded saying that they have incorporated environmental conservation in their operations, have strong corporate social responsibility and that they educate their suppliers and consumers of their goods on the importance of the environment.

On the other hand, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf revealed how the price of iron fell from $600 to less than $100 in the '70s that forced the country to dig for more iron, careless of the effects on the environment.  To quote her, Johnson-Sirleaf said: 'Faced with the realities of free market system, Liberia had no choice but to dig for more iron, at the cost of abusing our environment.  In the end we were left with big craters and artificial lakes on our landscape and not much else to show for millions of tonnes of ore exported'.

This is a similar situation we almost found ourselves faced with in 2008 when the world experienced an economic meltdown due to the global financial collapse, that led to a slowdown in diamond sales.  It was a wise decision that we took to also slow down production and closure of some mines.  Had we taken the Liberian route of the '70s, we would be stuck with artificial lakes and craters not knowing who is going to foot the bill for their rehabilitation.

We are facing the same situation with the over a hundred thousand elephants that we have in our country, which destroy the very same vegetation that feeds them.  Despite that huge number, we are told that elephants are faced with extinction.  We do not dispute that, but it is unfortunate that we are not allowed to sell our ivory stockpiles to the world because it is believed that the activity could trigger a rise in poaching.  This is an unfair observation that should be challenged to the end.  It is unfortunate that while other conservation organisations were present to share their experiences, the most vocal of them Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was nowhere to be seen.  It would have been crucial for them to be here, to listen to the plight of people co-existing with these animals, and explain to us their stance.  They would have gotten an idea of what misery these animals bring to the lives of human beings and how their culling, and subsequent sale of ivory was going to uplift their lives.  We would also have understood them better, instead of them keeping a distance.