'A critical time': how Covid-19 piled the pressure on conservation efforts

Ecotourism revenues plummeted around the world as some areas saw poaching and land grabs increase in 2020

• Conservation in crisis: ecotourism collapse threatens communities and wildlife
• Read more in our series Biodiversity: what happened next?

From the Nepalese Himalayas where tigers patrol the snowy peaks to the lush forest homes of mountain gorillas in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, national parks emptied as Covid-19 spread around the world in 2020. Billions of pounds of ecotourism revenue - crucial to the livelihoods of many communities that live alongside biodiverse areas - dried up as people were locked down.

Some parts of Latin America, Asia and Africa recorded spikes in poaching and human-wildlife conflict amid mass redundancies of park rangers and reduced enforcement capabilities.