British anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall holds a Cariblanco
monkey (cebus capucinus) cub. Like European settlers had done before,
China exploits the wealth of Africa with dramatic consequences for the
environment, Jane Goodall said in an interview with AFP on the sidelines
of a conference at Johannesburg’s Wits University.China is exploiting Africa’s resources just like European colonisers did, with disastrous effects for the environment, acclaimed primatologist Jane Goodall has told AFP.
On the eve of her 80th birthday, the fiery British
wildlife crusader is whizzing across the world giving a series of
lectures on the threats to our planet.
And the rising world power’s involvement on the
continent especially raises alarms when it comes to her beloved
chimpanzees and wildlife habitats.
During the last decade China has been investing
heavily in African natural resources, developing mines, oil wells and
running related construction companies.
Activists accuse Chinese firms of paying little attention to the environmental impact of their race for resources.
“In Africa, China is merely doing what the
colonialist did. They want raw materials for their economic growth, just
as the colonialists were going into Africa and taking the natural
resources, leaving people poorer,” she told AFP in an interview in
Johannesburg.
The stakes for the environment may even be larger this time round, she warns.
“China is bigger, and the technology has improved... It is a disaster.”
Other than massive investment in Africa’s mines,
China is also a big market for elephant tusks and rhino horn, which has
driven poaching of these animals to alarming heights.
But Goodall, who rose to fame through her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, is optimistic.
“I do believe China is changing,” she said, citing as one example Beijing’s recent destruction of illegal ivory stockpiles.
“I think 10 years ago, even with international pressure, we would never have had an ivory crush. But they have,” she added.
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