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EWT TORTOISE CONSERVATION CANINES – NOSY FOR NATURE

By: Esther Matthew – Specialist Officer | Drylands Conservation Programme

Chelonians includes all tortoise, turtle, and terrapin species. For the purposes of this article, we will use the term “tortoises”.

South Africa is one of the most biodiversity-rich countries in the world and is home to no less than two of the world’s most well-known botanical “biodiversity hotspots”, the Succulent Karoo and Fynbos Biomes. However, few people are aware that South Africa also holds the title as the tortoise capital of the world. South Africa is home to no less than 13 tortoise species, most of which are endemic to the country.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), in partnership with the Turtle Conservancy (TC) launched tortoise conservation research projects over the last two years to locate viable populations and implement conservation action for three of South Africa’s most Endangered tortoises in the dryland areas of South Africa, including the Karoo, which is home to nine of the 13 tortoise species found in South Africa.

There are five species of dwarf tortoise globally, four of which occur in the South African Karoo and one in Namibia. As their name implies, dwarf tortoises rank amongst the smallest of the tortoise species. South Africa also has one Critically Endangered tortoise species, called the Geometric Tortoise. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years researchers have started to notice an alarming decline in population numbers for all of three of the country’s Endangered tortoise species. This significant impact can be attributed to factors like habitat loss, poaching, and crow predation that has been specifically being observed.

Certainly, the human teams have struggled to find a single viable population of both the Karoo and the Speckled Dwarf Tortoise over the last two years of extensive surveys. More than 20 surveys have yielded depressingly few live animals, and in most cases only shell fragments are to be found. All these species are elusive and well camouflaged, making it difficult for even the well-trained eye to spot. As such, it has been vital for us to look at other survey methods, such as using scent detection dogs.

The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme, therefore, started training scent detection dogs to assist with tortoise fieldwork projects. Two Border collies, Delta and Dash, have been assisting our team in the field to help locate tortoises with a little guidance from their handler Esther Matthew. Delta has been contributing to this research for the last two years, while Dash only recently started helping after passing his certification. The dogs have helped increase the number of finds, with Delta almost setting a record of six tortoises found in 50 minutes for one of the species. The detection dogs make our search efforts a lot more efficient as we are able to move faster and find hidden tortoises we would likely have missed. Their assistance in the field contributes to data collection for species distribution mapping and monitoring the survival of species in the wild. We can’t wait to see how their “nose work” will continue to benefit the conservation of these unique tortoise species.

The EWT tortoise conservation work is supported by Turtle Conservancy, Dwarf Tortoise Conservation, Rainforest Trust and the IUCN NL. A special word of thanks to Ford Wildlife Foundation for the vehicles that safely gets our staff and working dogs to the remote locations across the Western- and Northern Cape, where we conduct our vital tortoise surveys.

Please note, that landowner permission and valid permits from relevant conservation authorities in each province are always required for the use of conservation detection dogs. Additionally, all tortoises are protected species and listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as well as provincial legislation such as the CapeNature Conservation Ordinance of 1974 and National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004. As such, it is illegal to collect any tortoise species in South Africa, and they may not be kept as pets without a permit. However, please report sightings of these rare species to us at ewt@ewt.org.za.

Creating a Thriving Wetland For All in Zambia

A major conservation milestone was achieved in Zambia on 10th October as the International Crane Foundation, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), officially launched a 20-year collaborative management agreement for the Kafue Flats with the Ministry of Tourism under the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) Zambia. This groundbreaking initiative, the Kafue Flats Restoration Partnership, aims to create a “thriving wetland for all” by engaging local communities in the conservation and management of this vital ecosystem.

The Kafue Flats includes 6,500 hectares of wetlands, lagoons, grasslands, and floodplains including the Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar National Parks. This region is home to more than 470 bird species, among them the endangered Wattled Crane. Cranes and the lechwe antelope are key indicators of the health of the Kafue Flats ecosystem. More than 1.3 million people live in or around the Kafue Flats, and over 300,000 people rely on this area for freshwater, grazing, livelihoods, and cultural ceremonies.

Sadly, the floodplain is degrading under increasing pressure from unsustainable economic practices, population growth, and climate change. The 20-year agreement will tackle critical problems such as wildlife poaching, poor grazing, unsustainable fishing practices, unplanned settlements, and the impacts of flooding. The partnership will study these issues and manage the region by focusing on finding sustainable solutions that protect both the environment and the livelihoods of the local people.

At the launch, Minister of Tourism Rodney Sikumba emphasised the importance of balancing socio- economic needs with environmental protection of the Kafue Flats. This area is a wetland of international importance under the Convention on Wetlands, a key biodiversity area under Birdlife International, and a Man and Biosphere Reserve under the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO.

Recently, His Excellency, the President of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilima made a declaration during the Lwanza Traditional Ceremony in Bweengwa, Southern Province, outlining plans to boost cattle production through the establishment of cattle economic zones in the Kafue Flats south and north of the Kafue River. The focus on disease control and improved genetics is seen as a strategic move to enhance the quality of Zambian beef amid climate change challenges.

“We all know that climate change is real, hence the need for adequate adaptation and mitigation,” said Mr Sikumba. “Ecosystem based adaptation is an important option which implies that we manage the Kafue Flats especially in terms of the vegetation, water and fires, because we all know that a well-managed ecosystem is more resilient to the climate shocks such as drought and flood. Therefore, concerted efforts from all partners are needed to manage the Kafue Flats and I wish to reiterate the ministry’s support on this noble cause,”

“There is urgent need for sustainable solutions in the Kafue Flats for people and wildlife for a brighter future,” said Dr. Rich Beilfuss, President and CEO of the International Crane Foundation. “We must all work together to safeguard the future of the Kafue Flats and its incredible wildlife, including cranes and the endemic Kafue lechwes,”

The Kafue Flats Restoration Partnership will combine the efforts of these three institutions more vigorously with local communities to prevent further degradation in the Kafue Flats. The partnership’s vision will serve as a model for balancing ecological conservation and economic development in a protected area floodplain ecosystem for the benefit of both people and nature.

Collaborative Action to Address South Africa’s Snaring Crisis

The EWT pledges less talk and more action to address South Africa’s snaring crisis at the inaugural Snare Mitigation Symposium

140 delegates attended the inaugural Snare Mitigation Symposium

Twenty-two speakers presented at the Snare Mitigtation Symposium

One of the Snare Mitigation Symposium panel discussions

WARNING: SENSITIVE IMAGES BELOW

The importance of less talk and more action to address the snaring crisis in South Africa is key to the conservation of all species.

This, and the need for greater collaboration and partnerships to address the negative impacts from the illegal snaring of wildlife, were among the outcomes of the inaugural two-day national Snare Mitigation Symposium in Pretoria.

The meeting of 140 delegates delved into the impacts, drivers and solutions to this increasing threat to wildlife and the economy. Co-led by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT), the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and South African National Parks (SANParks), the inaugural Snare Mitigation Symposium was held at Environment House on 10 and 11 September 2024.

It brought together leading experts in wildlife crime, government officials and representatives of numerous stakeholders across the sector to examine the multifaceted aspects of the snaring crisis. The purpose was to understand existing and potential new complexities, and to share experiences and knowledge to reduce the problem both inside and outside conservation areas, in order to identify and co-create workable solutions for the benefit of people and the environment.

Snaring is motivated by complex socio-economic and cultural drivers and the symposium explored snaring from a myriad of angles and viewpoints. Information gained highlighted that animals are snared largely for personal or commercial use and is occurring at unsustainable rates across all provinces and in diverse landscapes. Sadly, many species including leopard, lion, hyena and other predators are killed as by-catch in snares originally set for bushmeat.

A key insight from the symposium is that we need more community interaction amongst stakeholders towards achieving positive outcomes for this threat to wildlife. Communities living with wildlife, and those linked to snaring, need to form an integral of the solutions being proposed, and to be undertaken, to address snaring.

No solution will be credible without the involvement of the relevant community voices in co-development of solutions. Solutions need to be diverse, purposely inclusive and tailored to, and by, the people living in the affected areas. Technological advances were showcased to improve snare detection and data collection.

Among the legal solutions highlighted by Ashleigh Dore, the EWT’s Wildlife and Law Project Manager, the need for legal reform to ensure laws applicable to snaring are the same across the country. Ashleigh also introduced a restorative justice approach to respond to snaring. Restorative justice is a holistic, inclusive and problem solving approach to justice that involves all parties involved in or impacted by the crime to (1) identify and respond to harm from the crime and (2) prevent reoffence.

Senior Conservation Manager Lourens Leeuwner, during his presentation on the threats of snaring countrywide, highlighted the results of the EWT’s recent project and proof of concept to determine whether anti-poaching dogs could be used for snare detection. The Canine Conservation Unit had spent several days testing techniques to detect snares in a farming and conservation area in Limpopo. Using two EWT anti-poaching canines, Ruger and Kisha, the team set snares in the veld before sending out rangers to find the items. While rangers only found some of the snares placed for the test, the canines had, in all cases, successfully tracked the scent of the person who had planted the snares and other items, finding most of the snares. As further proof that this technique works, the dogs were taken on a routine patrol of a farm that has problems with poachers using snares to catch wildlife. During this patrol, Ruger discovered a snare that had been planted by a real-life poacher. While there is a lot more work that needs to be done, this is proof that the concept works – an extra tool in the arsenal to combat poaching.

Among the key decisions adopted as outcomes included further research on the drivers and alternative livelihood solutions, more cohesive legislation to address snaring and other wildlife crimes, more centralised reporting and monitoring to ascertain the extent of the problem, and creating a greater understanding of the impact of snaring not only on biodiversity, but also on the economy and well-being of communities.

At a workshop following the event, the host organisations strategised next steps related to key themes and action points identified during the symposium that will include a wide range of stakeholders. Looking to the future, greater teamwork and communication between State, private sector and civil society will be cultivated to find sustainable long-term solutions for both people and wildlife.

A wire snare set to catch animals by the neck. ©Cape Leopard Trust

A snare setup in front of an animal burrow. ©Cape Leopard Trust

A wire snare along a fence line where many animals move. ©Cape Leopard Trust

X-ray photos of a caracal and porcupine killed by snares. ©COGH SPCA

Most snares are made from wire but rope and cable are also used. ©Cape Leopard Trust

An example of a wire snare. ©Cape Leopard Trust

Collected snare material ©Endangered Wildlife Trust

African wild dog found dead in snare ©Endangered Wildlife Trust

Spotted hyena found dead in snare ©Endangered Wildlife Trust

Buffalo found dead in snare ©Endangered Wildlife Trust

The unfinished journey: capturing Wattled Cranes for conservation

By Dr. Lara Fuller, Drakensberg Project Coordinator, South Africa for the African Crane Conservation Programme

Wattled Cranes close to the camp site

Wattled Cranes are globally Vulnerable. They move with the available waters in large floodplains across south-central Africa through several countries including Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Malawi. It is this movement that is vital for conservationists to understand so that conservation goals can be impactful.

Wattled Cranes are notoriously difficult to catch as they have excellent vision and they are not easily coerced into an area, which most capture techniques rely on.

Charles Mpofu of Botswana Wild Bird Trust (WBT)/Okavango Wilderness Project recently approached the EWT for assistance in capturing and handling cranes. Given the synergies between our work, we accepted and I travelled to Botswana to start work on a project that will take some time to complete.

Our first step on the journey was to test the transmitter and harness design by trialling them on captive Wattled Cranes. Out of this work some modifications were made to the transmitter by its developer SpoorTrack to design the dimension specifically for the species. The second step was to understand the best technique to capture Wattled cranes in the Okavango Delta. As the environment is a wilderness with multiple natural dangers, we spoke to the only people who had attempted to catch the species in the Delta — Pete Hancock and Ralph Bousefield in Maun, and Kevin Mcann who had joined the team based in South Africa.

After much discussion the main technique advised was light trapping at a roost site. This approach allows for opportunistic capture in a dynamic and changing environment and allows a capture team to avoid predatory dangers. We had not previously used this technique and learning a new procedure in the wilderness was never going to be easy.

The third step was to find the birds in the vast flood plains of the delta. Charles narrowed this down with aerial surveys to identify a flock in accessible reach, and he spoke to lodge owners and field guides in that area.

On 13 May we started a two-week expedition on the Gomoti River, amply equipped with two Mokoros (a traditional canoe for traveling on the shallow flood plains), two Landcruisers, solar charging battery and remote camping equipment. The first two days were spent ground surveying for Wattled Cranes and learning from a local NPO ‘Connect Trust’ where the accessible roads and river crossings were. Travelling from base camp to the capture site took three to four hours a day due to the difficulty of sandy roads. Understanding where the cranes roosted was vital, and because we were losing important hours on the road, we moved to a new camp in the bush from where we could easily monitor the cranes dawn to dusk. Despite the campsite move the Wattled Cranes were incredibly elusive in sharing details of their roost sites. Flying in and out of foraging grounds in the dark, a mechanism to protect them from predators.

After a few days of 6am mornings and 9pm evenings we had identified a daylight foraging space to which the birds returned to every day. This site had recently been burned and would mark our capture attempts for the remaining expedition. Establishing safe passage across the river for night capture we set up a system using the mokoros so that we could reach the grounds safely. At this site we made numerous attempts to capture the cranes using bird hides, toe noose matts, and using the flashlight technique. Although we came within a few meters of the cranes, numerous difficulties were encountered. Lechwe hampered our attempts to capture during daylight hours by threatening to beat the cranes into the traps.

Wattled Cranes close to the camp site

During the night hours hippos were out foraging, and lions could be heard hunting. Not an ideal scenario when you’re travelling on foot. Other aspects obstructing capture was the unhelpful moon cycle, and although there were numerous breeding elephant herds they were very regimented in their movements and were easily avoided.

With a lot of experience and lessons learned we attempted our second expedition on the Boro River from 7 July 2024 for 10 days. This time we armed ourselves with some camouflaged toe noose traps, some very bright flashlights and a FLIR. One of the most difficult aspects we found during the night captures was that we could only see as far as a flashlight. This is a little discouraging when running into the night after a crane. The FLIR proved to be a valued member of the team and was excellently designed for its purpose.

The second expedition was supported by the prestigious game lodge Xigera in the heart of the Okavango permanent wetland. As we explored the reserve we were delighted to find over 20 pairs of Wattled Cranes, enabling a number of capture attempts on the same night at different sites. We were hopeful. However, although we were spending up to 19 hours in the field, observing where the pairs moved to during the day and attempting captures at night, we found that there were only four pairs that had steady territories. This was because these birds were starting to breed. Despite this the expedition attempted eight night captures. We came as close as four meters to one crane before the mud tied up Charles and the Landcruiser. We even came within couple of meters of capturing with toe noose matts, until the Buffalo and Impala decided to race the cranes to the traps.

It was T.S. Elliot who said: “It is the journey not the arrival that matters”.

As we reflect on these expeditions and consider the way forward, Charles will be joining us in South Africa along with colleagues in the African Crane Conservation Programme (ACCP) from Uganda, Kenya and Zambia, an American colleague from the International Crane Foundation and a number of South African colleagues from ACCP and Wildlife Energy Programme, to attempt to capture Grey Crowned and Blue Cranes in Mpumalanga. This will form a part of a workshop where we will share our knowledge and experience in Crane and other bird captures to create more innovative approaches to captures in especially the difficult flood plains of the south-central Africa. These will include questionnaires that will draw out the why, when, where and how Crane captures are performed across the globe. This will be compiled under the auspicious IUCN Crane Specialist Group to develop best practice guidelines for captures. In addition, we have through this process bridged a gap between generations of experienced crane catches enabling us to build on the knowledge of the past and not reinventing old new techniques. Conservation relies on collaboration and working together, and these attempts are creating a stronger team of skilled conservationist across Africa for the benefit of crane species. What better example could we have of conservation in action!

Chales Mpofu of the Wild Bird Trust Okavango Wilderness Project using a drone to survey the vast area of the Delta.

Johannesburg City Park and Zoo team with Charles Mpofu of the Botswana Wild Bird Trust and Matt Pretorious EWT who assisted with training on applying a harness.

The remote campsite adjacent to the capture site.

Capture site where 10 Wattled Cranes were inhabiting

African Conservation Forum emerges with united voice on conservation and biodiversity

By Eleanor Momberg

The African Conservation Forum (ACF), hosted by Kenya in June this year, was an important opportunity for the continent to develop a unified and collaborative position related to its conservation requirements ahead of the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress.

Endangered Wildlife Trust CEO Yolan Friedmann, Head of Conservation Ian Little, Head of the African Crane Conservation Programme Kerryn Morrison and the ICF/EWT Partnership’s East African Regional Manager Adalbert Aineo-mucunguzi were among the NGO’s representative at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Africa Conservation Forum.

Held in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme “African Solutions for Nature and People: Creating transformative responses to the biodiversity and climate crisis in Africa,” the three-day forum was attended by governments, IUCN members, international and African NGO’s, business representatives, Indigenous Peoples and scientific experts gather to discuss biodiversity, conservation and the sustainable development challenges faced by the continent.

This was the first time that the three IUCN sub-regions in Africa, had gathered under one roof to discuss the significant challenges facing the continent as a result of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Speaking after the Forum, the EWT’s Dr Ian Little said within the ACF the role of governments and NGO’s are equally important. Unlike some other international conventions and forums, the NGO sector is welcomed in ACF high-level forums and are able to make a constructive contribution.

Within Africa, he said, governments play a huge role in setting policies and laws, but it is often the NGO sector that implement the work on the ground. This is largely due to a shortage of dedicated conservation funding and capacity on a continent that is faced with numerous other social challenges.

The ACF’s role in setting the global agenda for conservation has been elevated through the hosting of a united meeting for the African sub-regions. All countries that attended are members of the global IUCN, but, because Africa is usually poorly represented at many global meetings, the 2024 ACF had allowed Africa, as a continent, to consolidate its thinking and expectations ahead of such meetings.

Kerryn Morrison, who is also the International Crane Foundation’s (ICF) Africa director, agreed, saying Africa emerged from the ACF with a coordinated voice.

“In so many global organisations the African voice is lost and we often only hear the North American and European voice. Having a stronger voice that represents Africa means that the continent will play a more solid role at the table,” she said. “This Forum provided a platform for Africa to come together, talk about issues and show more cohesiveness. This could assist the continent in accessing financing and the capacity needed for conservation.”

The sub-regions did, however, hold separate meetings during the ACF in order to compare regionally relevant notes and then produce a clear position of what the continent requires to achieve the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework, especially Target 3, which requires the conservation of at least 30 percent of terrestrial, inland water and coastal marine areas by 2030.

“We were able, as a continent to determine how one should approach trying to achieve this ambitious goal, which has strategic thinking, funding and capacity requirements. It was about formulating positions and identifying synergy and resultant partnership opportunities,” said Little.

“With regard to greater collaboration to reach our conservation goals, Africa is in a position where a significant amount of the driving force in conservation is in the NGOs, whether national or international, so it is important to pull them together, with government support, to achieve what needs to be done,” he said.

In a post forum statement, the IUCN said the ACF had concluded with a call for inclusive, cross-sector action to preserve nature and biodiversity.

Delegates had agreed that cooperation across countries, governments, communities and sectors was vital to effectively address the significant challenges facing the continent due to the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Among the key outcomes was a new call for action in preparation for the next IUCN World Conservation Congress to be held in the United Arab Emirates in 2025. The IUCN Congress in turn sets the global conservation agenda for the years ahead.

IUCN Vice President and Regional Councillor Imèn Meliane said: “We’ve run out of time: existing actions are inadequate and true transformation means moving from transformation rhetoric to integrated actions in the biodiversity-climate-energy nexus now.”

Dr Alfred Mutua, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife committed to the hosting of all future African Conservation Forums in Kenya.

Going, going… Gone… EWT working to reverse habitat loss in South Africa’s drylands

By Zanne Brink, Drylands Conservation Programme Manager

“The eye of the beholder” has always been an interesting emotional sense that has dictated a person’s view or outlook on the Dry Lands of South Africa, and further afield. Those individuals drawn to vast open spaces with its unique endemic biodiversity and specialist species, versus those individuals who dread the “nothingness”.

For the most part, “arid”, or “dry” areas are characterised by limited natural water resources and, to the layman, large open areas with plants growing relatively low to the ground, and very little cellphone reception. These arid areas receive on average between 50 to 300 mm of rain per annum, making the arid regions very sensitive to climate variability with big impacts on endemic plants and animals adapted to this environment. Survival is dependant on evading drought or harsh periods through migration or endurance in the form of soil, water and vegetation management. No matter how you look at it, the arid areas are exposed to extreme weather and climatic occurrences, such as droughts and heatwaves. This results in these landscapes being vulnerable to rapid and devastating environmental change and land degradation.

The vast open landscapes of southern Namibia, the Western and the Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa are home to three significant arid biomes: the Namib Desert, Nama Karoo, and the Succulent Karoo. Despite the harsh conditions experienced in these biomes, it is a fact that not only species, but biodiversity, and dare I say communities living in these biomes, are highly adapted and diverse.

In arid environments, mobility is the most important adaptation to extreme conditions. Animals and people can move from one area to another when plants do not spread fast enough. Increasing temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events are altering ecosystems and placing additional stress on already vulnerable ecosystems and communities. Temperatures in southern Africa are expected to rise at a rate 1.5 to 2 times that of the rest of the world, exacerbating the possibility of biodiversity loss and climate change challenges for communities. Arid areas are also known as the most sparsely populated areas of South Africa, and in recent years these communities have been shrinking due to socio-economic drivers.

Ongoing research allows us to understand these changes brought on by both short-term droughts and climate-induced shifts. This is very important, as natural and social responses to an ever-increasing changing environment due to increased frequencies in drought occurrences is vital. South Africa’s meat and wool ‘breadbasket’ depends on changes implemented at a farm level and through legislation, to include a different style of farming to adapt to less water and increased temperatures over extended periods.

But, it must also be understood that arid regions have a slow response rate, with long-term monitoring over several years needed to understand impacts on fauna, flora, avians and invertebrates. Even with stringent monitoring, it does not provide answers to feed into the need for livelihood protection for communities and biodiversity. With growing economic needs, the search for renewable energies have started focussing on areas seen as low productivity areas, and slowly started desertification through development-related damage in a sensitive landscape.

Traditionally, small livestock farming was the most widespread economic opportunity in the arid areas. However, rampant overgrazing in some areas has caused severe land degradation, leading to a compromise in the ecological resilience of the areas. Poor rural communities in these areas have a particularly high dependency on well-functioning ecosystems, and currently, their resilience to climate change impacts is very low. A recent surge in renewable energy production has fuelled development across much of the landscape, which, in most cases, has left a shameful legacy of environmental degradation in the form of vegetation clearing, water abstraction and pollution, soil compaction and road development, all in the name of growth.

There is an urgent need to manage the arid regions of South Africa more effectively, to benefit both the landscape and people living off it. This includes injecting much-needed support for ecologically based adaptation (EbA), sustainable land management (SLM) and climate-smart agricultural practices, while tackling the negative impacts of land degradation.

The EWT Drylands Conservation Programme is working with landowners to champion the conservation of this spectacular landscape. We collaborate with all stakeholders to promote alternative economies and sustainable agriculture over unsustainable developments, such as hydraulic fracturing and uranium mining. We focus on enhancing habitat protection and improvement, and driving innovative research, to better understand the unique species in the Karoo. This has allowed us to “rediscover” lost species such as De Winton’s Golden Mole (Cryptochloris wintoni).

Through our work, it allows us to collaborate with the communities within the landscape and to undertake activities that achieve specific conservation goals in each of these. By providing guidance in Sustainable Land Management (SLM), the EWT ensures that communities in landscapes benefit along with the ecosystems and wildlife that share these spaces through the responsible use of the available natural resources. The Karoo Forever website was developed for the Drylands of South Africa to provide a knowledge-sharing platform with downloadable resources focused on sustainable land management (Welcome to Karoo Forever).

It is not all doom and gloom, but a realistic look at our beloved fragile arid environments is crucial to allow for a united focus on how to balance nature and development. As financial constraints impede the application and implementation of ecological practices across this arid landscape, industry and conservation along with all communities and stakeholders need to find common ground to benefit man and environment.

The need, and the potential to do things better, must be emphasised. This can only be done through our own actions and allowing locally led research to show the way to sustainability, allowing nature to benefit, and does not limit people’s wellbeing. We, as a community, must make climate change and associated concerns a part of our day to day thinking and planning to build resilience in livelihoods and economies, to reduce our vulnerabilities, and the associated conflict.

Give our arid regions a chance and break the cycle of nature loss. We do have huge potential to enable nature and people to thrive together in a changing climate.