A speck of hope in a fragmented landscape: the story of the Widenham Wetland Protected Environment

By Joshua Weeber, Threatened Amphibian Programme

Critically Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog

The Windenham Wetland Protected Environment on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast has formally been declared.

The story of this Protected Environment began almost a decade ago. In 2015 the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) initiated monitoring programmes for selected, critical wetland habitats supporting the Endangered frog Hyperolius pickersgilli (Pickersgill’s Reed Frog) in the eThekwini Municipality. One of the selected wetlands was the ‘Widenham Wetland’ located in the suburb of Widenham, immediately south of the town of Umkomaas, approximately 45km south of Durban and within the eThekwini Municipality. The area is home to over 27,400 people with over 7,800 households of which 8.8% are informal dwellings. The site comprises of eight different erven and was acquired by the municipality in 2010 after a proposed residential development on the site was stopped because of the discovery of the then Critically Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.

Widenham is a small (~1.6ha) channelled valley bottom wetland that comprises a mix of alien thicket / woodland and herbaceous marshland. It is located within the lower reaches of a small coastal stream system with relatively broad valley-bottom and a gentle longitudinal slope gradient and formed immediately upstream of the frontal dune system characteristic of coastal KZN.

Currently, much of the area within and around the Protected Environment has been transformed, and biennial wetland health assessments since 2015 show that the Present Ecological State (PES) of the wetland is classified as a D, which is Largely Modified. In short, Widenham Wetland represented a small, impacted system surrounded by urban infrastructure that was not a particularly intact state, but one that still provided habitat for a key endangered focal species for the EWT in the province.

In 2019 the EWT initiated actions to protect the Widenham wetland and drive long-term management and rehabilitation interventions that would safeguard this little natural space and the species within it for generations to come. A logical approach to achieve this goal was through Biodiversity Stewardship – an approach to securing land in biodiversity priority areas through entering into agreements with landowners with the intention of securing the biodiversity of South Africa. Fortunately, the wetland was purchased by the municipality, who were key partners in the project. A site assessment indicated that the area qualified for the Protected Environment category provided rehabilitation actions were developed and guided by a detailed Protected Area Management Plan. Working with key stakeholders such as eThekwini Municipality and Verdant Environmental, a detailed rehabilitation and management plan was developed.

Critically Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog

After many months of waiting, and assistance from our partners, Conservation Outcomes, the Widenham Wetland was finally gazetted as a Protected Environment on the 27th June 2024. The timing of this achievement has been crucial – the EWT’s Threatened Amphibian Programme launched an exciting new project in early 2024 aimed at enhancing the ecological integrity of key wetland sites to improve local biodiversity and provide ecological goods and services to nearby communities. One of our priority sites linked to this project is Widenham Wetland, and efforts are already under way to improve the ecological functioning of this site through targeted alien vegetation clearing.

Working with the local municipality we are also in the process of implementing an extensive rehabilitation plan which will include redesigning a section of the wetland and revegetating impacted areas. All of these actions will be monitoring through wetland health assessments as well as passive acoustic monitoring of the isolated subpopulation of Pickersgill’s Reed Frog that rely on this wetland. We hope our actions will safeguard this little speck of hope into the future.

This work has been in process for many years and would not have been possible without the efforts of Jeanne Tarrant and Cherise Acker, among many others. Similarly, our generous funders have been integral to this conservation success story. We thank Rainforest Trust, Synchronicity Earth, and Anglo American for their support.

ICF/EWT Partnership Shines at IUCN’s first Africa Conservation Forum

By Dr Adalbert Aineo-mucunguzi, EWT/ICF Parnership East African regional manager, African Crane Conservation Programme

From left to right: Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, Dr Mwangi Joseph, Ms Kerryn Morrison and Dr Ian Little

In June 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) convened the Africa Conservation Forum (ACF), one of the leading regional platforms to strategically influence the sustainability agenda and biodiversity conservation. The Forum provided an avenue for sharing information and knowledge, building partnerships, and connecting key stakeholders from different parts of Africa. The IUCN Africa Conservation Forum was organised by the three IUCN offices according to sub-regions in Africa: West and Central Africa (PACO), North Africa (Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation – MED), and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO).

During the forum, the International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Trust (ICF/EWT) Partnership hosted a side event workshop titled “Nature-based Solutions for effective community conservation and climate action”. This event brought together conservation practitioners, researchers and policy makers from ESARO, PACO and MED regions of Africa to share the benefits, challenges and lessons learnt about implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to enhance conservation and climate action.

Moderated by our own Head of Conservation, Dr. Ian Little, the one and half hour workshop was dominated by presentations from ICF/EWT staff. Our East Africa regional Director, Dr Adalbert Aine-omucunguzi gave the opening presentation on the “what and why of Nature-based Solutions in conservation, climate action and livelihoods” largely drawing examples from our work across East Africa. This was followed by a panel discussion where Dr Mwangi Joseph, our Kenya Country Manager, discussed Nature-based solutions in agricultural landscapes and how they benefit conservation and climate action, while Ms Kerryn Morrison, the VP International-Director for Africa, discussed the opportunities for scaling up Nature-based Solutions across the continent. The other panelist, Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, former Head of Conservation at EWT, and currently the Regional Vice Chair for IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, discussed the effectiveness of Protected and Conserved Areas as Nature-based Solutions.

From left to right: Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert, Dr Mwangi Joseph, Ms Kerryn Morrison and Dr Ian Little

During the question and answer session, participants shared insights and experiences about scalable NbS that enhance ecosystem conservation and climate action and discussed best practices for unlocking the potential of NbS across different ecosystems on the African continent. During this discussion new collaborations within the NbS space were also formed.

The event emphasised the need for conservation organisations to acknowledge that most NbS have been practiced by local communities over generations and they thus have rich indigenous knowledge to utilise in the execution of their projects and programmes. It was also agreed that scientist should not assume that communities lack this knowledge and that, if proper community engagement is done, nature-based solutions can offer integrated avenues for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change challenges while advancing sustainable development goals. They have the potential to simultaneously address the root causes of climate change, bolster resilience against its impacts, and foster adaptability across social, environmental, and economic domains.

EWT celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity with a business summit

By Catherine Kühn, EWT National Biodiversity and Business Network.

EWT Senior Manager Sustainable Financing, Kishaylin Chetty, sharing information biodiversity planning

In recognition of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) on 22 May 2024, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) National Biodiversity and Business Network (NBBN) hosted the first of four workshops for 2024 for its Business Advisory Group (BAG) members.

This summit is part of a project spearheaded by the NBBN and supported by the international policy and advocacy group, Business for Nature (BfN).

South Africa is one of four countries to receive support from BfN as part of their Business Action and Advocacy for the Planet project, with the aim being to provide guidance to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) on Biodiversity and Business-related topics. This includes how to effectively incorporate the private sector in the implementation of the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework in South Africa.

Working with Malaysia, South Africa, Columbia and Chile, BfN supports business-government dialogues to ensure the role of business and financial institutions is fully recognised in their updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The NBSAPs are the policy tool to ensure successful and effective implementation of the CBD. South Africa’s NBSAP currently covers 2015-2025 and is under review.

Dr Gabi Teren, Programme Manager of the NBBN, says: “South Africa, has in many ways, an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in this space”. Because all businesses depend on biodiversity in some way, the responsibility is on business and government to ensure that transformative policy measures required for this sector to make a positive contribution to the natural world, are in place.

It is hoped that through the BAG, businesses and financial institutions will be able to contribute effectively, and meaningfully, to the 30×30 biodiversity targets which state that 30% of terrestrial and marine areas need to be formally conserved by 2030. According to South Africa’s Land Audit report, 2017, estimates suggest that about 79% of South Africa’s land is privately owned. This includes agricultural lands, game reserves, and other types of private property.

The event on International Biodiversity Day unpacked the challenges and gaps for South African businesses to successfully mainstream biodiversity into their business practices. Around 40 delegates representing 27 businesses, State-Owned Enterprises, and advisory organisations, including SANBI and several financial institutions, participated in the BAG meeting held at the Country Club Johannesburg in Auckland Park. The turnout was heartening as it conveyed a clear message that businesses are willing and keen to learn more about biodiversity mainstreaming and what this means for their industries.

Taking the form of an interactive dialogue, the workshop focused on Target 15 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which encourages businesses to assess, disclose and reduce biodiversity-related risks and negative impacts in their field of operation. This means that businesses are being urged to ensure they comply with the Frameworks’ targets to help them increase their positive impacts and reduce their negative impacts on the environment.

EWT Senior Manager Sustainable Financing, Kishaylin Chetty, sharing information biodiversity planning

One of the key insights that emerged at the workshop was that biodiversity often takes a back seat to climate change in business strategies. This highlighted the role that organisations like the EWT have in helping to guide businesses in South Africa to incorporate biodiversity decision-making into their business practices. Unlike climate change, where some disclosure requirements are mandatory, biodiversity-related disclosure practices are not. Through the awareness raising work that the EWT’s Biodiversity Disclosure Project has been undertaking with their biodiversity performance ratings of South African companies, this is beginning to change. We are also hoping that through the BAG dialogues there will be awareness raising around this very issue.

During the workshop delegates provided feedback on the outcome of breakaway sessions noting, amongst others, that there is a strong need for capacity building, training, and awareness initiatives tailored for businesses that have chosen to embark on a biodiversity mainstreaming journey. They also commented that the numerous tools available are overwhelming for many businesses, hence the need for more training on how to use these tools effectively and appropriately.

There was a collective narrative that called for more clarity in South African policy frameworks, as well as more comprehensive enforcement of South Africa’s robust legislation. A noteworthy comment that also came out of the BAG was that Civil society, financial institutions, and investors need to realise the power-key they hold in steering the achievement of the sustainability goals through their influence.

What this means is that these stakeholders (consumers, investors, finance) should be asking for information about companies’ sustainability risk and impact management to make informed decisions. This information will help hold companies accountable, and drive demand for products and services with more positive and less negative impacts on nature.

The in-person workshop, which was pivotal in highlighting the challenges, gaps and the needs still hindering the way forward in the biodiversity mainstreaming journey for businesses in South Africa, is to be followed by three hybrid workshops in the coming months. One attendee pointed to the importance of the event as it provided perspective of what other industries were doing and the various approaches to biodiversity in the broad sense.

Other delegates noted that “they’ve never felt so engaged in a workshop like this before” and many agreed that the outcomes of this workshop would ultimately assist in informing national policy aligned to the GBF and ignite further conversations and actions that will pave the way towards a healthier and more positive relationship with nature.

If you feel your company should add their voice to this important dialogue, please contact Catherine at CatherineK@ewt.org.za and follow www.nbbnbdp.org for project updates.

Ntakadzeni Tshidada addressing the group on behalf of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

World Environment Day 2024

World Environment Day 2024: Restoring Land and Securing Our Future

World Environment Day 2024 marks a pivotal moment to reflect on the urgent need for ecosystem restoration. On 5 June, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) joined millions worldwide in raising awareness about land rehabilitation, desertification prevention, and drought resilience.

This year’s theme, “Our Land. Our Future,” highlights the critical role of conservation. Moreover, it aligns with the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’s #GenerationRestoration movement, which seeks to reverse environmental damage by 2030.

The Global Crisis of Land Degradation

Recent findings from the United Nations’ Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists reveal alarming statistics—nearly 50% of the world’s rangelands face degradation due to overuse, climate change, and biodiversity loss. In South Africa, afforestation, mining, and land conversion contribute significantly to this crisis.

The EWT has taken proactive steps, establishing over 100,000 hectares of protected areas and clearing invasive species to restore vital water catchment zones. These efforts improve ecosystem services, particularly in climate-sensitive regions. However, a nationwide shift in natural resource management is essential to meet Sustainable Development Goals on land degradation neutrality.

The Human and Economic Impact of Environmental Decline

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), over two billion hectares of land—more than 20% of the Earth’s surface—are degraded. This affects 3.2 billion people, disproportionately harming Indigenous communities, small-scale farmers, and rural populations. Droughts alone impact 55 million people annually, threatening food security and livelihoods.

If left unchecked, land degradation could reduce global food productivity by 12%, driving food prices up by 30% by 2040. Africa holds significant restoration potential, with over 720 million hectares that could be rehabilitated. The Pan-African Ecosystem Restoration Action Agenda aims to restore 200 million hectares by 2030.

World Environment Day 2024

Innovative Solutions for a Sustainable Future

The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme addresses climate change and unsustainable land use in southern Africa. By promoting eco-tourism and supporting local enterprises, the initiative fosters economic resilience while preserving ecosystems.

Governments and financial institutions must also play a role. Redirecting agricultural subsidies towards regenerative farming and small-scale producers can enhance food security without compromising ecosystems. UNEP estimates that investments in nature-based solutions must double to $542 billion by 2030 to meet global climate and biodiversity targets.

The Path Forward: Policy and Collaboration

With the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) approaching in October 2024, nations must reaffirm their commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Adequate funding, particularly for developing nations, is critical to implementing National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).

In South Africa, collaboration between government, businesses, and communities is vital. The EWT’s carbon trading agreements in the Free State grasslands demonstrate how sustainable practices can generate revenue while protecting biodiversity.

A Call to Action for World Environment Day 2024

World Environment Day 2024 reminds us that healthy land is as vital as clean air and water. By restoring degraded ecosystems, we safeguard food security, biodiversity, and human well-being. Every stakeholder—from policymakers to private citizens—must contribute to this collective mission.

The time to act is now. Together, we can secure a sustainable future for generations to come.

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.

World Migratory Bird Day 2024: Protecting Insects to Safeguard Bird Migration

To mark World Migratory Bird Day 2024 on 11 May 2024 attention was focused on the importance of insects and their impact on migratory birds.

The theme: Protect Insects, Protect Birds highlighted the importance of insects for insectivorous migratory birds which rely on a variety of insects for their energy as they migrate north in winter. A reduction in insect populations threatens the survival of these species.

The decline in insects worldwide is being caused by not only habitat loss, but also the use of pesticides, which have the knock-on effect of increasing bird and other insectivore mortalities.

Although no official figures have been released yet, early indications are that there have been fewer Lesser Kestrels and Amur Falcons visiting South Africa this year. While insect declines may be a contributing factor, it may also be attributed to the fact that there was exceptional rainfall further north in East Africa resulting in migratory birds remaining in areas of abundant resources instead of travelling further south for food — to South Africa, for example. That is why there may have been lower numbers of migratory falcons and other species such as White Stork in southern Africa this past summer.

Counts conducted across South Africa by Endangered Wildlife Trust field officers, particularly in the Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal in January and February 2024 range from thousands of Falcons and Kestrels in the Hanover area on 20 January 2024 to only a few hundred at a roost in Standerton, Klerksdorp, in Underberg, Victoria West and Beaufort West Areas. Between 160 and 180 of the raptors were counted at De Aar in February this year. These figures are still being collated for official publication.

The report on the Status of the World’s Migratory Species and the review of the Mid-Term Implementation Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP) released at the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species in March 2024 shows that over the past 30 years, 70 CMS-listed migratory species – including the Egyptian vulture– have become more endangered. The report highlights habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, as well as over-exploitation alongside climate change, pollution and invasive species as having profound impacts on migratory species.

It recognises that the widespread use of pesticides in intensive agriculture is a key factor in the reported declines in insect populations. Many of these substances also have a secondary poisoning effect on birds that may feed on insects killed by the pesticides.

The decline in insect numbers can result in food shortage for a wide range of species, not least the many insectivorous migratory birds heading north from South Africa to Europe, the Middle East and Asia for the winter.

Birds play an important role in the natural environment, especially in pest control. Besides a shortage of insects, an over-population of insects in some areas due to, for example locust plagues, can also affect migratory birds as plant health is compromised and agriculture is harmed. Extensive use of certain pesticides in locust and quelea control in Africa also has a substantial impact on non-target species, including a wide range of migratory raptors that make use of these species as a food source.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) plays an important role in securing natural environments for migratory birds through collaboration within the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and projects being undertaken to restore wetlands and other habitats along migratory routes across Africa, including a focus on cranes through the EWT/International Crane Foundation partnership.

In line with the report’s call for greater action, the EWT joins countries and communities around the world to support the need to expand efforts to not only tackle the illegal and unsustainable taking of migratory species, but also to increase efforts to tackle climate change, habitat loss for both migratory birds and insects and to address issued such as noise, chemical and plastic pollution which affects all migratory species.