RAT DETECTIVES CONTINUE GOOD WORK
Annie DuPre-Reynolds, Manager, EWT Wildlife in Trade Programme
AnnieD@ewt.org.za
Over the past few years, we have worked with our partner, APOPO in Tanzania, to train African Giant Pouched Rats in detection work. These rats are now capable of smelling pangolin scales hidden in other substances and masking agents. The use of wildlife detection rats is very new, and we are excited to say that the proof-of-concept phase of this project was successful!
The proof-of-concept phase was generously funded by the UK government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and the US government through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We’re happy to share that this work will continue, thanks to funding from the German development agency GIZ and the Wold Conservation Network’s Pangolin Crisis Fund. The next phases of the project will expand the rat’s training to include detection of other wildlife products while developing unique deployment strategies to position the rats where they are needed most.
Thank you to all of our funders – watch this space for more updates on our Detection Rats!
TAKING A LEAP FOR FROGS
Dr Jeanne Tarrant, Manager, EWT Threatened Amphibian Programme
JeanneT@ewt.org.za
The EWT’s Leap Day for Frogs campaign has been running for six years, with the 2020 iteration taking place during a Leap Year. This year our theme, ‘Take the Leap’, invited the public to take a leap of faith in doing something towards recognising the importance of our amphibious friends.
Globally, amphibians remain the most threatened back-boned animals on Earth, with the latest assessments showing 41% of species in this group as being threatened with extinction. That’s a huge proportion of an ancient group of animals that has been successful over the past 300 million years, inhibiting all corners of the planet – except in places that are too cold, too hot or too far away (amphibians can’t make it to some of the more isolated islands, for example the Galapagos have no amphibians). But now, because of loss of habitat, pollution of freshwater and a deadly fungus, amphibians are facing a very real and rapid demise. A warning that our changing planet is not able to support life in the way that it should.
These sobering statistics are not exactly cause for celebration, so why have fun in the name of frogs? Leap Day for Frogs is about highlighting the plight of these creatures, but creating an appreciation for them is the first step towards recognition of their importance. Leap Day for Frogs aims to do this, and invites members of the public to get involved in whichever way they see fit – be this frog art or poetry at schools, cleaning up a local wetland, learning more about frogs or playing a game of leap frog
We are relatively fortunate in South Africa where 20 of our 135 frog species are threatened, so not quite as high a proportion as globally. We are also blessed with an amazing diversity of frogs that inhabit our vast array of habitats from montane fynbos in the west, to coastal forest in the east and everything in between – rain frogs, ghost frogs, stream frogs, puddle frogs, Giant Bullfrogs, tree frog….the list goes on.
For Leap Year this year we had over 1,250 people taking part in activities around the country, ranging from Highland dancers doing a fling for frogs, frog tattoos, school groups learning about frogs and wetlands, to park runners dressing up as frogs. As the EWT, we partnered for the 6th consecutive year with Kloof Conservancy to run a fun day of activities and a night frog walk at Ipithi Nature Reserve in Gillitts on 29 February. Turnout was great, considering the cold and wet weather, with 120 people attending. Local artist, Giffy Duminy, also raised awareness by painting incredible frog murals under the Elizabeth Bridge in Kloof. In Cape Town, our project team there led an exciting walk in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, finding several frog species, including tadpoles of the Critically Endangered Table Mountain Ghost Frog – our flagship species for a conservation research project we are coordinating on the mountain.
It is wonderful to see this event growing in reach year after year and a genuine interest from young and old alike in what really are some of the most fascinating creatures we are lucky enough to share the planet with.
This work is made possible by Rand Merchant Bank, Disney Conservation Fund and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: A TIME TO REFLECT ON OUR IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY
Annie DuPre-Reynolds, Manager, EWT Wildlife in Trade Programme
AnnieD@ewt.org.za
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has brought to the forefront new challenges and, therefore, opportunities in our lifetime. While we often feel invincible with our advanced technology, it is times like these that remind us we are powerless against nature. Millions of people around the world, working from home and watching the news, are stuck inside and feel disconnected from their environment. But the reality is the opposite – our impact on this planet over the past generations has a direct connection to the spread of this disease.
Deforestation and habitat reduction have driven wild animals out of their natural homes and into areas of human habitation. Continued demand for wildlife products means people encroach further into protected areas to extract wildlife and natural resources. The illegal wildlife trade, which is driven by human consumption, sees people (especially the poor and vulnerable at the lowest level of this supply chain) risking their health and safety to make a living.
As we expose ourselves to animals and plants in the wild and bring wildlife into urban areas as part of the wildlife trade, we increase the ways zoonotic diseases can hop from animals to humans. In our crowded world, viruses with high mutation rates can (relatively) quickly switch hosts in new ecosystems. In particular, the unregulated nature of illegal wildlife trade provides easy opportunities for pathogens to spread.
In 2012, journalist Jim Robbins wrote a prophetic piece in the New York Times. Disease, he observed, “is largely an environmental issue. Sixty percent of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans are zoonotic – they originate in animals. And more than two-thirds of those originate in wildlife.”
Was the decision by the United Nations to call 2020 a “super year for nature and biodiversity” also prophetic? Perhaps amongst the devastation caused by COVID-19, we will find the time and energy to consider our impact on this planet and its biodiversity. While the pandemic has delayed important international meetings on the environment and biodiversity, an increased focus on public-awareness and campaigning could bring positive impacts overall.
In February, COVID-19 drove the Chinese government to take drastic measures to stem illegal markets and ban wildlife consumption. Yes, there are loopholes that will continue to negatively impact wildlife. No, this was not a simple solution to the problems posed by illegal and unregulated wildlife trade. What remains to be seen is if consumer behaviour will change as a result of these regulations, and if pressure will reduce on some of the world’s most threatened and protected species.
Beyond the many lessons we will learn about public health and safety, we must keep in mind the impact we have on our environment. This too shall pass – and one day soon we will look back on COVID-19 as part of history. Will our attitude towards wildlife have changed? Will we have learned our lesson, and slowed exploitation of our planet’s biodiversity? Let us not take this lesson for granted and use this time to re-evaluate our actions on this planet and make sustainable choices now.
RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The Endangered Wildlife Trust fully supports the efforts of our government to stem the rate of transmission of the COVID-19 virus and is committed to playing our part in being a responsible global citizen.
As a result, the EWT head office will remain closed from Wednesday, 18 March, and we will not be engaging in any public events, meetings or gatherings. The EWT will, however, continue to operate at full steam, albeit from different locations.
Our staff are available on email and cell phone, and will hold meetings via various platforms such as Skype and Zoom. Our field staff remain committed to providing mission critical field services and support to our partners as required.
We wish all affected people a speedy recovery over this time, and we remain committed to seeing our beautiful country prosper once this difficult time has passed.
For more information please contact ewt@ewt.org.za
RISK, REPUTATION AND REPORTING: DOES BUSINESS HAVE A BIODIVERSITY BLIND SPOT?
Megan Murison, Programme Officer, EWT National Biodiversity and Business Network
MeganM@ewt.org.za
Often the link between biodiversity and business can be difficult to identify. On 18 February 2020, the EWT’s National Biodiversity and Business Network (NBBN) hosted their annual Indaba under the theme of risk and reputation. The biodiversity economy of South Africa encompasses business and economic activities that either directly depend on biodiversity for their core business or that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity through their activities. Therefore, the aim of the Indaba was to provide a knowledge sharing platform to explore biodiversity relating to:
- risk management and oversight
- reputation management
- increasing stakeholder activism
- sustainable financing disclosure and reporting
The keynote speaker was Chief Directorate: Biodiversity Specialist Monitoring and Services, Wadzi Mandivenyi, who highlighted the desperate need for business to become aware of the risks as well as the benefits of biodiversity to their activities. Notable presentations included those by the JSE Limited’s Shameela Soobramoney, Reputation Matter’s Regine le Roux, and Tracey Davies of Just Share. The Indaba was well attended, with over 60 participants representing a wide variety of business sectors. The NBBN, as well as its partners, recognise the importance of biodiversity to business and aims to build the capacity of business to act as a positive force for the conservation of biodiversity in South Africa.
POWERING PARTNERSHIPS IN AFRICA
Lourens Leeuwner, Manager, EWT Wildlife and Energy Programme
LourensL@ewt.org.za
The EWT’s Wildlife and Energy Programme (WEP) was recently contracted by Power Africa, a USAID-funded development programme, to set up utility and NGO partnerships in Africa. The focus of this project is to optimise electricity supply through reduced wildlife interactions and is modelled on the long-standing partnership between the EWT and Eskom.
Lourens Leeuwner, WEP Manager, and Constant Hoogstad, Senior Manager: Industry Partnerships, travelled to Kenya in February to meet with Kenya Generation (Kengen), Kenya transmission company (Ketraco), the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) as well as Kenya Power and Lighting Corporation (KPLC). Unlike South Africa, where all aspects of electricity generation, transmission and distribution are controlled by Eskom, the responsibility lies with a number of different entities in Kenya. This makes it quite challenging to drive change within the respective organisations.
In order to address the numerous topics surrounding wildlife and electricity infrastructure interactions, the EWT co-hosted a conference, Designing Linear Infrastructure for Sustainable Outcomes in conjunction with Ewaso Lions, the Grevy’s Zebra Trust, Africa Conservation Centre, Centre for Large Landscape Conservation and the Development Corridor Partnership. The three-day workshop, hosted in Nairobi, exposed delegates to the benefits of utilities and NGOs partnering together to work towards a common goal. This could not have come at a better time as Kenya is in the midst of a massive linear infrastructure development drive. The scale of development is almost overwhelming, and concerns have been raised around power line routing and structure design. During the energy sector breakaway session, we had the opportunity to engage at length with representatives from various entities, including consultants, utilities and other wildlife NGOs. The message was clear: designing infrastructure in a wildlife friendly manner right at the beginning of a project will optimise the quality of supply to utilities while ensuring minimal impact on wildlife. After two days in the boardroom, delegates had the opportunity to get out into the field, and a number of electrical structures were inspected and discussed.
This inaugural engagement in Kenya is the start of a much bigger mission by the WEP team. We are planning to set up numerous engagements across Africa and guide utilities towards best practice. By setting up partnerships between local NGOs and utilities, we hope to promote sustainable development practices in Africa, with the ultimate goal of having wildlife friendly electricity networks across Africa.
