WORLD RANGER DAY – A CELEBRATION OF OUR EWT CONSERVATION CANINE RANGERS
Megan Murison. EWT Communications Officer, meganm@ewt.org.za
On the 31 July 2020, we celebrate World Ranger Day. This is a day to acknowledge the courageous rangers who risk their lives daily to protect our wildlife, and to commemorate the lives of those who have died fighting for this cause. This year we would like to celebrate the lives and work of our Conservation Canine rangers, particularly the two amazing dogs who passed away in June 2020, Fury and Annie.
Conservation Canine Fury worked with his handler, Shay Seebran, in the screening of vehicles for wildlife products and ammunition. Their two-year partnership included many happy memories and even a few occasions where Fury saved Shay’s life, such as when they encountered an elephant in the bush on a routine antipoaching patrol:
“Fury and I were patrolling towards an observation post approximately 8 km away, when we came across a very moody bull elephant. Despite everything I tried to defuse the situation and back away, the elephant made it clear that we had been in his comfort zone for too long, and that mock charging was not an option anymore. I unclipped Fury’s lead and chased him because I knew I was not going to outrun the elephant, nor did I want to shoot the animal. I guess Fury’s instinct kicked in and despite his size he charged at the elephant charging at me, putting himself between me and the elephant, miraculously stopping the elephant in his tracks and sending him fleeing in the opposite direction, leaving me speechless and in tears, thanking my K9 for saving my life”
-Shay Seebran
Travelling across South Africa as a team, they spent every second of the day together, leaving an everlasting footprint in the fight to save African wildlife. Fury, a legend in conservation and a well-known friend to many, has left his legacy to be carried on by many conservationists just like him. Losing him was a big loss to Shay and the EWT as a family.
“The legend may be gone, but certainly not forgotten, and I appreciate your service, rest in power son.”
-Shay Seebran
Conservation Canine Annie was sponsored by the EWT and trained at the Southern African Wildlife College. This is where she met her handler, Colin Patrick. Annie was trained to track, and her job was to follow up on poacher spoor at both fence incursions and away from crime scenes. Her legacy is proof that she was a true hero. Annie and her handler Colin were one of the first K9 Conservation teams to develop the ability to track down suspects at night, which changed the game in the fight against rhino poaching, and the team became highly successful at tracking down and arresting suspects. She assisted with over 17 arrests, one of which was a 13 hour follow up, during which they tracked poachers for 43.5 km to successfully apprehend the suspects. An extremely loyal conservation canine since 2018, she never left Colin’s side and travelled with him wherever he went.
“Their bond was unbreakable and one in a million and all were amazed by their connection”.
-Becky Patrick
“It was a privilege and honour to be a part of Annie’s life, to call her my partner and friend. Thank you, Annie, for your dedication and loyalty. Your legacy is an inspiration to all conservationists.”
-Colin Patrick
Fury’s work was funded by U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and Tourvest and supported by Royal Canin and Boehringer-Ingelheim. Annie’s work was supported by the EWT through sponsorship from the Relate Trust, MyPlanetRhino, Platinum Life, Royal Canin and Boehringer-Ingelheim, and a big thanks to Tomlin’s family for their ongoing support of the EWT Conservation Canines.
COLOUR CODING FOR CONSERVATION: ASSESSING THE RED LIST STATUS AND GREEN STATUS OF THE BLUE CRANE
Christie Craig, PhD Candidate & Western Cape Field Officer, African Crane Conservation Programme (ACCP)
Our National Bird, the Blue Crane, is an interesting species in the context of modern conservation. They occur in the eastern grasslands of South Africa, Karoo, and Western Cape, with a very small isolated population in northern Namibia (less than 50 cranes). Blue Cranes were once abundant in our eastern grasslands, but in the second half of the 20th century, degradation of these habitats led to a crash in the Blue Crane population – an estimated decline of around 90%. At much the same time, areas of Fynbos in the Western Cape were being rapidly transformed for cultivation, namely wheat and pastures. Blue Cranes found these cultivated lands enticing and flocked to the Western Cape. Their numbers increased so dramatically that we now estimate that over half of all Blue Cranes live in the Western Cape.
An intensively farmed agricultural landscape, such as those the Blue Cranes have chosen to occupy, can be a treacherous place for wildlife, and presents the cranes and conservationists working to protect the species with significant challenges. Threats rife in these areas include powerline collisions, fence entanglements, breeding disturbances, and occasionally conflict with farmers. Climate change and socio-economic factors placing further pressure on the agricultural landscape call into question the stability of this ‘artificial’ population. By contrast for example, the Karoo population experiences much less disturbance and as a result the population numbers have remained quite stable over the years.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is a tool used to categorise the risk of extinction in species, and provides information on their range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats, and existing conservation initiatives. The categories into which species are placed range in severity from Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered to Vulnerable. Species that are not yet considered threatened but have suffered some declines are categorised as Near-Threatened, while species that have healthy, stable populations are classified as Least Concern. The Red-Listing process is rigorous, and to inform the process biologists need reliable quantitative data to demonstrate actual or future declines in the species. The Blue Crane is listed on the global IUCN Red List as Vulnerable because of the declines in their grassland habitats and the rate of their population decline (30–50%) over three generations (39 years for Blue Crane).
The Red List is an incredibly useful tool for prioritising species for conservation action based on sound scientific evidence. However, it does have its limitations. As we see more positive impacts from conservation interventions, it is becoming clear that many species are in some way dependent on continued conservation efforts, and if these were to stop, the species population could once again begin to decline. These nuances are not accounted for in the red-listing process, which is what led the IUCN and other partners to establish the IUCN Green Status of Species. The Green Status is a way to categorise a species according to its recovery potential, its state of recovery, and its dependence on conservation. In December 2019, The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s African Crane Conservation Programme (EWT-ACCP) took part in a global project run by the IUCN to test the Green Status of real-world species. We ran through the process of assessing the Green Status of the Blue Crane, the results of which, as well as those for hundreds of other species across the globe, are being analysed by the IUCN and will soon be published for comment from the scientific community. We are very excited to have contributed to this exciting project, which will allow us to view threatened species not just in terms of their risk of extinction, but also of their recovery potential.
However, assessing the extinction risk of a species through the Red-List is, and will remain, an important part of understanding the conservation status of a species. In the case of the Blue Crane, with available data showing the population increasing in parts (Western Cape), and stable or slowly declining in others (Karoo and grasslands), it was proposed that the Blue Crane’s Red List status be down-listed from Vulnerable to Near-Threatened. This is every conservationist’s ultimate goal – to see species move down to less threatened categories. However, due to the population crash in the grasslands, and the uncertainty about the long-term viability of the Western Cape population, we considered the down-listing very carefully. In 2012 Sally Hofmeyr, a PhD student in the University of Cape Town’s Animal Demography Unit (ADU) undertook a detailed analysis of Blue Crane monitoring data collected by citizen scientists, which showed an increase overall for the Blue Crane population. As this data are now almost 10 years old, I worked with Sally to update this analysis up until 2019. What we found was rather concerning, as in the last 10–14 years, the Western Cape population stabilised and then began to decline. In the Overberg, where we find the highest density of Blue Cranes, the population has been declining on average by 4% per annum since 2011. More than half of all Blue Cranes are found in the Western Cape, and if we continue to see even a lower rate of decline (2% per annum), we can still expect the global population to decline in the region of 32% over the next 39 years. Given this worrying trend in the Western Cape, the EWT, the International Crane Foundation (ICF), the IUCN Crane Specialist Group, CapeNature and the Fitz Patrick Institute motivated that the Blue Crane remain listed as Vulnerable. The reasons for the decline are unclear, but my PhD project is focused on better understanding the threats and opportunities this species faces in the Western Cape. Armed with this knowledge, we are in a better position to inform and prioritise conservation action to conserve our national bird. This research is funded by the Leiden Conservation Foundation, Eskom and Dave Myers.
CONSERVATION CHAMPION: KLB ENGINEERING
Frank Jackson, Business Development Officer, EWT, Frankj@ewt.org.za
KLB Engineering (Red Rhino) is a family-run business and has been the distributor of Red Rhino products in the South African market since 1980, dedicated to achieving excellence in their service, products. and community involvement. Aside from Red Rhino, KLB’s product range includes brands such as Power Plus, Dual Power, Kreator, Pro-Pumps, Waterfall Pumps, Oleo-Mac, and Waterfall Filtration, and includes power tools, garden tools and equipment, pumps, and water filtration systems.
KLB has been a monthly donor to the EWT for over four years, contributing over R100,000 to-date. Many of the EWT’s conservation achievements have been made possible by generous contributions from regular and steadfast donors such as KLB Engineering. Claudia Kahn, from KLB’s Marketing Department had the following to say about the relationship they have with the EWT: “We believe that wildlife conservation is not only about protecting the wildlife we have now, but also preserving it for future generations to enjoy. By aiding this cause, we hope to bring excellence to the lives of South African wildlife, as well as the spectators that benefit from it. All life is precious and valuable, and deserving of a fighting chance at being conserved. It is to this end that we are proud to call ourselves donors to the Endangered Wildlife Trust.”
The EWT will forever be indebted to KLB for their ongoing support, even during the tough times of Covid-19 Pandemic. We urge our supporters to browse their product range, knowing that your purchase is also supporting the work of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
For more information, visit www.redrhino.co.za
MANDELA DAY CAMPAIGN – 67 THINGS IN 67 DAYS – IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START!
In 2009, a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, by Phillippa Lally and colleagues from University College London, found that it took 96 subjects about 66 days for a new behaviour to become automatic.
If it takes 66 days for a new behaviour to become a habit, we will give you 67!
We know that many people were unable to venture out and help your community safely this Mandela Day and didn’t feel as though they did enough this year. For this reason, EWT created the 67 things campaign, which is a challenge to you to do one or more of 67 acts to change the world, for 67 days. If practiced regularly for 67 days, your actions can have a positive impact on people, our planet, and could become the habits that help save our future! Even though Mandela Day has passed, it is never too late to do your bit to build a better future. The acts we have identified have been categorised into the following six categories: Conservation support, Energy saving, Environmental impact, Kindness, Sustainable use, and Water saving.
If you do even one of these acts for 67 days, and this becomes a way of life, your impact can be lifelong.
You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to success is found in your daily routine.
– John C. Maxwell
SCIENCE SNIPPETS
IS THE NEIGHBOURHOOD GOING TO THE DOGS?
Samantha Nicholson, Lion Database Coordinator, EWT Conservation Science Unit
Carnivore species that overlap in their use of space, food or habitat are called sympatric carnivores, and competition for resources between these species can lead to conflict and death. To avoid this, species have adapted a wide range of different behavioural mechanisms to share resources, and to survive in their shared environment.
Spatial partitioning is one such mechanism, where one species will avoid an area based on another carnivore’s presence or population density. For example, among large carnivores, Lions will kill African Wild Dogs when they come into close contact, and as a result, Wild Dogs will actively spatially avoid areas where there is high Lion activity or density. Small carnivores will exhibit the same behaviour in avoidance of other carnivores. An example of this is Cape Foxes, which spatially avoid jackal core areas when foraging as they are often killed by jackals. However, some species will not exhibit this behaviour, even though there is competition. For example, neither Black-footed Cats nor Bat-eared Foxes avoid jackal core areas, even though jackals frequently kill them.
In this study, we set out to investigate the spatial relationship between Black-backed Jackals and large carnivores, to determine whether jackals use spatial partitioning at different scales to coexist with Lions and Wild Dogs. Our study was conducted in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) in Limpopo Province (South Africa). At the time of the study (2008) VLNR had a wide array of large carnivore species including Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena and Wild Dog. VLNR is a small reserve enclosed by an electrified predator-proof fence. Radio collars were fitted to three jackals from three different family groups to obtain location data. One jackal actually moved to another family group during the course of the study, which gave us data for an additional family group. At least one male and two females from each of the three Lion prides, and one dog from the single Wild Dog pack were collared.
Using the location data obtained from the collars, we calculated the annual home-range sizes of the study animals, as well as their core areas. We then compared the overlap between the three species at the home-range level (hereafter, broadscale) and the core areas (hereafter, fine scale). We found that the annual home-range sizes for the jackal groups ranged between 2.7 and 9.0 km2 while the annual home range of the pack of Wild Dogs was 339.5 km2. The annual home ranges of the three Lion prides ranged between 112.8 and 208.5 km2. Our data showed that the extent of spatial partitioning between jackals and both Wild Dogs and Lions depended on the scale at which we were looking. At the broadscale, jackals did not exhibit spatial partitioning with either of the large carnivores, meaning that there was extensive overlap between home ranges. However, when we looked at the fine scale, we found that jackals did appear to exhibit spatial partitioning. This was to be expected as both Wild Dogs and Lions kill jackals if presented with the opportunity.
Nonetheless, our study yields the first evidence of spatial partitioning between jackals and two large carnivores, and we hope future researchers will examine spatial partitioning between these species under a variety of environmental conditions across Africa, to help build a more complete understanding of their interactions.
Reference: Kamler, J. F., Nicholson, S. K., Stenkewitz, U., Gharajehdaghipour, T. & Davies-Mostert, H. T. 2020. Do black-backed jackals exhibit spatial partitioning with African wild dogs and lions? African Journal of Ecology.
SUBURBAN BLISS FOR BIODIVERSITY
Dominic Henry, Ecological Modelling Specialist, EWT Conservation Science Unit (CSU)
Reference: Chamberlain, D.E., Reynolds, C., Amar, A., Henry, D.A.W., Caprio, E. & Batáry. 2020. Wealth, water and wildlife: landscape aridity intensifies the urban Luxury Effect. Global Ecology & Biogeography. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.13122
Biodiversity plays an important role in urban ecosystems and restricted access to it can profoundly affect human wellbeing. Unfortunately, urban dwellers rarely have equal access to biodiversity. Ecologists studying urban ecosystems have in many cases revealed a pattern whereby wealthier neighbourhoods in many cities have higher levels of biodiversity than poorer areas – a phenomenon that scientists have called the “Luxury Effect”. The Luxury Effect is indicative of environmental injustice, as the benefits associated with biodiversity are not shared equitably across society.
A new study published in Global Ecology & Biogeography by an international team of scientists from the University of Turin in Italy, the University of Cape Town and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the Centre for Ecological Research in Hungary, and co-authored by EWT staff member Dominic Henry, conducted a meta-analysis (an analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies) to determine the generality of the Luxury Effect and identify factors that drive variation in this pattern. The authors tested the Luxury Effect across 96 studies from around the world that examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and biodiversity.
The authors found that there was a significant positive relationship between terrestrial biodiversity (including the abundance and species richness of plants, birds, reptiles and insects) and the level of wealth in a city, confirming the existence of a global luxury effect. An interesting finding was that this relationship was far more prominent in the drier regions of the world suggesting that the Luxury Effect could partly be driven by water availability. Wealthier people living in more arid regions may invest more in water features, such as ponds or swimming pools, or in irrigation of their gardens and parks. Alternatively, wealthier areas may be associated with wetter areas within these arid landscapes, with higher property prices associated with lakes, rivers, or other wetland features.
The relevance of this finding in a South African context is profound given how city planning under the apartheid government fell along racial lines. Within cities, most black South Africans continue to live on the periphery in areas where the land is degraded, and often within close proximity to industrial sites where access to clean air and water are limited. Understanding the finer details of the mechanisms that drive and maintain the Luxury Effect can help with the creation of more equitable cities in the future. Acknowledging that access to biodiversity is an incredibly important part of our lives can help facilitate the management of urban areas to make access to the benefits of biodiversity more equal across the socioeconomic spectrum.
CONSERVATION CHAMPION: IRENE AMIET
Alison Janicke, EWT Head of Resource Development, alisonj@ewt.org.za
Irene Amiet is a freelance writer and internationally renowned photographer. A native of Basel, Switzerland, Irene currently lives Ribble Valley in Lancashire, UK.
Irene has volunteered and worked on exciting projects all over the world, including research on Leatherback Turtles in Panama and big cat density research in Limpopo, working as a correspondent for Coast Magazine and running an online blog on outdoor photography for the Galveston Daily News in Texas. In addition to a large variety of images featured internationally, Irene has also produced breath-taking collections of images, such as that entitled “Avian Ballet”, which captures the dance-like performances of wading birds’ in their natural seagrass habitats, and “Love Letters From Africa”, a coffee table book of wildlife and nature in Southern Africa, with diary extracts from Irene Amiet. All proceeds of the sale of this book will go to the Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa.
As a nature and wildlife photographer, I believe it’s a duty to give back a little towards conservation efforts. The regions I’ve been privileged to live and work in are closest to my heart and as I know the grassroots conservationists personally, I am convinced their work makes a difference and can assure you that any moneys raised goes directly into the right hands.
Over the years I have put signature pieces of mine up for sale with the revenue going straight to these organisations.
Irene Amiet
See here for more detail regarding these incredible collections.
CATCHMENTS: WHERE COMMUNITIES AND BIODIVERSITY MEET
Nkosinathi Nama
Nkosinathin@ewt.org.za
Water is a precious resource and as a water scarce country, South Africa needs to protect and manage its limited water resources, for the benefit of both people and the environment. With a rapidly growing population, emerging economy, and climate change challenges, a holistic approach to the management of our water resources is needed, encompassing social, ecological, and built infrastructure interventions to improve water availability to communities. At the same time, we need to maintain the critical services provided by rivers, wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems as well as biodiversity. These services include the mitigation of drought and floods, which can cost the country billions of Rands and lead to individual hardship and loss of life; reducing soil erosion; keeping our wetlands healthy; mitigating the impacts of pollution; and provision of food, medicine, fibre, building materials, and economic opportunities, including tourism.
Biodiversity is under threat globally with the rate of species loss higher than ever recorded before. Freshwater ecosystems, home to about 40% of fish species globally, are under threat and 20% of freshwater fish species have already gone extinct as a result of pressures such as over-extraction of water from rivers, pollution, overfishing, and climate change. In South Africa, more than 90% of our surface water is depleted or degraded by development or agriculture.
Catchment areas encompass land that is drained by a river and its tributaries, as well as other water runoff. They usually include areas with hills or mountain ranges such as the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal and the Amathole Mountains in the Eastern Cape. Catchments are critical for biodiversity conservation and human survival, but are often severely impacted by mining, agriculture, forestry, and other human activities. To balance competing human needs, catchment management strategies need to take a multi-pronged and holistic approach, as mentioned above, considering both socio-economic and ecological objectives, and ensuring that the needs of communities living within the catchments are met. This approach, putting communities at the centre of biodiversity conservation within catchments, gives these ecosystems their best chance at survival, particularly if people are included in management strategies. Recognising that communities are important custodians of catchment areas, and ultimately of the biodiversity in these areas, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has applied this approach in its projects in the Amathole (Eastern Cape Province) and Groot Marico (North West Province) water catchments, as well as through partnerships in the Mzimvubu catchment in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Amathole mountains in the Eastern Cape are recognised as a strategic water source area. Invasive alien vegetation is a significant threat to many of these ecosystems, including the Amathole, where widespread stands of species such as the Black Wattle occur. Indigenous to Australia, and without any natural control agents in South Africa, the Black Wattle is a prominent invader that is costly to manage and poses a serious threat to biodiversity and water provision. The species consumes a substantial amount of water and can alter flow rates of a river. Dense stands growing along river systems can change the ecology of the systems. For example, both water temperature and water chemistry can be altered by the shade of the trees, which in turn affects the diversity of aquatic species.
To address the impacts of Black Wattle and create much needed employment opportunities for people living in the area, the EWT collaborated with the then Department of Environment Affairs (DEA) to train and employ 150 contract workers to clear Black Wattle. The EWT also trained five local entrepreneurs as qualified Natural Resource Management contractors. They received training in computer skills, business management, plant identification, chainsaw operations, basic rangeland management, as well as health and safety, and basic first aid. Through this initiative, the EWT and the then DEA cleared 1,250 hectares of Black Wattle stands in the catchment.
To monitor the impact of alien clearing on the river health in the Amathole Catchment, the EWT implemented a biomonitoring programme in the Tyume River, one of the main rivers in the catchment. Water quality and flow rates are measured throughout the year, together with the status of indigenous and alien fish species.
Indigenous aquatic species act as good indicators of aquatic health, but many are under pressure through human activities. In the Amathole, the introduction of alien fish species such as the rainbow trout has significantly impacted indigenous fish species that they prey on. Biomonitoring has however shown early signs of improvement in the population status of two Endangered freshwater fish species, the Border Barb and the Eastern Cape Rocky, both of which only occur in this region. Local community members have also been trained in ecological monitoring techniques, equipping them to become citizen scientists. Through this and additional training, members of Tyume communities have gained insights into the dynamics of rangelands and aquatic ecosystems, as well as the need to maintain biological diversity.
As with the Border Barb and Eastern Cape Rocky, the Critically Endangered Amathole Toad is endemic, occurring only in the region. The habitat of the Amathole Toad includes Amathole Montane Grassland and Amathole Mistbelt Grassland, both of which are vegetation types that only occur in the Eastern Cape and are classified as ‘Poorly Protected’. The site also supports Drakensberg-Amathole Afromontane Fynbos, which includes patches of unique Fynbos that have not yet been mapped in the Amathole Mountains. The EWT is working with private landowners towards obtaining formal protection of this important habitat and its unique species, which also contributes to securing reliable water provision for the Eastern Cape.
To further support local livelihoods in the Amathole water catchment, the EWT also provides training on climate smart agriculture, soil erosion management, and improved management of livestock. Climate smart agriculture enables farmers to adapt to drought, seasonal fluctuations, and weather patterns, and mitigate risks to their incomes. In the Tyume valley, farmers identified improved husbandry as a critical need to build the resilience and production capacity of their herds, particularly during times of drought. These efforts all contribute to improved natural resource management.
The EWT has also trained former contract workers in beekeeping. The Tyume Valley Beekeepers Association have had four harvests to-date and are collaborating with private landowners in Hogsback to increase the amount of fodder available to the bees. Through this type of valuable local support, the beekeepers will be able to grow a much-needed micro-enterprise and provide quality honey to residents, tourist lodges and other outlets in the Amathole.
By recognising community needs and involving people who live in the Amathole Catchment in conservation management strategies, as well as sharing skills, scientific feedback, and management experiences, the EWT and its partners have developed strategic interventions for improved water and biodiversity management in the region. This critical work cannot be implemented by one organisation alone. We are grateful to the Rand Merchant Bank for financial support of the project, and extend our appreciation for our ongoing partnerships to members of the Amathole Catchment Forum, the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment (DFFE, formerly DEA), the Department of Water, Sanitation and Housing, the Dept of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, and the Amathole Forestry Company, amongst many others.
DR KEITH HENRY COOPER 1937–2020
The forest is echoing with sad silence and shock at the passing of a great South African conservationist. He was passionate about our trees and forests, and it can indeed be said of Keith Cooper that a great tree has fallen.
Keith was one of a band of conservationists mentored by the likes of Dr Ian Player, Dr Ian Garland, Prof. Eugene Moll, and Dr Nolly Zaloumus, who were closely allied to The Wildlife Society (WESSA). The seeds grew.
Keith was respected by authorities, NGOs, and ordinary people, and became a legendary pioneering force in WESSA for the sustainable conservation of South Africa’s animal and plant biodiversity, and terrestrial, marine, and urban environments. He remained active in conservation and was always willing to help when asked, giving of his time and experience freely. Many of us grew into our conservation jeans or slacks at his feet. He coordinated WESSA’s Conservation Committee (CONCOM) including leading academics and conservationists; together the group formulated WESSA’s scientifically and socially sound conservation policies and kept long-standing interpersonal and inter-NGO links. CONCOM meetings were a wonderful classroom. Keith pioneered many conservation principles that are now deeply embedded in our country. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2003 for his scientific and conservation work in preserving South Africa’s biodiversity, and in 2016 received WESSA’s highest award for his contribution to conservation.
He was an avid birdwatcher and, while stationed in Mtubatuba, the young Cooper fell among the local Wildlife Society members and teamed up with bird ringers. Later, as Administrative Officer of the Oceanographic Research Institute where he worked for 11 years, his interests in biodiversity conservation were further nurtured. Keith joined the Committee of the then Natal Branch of the Wildlife Society and represented them as a National Councillor. In the mid-1960s, he was asked to become a full-time Wildlife Society employee to run the National Office as the Director (1972). The position of Director did not fit comfortably with Keith, however, and he moved sideways to become the Society’s Director of Conservation in 2002 and dedicated his life full-time to biodiversity conservation, with the support of his more than able assistant Di Dold and wife Mae.
In the early days Keith and Eugene Moll produced several fieldwork reports on areas that later became Nature Reserves, and they led monthly excursions to places of interest for Natal Branch members’ families and kids (with numbers sometimes up to 100 people).
Keith was ahead of his times. During his WESSA tenure he set up many conservancies, nature reserves and protected areas around the country and helped communities next to conservation areas to develop eco-tourism and associated conservation projects. He established and developed the Society’s ACE (African Conservation Education) project (the first of its kind in South Africa, set up to educate black teachers in the field of environment and conservation); in this he worked closely with Mr Simeon Gcumisa who was later employed by the Society.
His survey of forests in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Transvaal, and Transkei included all flowering plants, particularly those with medicinal value. The consummate citizen scientist, he was a prolific recorder of observations, authored two forest surveys, many WESSA field reports, and was editor with Prof. Mike Bruton of the book Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland. He drove the project to identify all important areas for conservation in Natal and Kwa Zulu in 1978 and was instrumental in the development and final production of the Kwa Zulu Natal Environmental Atlas — the first such undertaking in South Africa, and a valuable tool for Iand-use planning.
While Keith’s contributions were primarily in KZN and the Eastern Cape (Transkei), they extended significantly to other areas of South Africa and all Society regions, branches and members through direct interventions and by example. Keith was a strong, highly respected master in lobbying decision makers, politicians, State and Provincial authorities, local authorities, local communities and other NGOs; he was Chairman of the Kwa Zulu Natal Branch of the Society from 1970 to 1972 and was generous in sharing his experience and providing informed advice and inspiration to others. He surveyed the indigenous forests of the Transkei and wrote an extensive series of reports on proposed conservation areas in Kwa Zulu-Natal, Transvaal, QwaQwa, Transkei, Lebowa and other areas. The raw data he collected have been digitized by Prof Timm Hoffman’s group at UCT for future research on vegetation changes over time (something we could all consider in order to save our unique personal records for future research). Keith and Prof. John Grindley of UCT initiated proposals for marine and estuarine reserves in South Africa. Indeed, there have been few South African conservation plans that have not benefited from his insights.
After retiring Keith and Mae continued to be actively involved with black communities in both rural and urban areas in Tongaland, Maputaland, the Pondoland coast, Drakensberg, and informal settlements around Durban. He served on many conservation committees and Trusts. He completed a botanical survey of the Mbona Private Nature Reserve. His Karkloof projects doubled the area of conserved Afro-montane forest – another huge commitment over many years.
All this and more from an astute, humble, and real gentleman.
A WORD FROM THE CEO
Yolan Friedmann, EWT CEO
yolanf@ewt.org.za
In recent weeks there has been a flurry of social media posts around some proposed regulatory changes that would, if implemented, have a significant impact on the future management, wellbeing, and conservation value of our wildlife resources in South Africa. As with all news that goes viral, there will be some elements that are accurate and many that are not. Humans appear to need to amplify hard facts to get the attention that they want and perhaps in this day of extreme media overload and noise, this may well be a relevant strategy. Be that as it may, the EWT prides itself on being a science and fact based organisation whose contributions are credible, meaningful and evidence based. We have been inundated lately with messages across all platforms, asking what we are doing about, and what the public can do about, a series of proposed regulatory changes and the following is a brief description of the issues, our concern and our responses:
- The Animal Improvement Act – this act promotes the intensive and selective breeding and cross-breeding of animals. On 17 May 2019, a notice was published to include the following species as landrace breeds in terms of this Act: Lechwe, Giraffe, Zebra, White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros, Lion and Cheetah. We have launched an application in the North Gauteng High Court, challenging and seeking the review of the decision to list wild animals in the Animal Improvement Act. Our grounds of review include legitimate concerns regarding the conservation value of breeding animals that are claimed to be genetically superior animals and the possible detrimental impact on natural selection and evolutionary processes.
- The Meat Safety Act – the amendment to the Meat Safety Act as read with the proposed regulations on game meat (if and when they are promulgated) aims to facilitate and regulate the processing of meat from game animals that have been hunted or culled. We have submitted extensive comments to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in this regard, holding that while we wholly support the move to create a legal framework to support the commercial sale of game meat from wild animals from natural free-living conditions, we do not support the intensive and selective breeding of wild animals in general, or for commercial meat production specifically.
- The Threatened or Protected Species Regulations of 2007 have been undergoing amendment since March 2015, when the public was afforded an opportunity to comment on proposed amendments. Early in 2020 we received information of the submission of a version of these regulations to the National Council of Provinces for their approval (the 2019 Amendments). We have extensively compared the 2015 version of Amendments with the 2019 version of Amendments, and found well over 200 changes between these two versions, 56 of which are substantial changes in our view. We have written to the Minister of Environment Forestry and Fisheries, raising concern about the lack of public participation in the finalization of the 2019 Amendments, considering this process has taken five years and the two versions are fundamentally different. We are awaiting feedback in this regard.
The EWT has an experienced and highly skilled team of experts who developed our submissions on all of these proposed regulations, and we are vigilantly watching the process to ensure that our concerns, as well as those of several other specialists, are considered. We will keep our readers updated. We cannot guarantee that our opinions will triumph, but our voice will be heard. Your support keeps the EWT in a position to engage with government and hopefully, improve the outcomes to the benefit of our wildlife. Please keep supporting the EWT during these times, every bit helps.Yolan Friedmann
CEO: Endangered Wildlife Trust
