Conservation Archives | Page 18 of 62 | Endangered Wildlife Trust

The Endangered Wildlife Trust Ex-Chairman looks back on 15 years of leadership

As the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) bids farewell to Board of Trustees Chair Dirk Ackerman, we also welcome him as Deputy Chair of the Board.
In his new position, Ackerman will be supporting newly elected Board Chair Muhammad Seedat during a year-long transition.

Ackerman, who is by no means retiring from playing a key leadership role in one of South Africa’s most loved conservation NGOs, speaks with fondness of his time as Chair of the EWT Board, assuring all that he will always remain attached to the conservation cause that is close to his heart.

Ackerman, who served as Board Chair for almost 15 years has also been a member of the Board for two decades. His passion for the natural world was developed as a child playing in the bush and accompanying his conservationist neighbour on forays into the veld to identify and locate different species.

His first acquaintance with the EWT was when, as CEO of the Airports Company South Africa at the time, he reached out to erstwhile CEO, Dr John Ledger, a keen birder, about the concerns he had at the way the bird problem at airports was being handled. Ackerman was unhappy at the methods being used by the airports company to rid the runways of birds to reduce bird strikes by planes. This led to the EWT entering a Memorandum of Understanding with the Airports Company SA to employ a variety of environmentally friendly practices to deter birds and other wildlife from ACSA airfields, one of which was the pioneering use of dogs to scare birds away from the airfield. Similar projects were also undertaken by the EWT in collaboration with the SA Air Force at military airports.

Under the leadership of Ackerman and the Board, working closely with CEO Yolan Friedmann, the EWT is today a stable and thriving organisation marked by good governance. It is an organisation that can ably compete internationally through its conservation work, as well as in terms of its credible research and work with communities.

“As we move into the next 50 years of the EWT, the aim is to ensure that as we internationalise the EWT we keep ownership of the Endangered species profile,” Ackerman said.

Ackerman speaks with pride about the decision by the Board to acquire land for conservation. This includes the Soutpansberg Protected Area in Limpopo where more than 1,800 species are now being protected; and where eco-tourism, regenerative agriculture and community development projects are underway. Another land purchase includes the EWT’s Conservation Campus in Midrand which, as a conservation hub, is showcasing South Africa’s biomes and is an example of urban conservation to all who visit.

“The old and new EWT, the EWT of the future, is like chalk and cheese. Through hard work, we have improved the capacity of the organisation so that it is now at a point where it can expand and reach new heights, fully able to meet its three objectives: Saving Species, Conserving Habitats and Benefiting People.

“The EWT has proved that it can deliver, that it is proficient and an example of good corporate governance. We can deliver at the coalface of matters of environmental importance. Our objective is to be leaders in science and environmental matters.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

“I will continue to put my entire heart and soul into making sure that our wildlife is respected; our environment is conserved and the communities that depend on both are thriving parts of our story,” said Ackerman.

A word from the CEO February 2024

Word from the CEO

Yolan Friedmann, CEO

Turning 50 brings with it a level of maturity, wisdom and some well-deserved scars on your back, for most people. For the EWT, it meant galvanising action, stimulating energy and consolidating our plans for a more impactful and far-reaching future for all. We are now at an age that means we can pause for a few minutes, celebrate our numerous victories and reflect on how much we have learned from that path we took; but we are also wise enough to know what we need to learn more, reach further and aim higher if we are to ramp up our impact in the face of declining state of our natural world. Numerous reports are published every year that provide ample evidence of the devastating effect of humans and our unquenchable penchant for transforming the planet beyond the threshold of its natural boundaries, with the results being escalating extinction rates, loss of ecosystem services, the warmest days, and years on record, calamitous weather events, life threatening disease transmission and pandemics, and all in all, reduced human resilience in a world that we are changing faster than most species, humans included, can adapt to.

On 12 February 2024, the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) released its first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report which read like a horror story for multiple species whose existence depends on their ability to traverse countries and continents as they have done for millennia, with the changing seasons. The report detailed how nearly 44% of the species listed under the CMS are showing signs of decline and more than 22% are threatened with extinction. Nearly 87% of the fish species listed in the CMS and are threatened with extinction, and the extinction risk for migratory species is growing globally. Humans are doing this to these species, primarily by means of our overexploitation of these species, and the loss of their habitat due to human activity. Climate change, pollution and invasive species are also profoundly impacting most migratory species. In short, humans are killing or removing wildlife from their habitat, at rates faster than they can sustain, and are destroying their habitat and/or making it uninhabitable due to our waste products and greed.

Moving over to the 2024 version of the World Economic Forum annual Risk Report where the picture is not much rosier, even from the perspective of governments and businesspeople and not just scientists. In the 2024 WEF risk report, environmental risks continue to dominate the risks landscape with two-thirds of respondents ranking Extreme Weather as “the top risk most likely to present a material crisis on a global scale in 2024”. Extreme weather has also been viewed as the 2^nd most severe risk over the two-year timeframe and nearly all environmental risks feature among the top 10 over the longer term. Younger respondents tend to rank Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Collapse, and Critical Change to Earth systems risks far more highly over the two-year period compared to older age groups, with both risks featuring in their top 10 rankings in the short term. Perhaps because they have the most to lose.

Our natural world is not better off as we enter the new year, and with every new year, there is less time to waste. The EWT is spending the first half of our new year rigorously examining our strategic approach, and drafting a cohesive high-level strategy that will see us tackle the most pressing challenges through important goal setting across the thee pillars of saving species, conserving habitats and benefitting people. As a leading conservation agency in southern Africa for five decades, we will continue to remain at the forefront of conservation impact, but we know that our rapidly changing world continually needs new thinking and bigger plans if we are to remain ahead of the extinction tide. We are not afraid of the challenge and we invite you to join the journey of Protecting Forever, Together as you have done for the past fifty years. We cannot rewrite history, but we can influence the future and for us, saving forever starts today.

May your year ahead be one of prosperity and peace; thank you for being part of the Next50.

Yolan Friedmann,

CEO, Endangered Wildlife Trust

Endangered Wildlife Trust welcomes new Board of Trustees Chairman

The Endangered Wildlife Trust welcomed Muhammad Seedat as the new chair of the Board of Trustees at the end of January.

Elected during the Board meeting, Seedat, enters a seat that will guide the organisation into the next 50 years of conservation and research excellence.

Seedat joined the EWT Board in 2015 and has served on the Audit and Risk Committee and

Remuneration Committee since its inception. A keen hiker, cyclist, social runner, and avid cricket supporter, he believes that the EWT is poised for exponential growth based on the strong and solid foundation built by the previous, and current, leadership and team.

“It is, and will, become a stronger global player and advocate for conservation,” said Seedat. “Speed of change in the world we live in is exponential and we need to embrace that speed to soak up the opportunities that lie before us.”

As the newly-elected chair, Seedat will embark on the EWT re-clarifying its strategy and ensure that, in simple terms, “we understand where we are going, how we are going, but, most importantly, why we are heading to the destination of conservation excellence”.

Seedat explains that Simon Sinek’s concept of the ‘Power of Why’ determines your purpose.

“Passion drives that purpose. In our pursuit of a better tomorrow, the EWT’s work is fundamental and critical to the protection of species and habitat so that those who come after us have the opportunity of experiencing what we have the ability to experience,” he said.

In his first 100 days, Seedat aims to set plans in place for a more efficient operation that is geared for growth and the execution of the many opportunities that lie before the EWT. He added that this again is based on the strong foundations that have already been laid.

Although funding remains an issue for non-government organisations, such as the EWT, he believed that the not-for-profit body is well placed to curb this due to the brand that has been built and will continue to strive and thrive.

“Sustainability will always be a concern, but the opportunity is to build diverse income stream.

Donor fatigue remains an international challenge, but it is our aim to become the donee of choice based on the value returns the EWT delivers in terms of its programs and the dream for a better tomorrow,” said Seedat.

He was drawn to the EWT through the work that was being done by the organisation and its “utter importance” within the context of the world of today.

Seedat believes in the need for a better tomorrow, for those who come after us, a better world for our children.

“It would be a travesty if we had to explain to our grandchildren why an animal and species was extinct when we had the ability to prevent such a disastrous case,” said the father of four. “It is of vital importance that we educate our children and make them aware and conscious of how we need to tread lightly on this beautiful planet, so we ensure that their children and grandchildren have the ability to experience what we experience. We also need to educate them as to what the repercussions will be should we not be consciously aware and do all that is possible to minimize the effects of climate change and resultant impact.”

To achieve greater involvement by young people in the environment, requires getting them into the wild so that they can experience the real world “rather than one in front of a screen”.

Working with communities is of vital importance, he said, especially because of the already visible effects of climate change.

“Food security will be one of the most important considerations of the future. No loss of life that is preventable is acceptable. This proves that the EWT’s community programmes play an important role in advocacy, awareness, and prevention of climate change and of further importance, preservation of our amazing world,” he said.

In every organisation he has got involved in, his aims have been simple – to leave the organisation better than he found it and to begin with the end in mind. His aim is to ensure that the EWT becomes the leading organisation and expert in conservation excellence internationally.

He firmly believes there is a need for scaling up building on the strong foundations that have been laid, and that opportunities multiply if executed efficiently and effectively.

“We need to be focused on excellence in all we do,” said Seedat. “We are on this train together and we need to be moving in the same direction. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and I implore each and every employee to imbibe and further build the culture of the organisation.

“We need to all be working towards the common vision of the EWT. The Board and I stand behind Yolan as the leader of this organisation, having led and built it over the past years,” said Seedat.

Healthy wetlands are critical for crane conservation, says the Endangered Wildlife Trust

World Wetlands Day, celebrated annually on 2 February, provides an opportunity to celebrate wetlands, which are critical for people, the environment, and biodiversity – including South Africa’s National Bird, the Blue Crane.

Wetlands come in all shapes and forms, from estuaries along our beautiful coastlines and high-altitude inland wetlands within the grasslands of Mpumalanga, to the hard-working wetlands within our urban landscapes. Much of our conservation effort within the EWT is centred around the protection, restoration, and management of wetlands and the catchments that feed them, and we encourage South Africans to celebrate World Wetlands Day with us each year.

Two of South Africa’s three crane species, the Grey Crowned and Wattled Cranes, are completely dependent on wetlands for their survival – yet both are threatened with extinction. Their threatened status mirrors the loss of wetlands in our country, with an estimated 50% of wetlands completely transformed in South Africa. The African Crane Conservation Programme (ACCP), a partnership between the EWT and the International Crane Foundation (ICF), has used these charismatic, long-lived birds as “flagship” species for wetland protection, restoration, and management. By securing conservation attention for conserving cranes, we not only succeed in conserving the cranes, but we simultaneously conserve the wetlands that provide cranes, people, and other species, with essential ecosystem goods and services.

Cranes are large and long-lived, elegant, birds, and their trumpeting calls and carefree, bounding courtship dances are iconic and wonderful to watch. Some people see cranes as symbols of peace, happiness, and longevity because of their lifelong devotion to their mates. But sadly, despite the love that people have for cranes, crane populations have declined globally, and in South Africa, particularly in the face of habitat change and loss. Without careful management, many crane species are doomed to extinction. Ten of the world’s 15 crane species are threatened: all four of sub-Saharan Africa’s resident crane species – Blue Crane, Grey Crowned Crane, Wattled Crane, and Black Crowned Crane – are threatened by habitat loss and disturbance, illegal wildlife trade, collisions with power lines, electrocutions, and poisoning. If we can secure their wetlands, we can improve the prospects of these species and ensure they have a viable future.

In South Africa, numerous successful partnerships have been forged by the EWT with landowners, conservation authorities and other conservation NGOs to conserve wetlands. Examples of these are areas such as the Upper Wilge Protected Environment (UPWE), the Greater Lakenvlei Protected Environment and Cedarville Protected Environment as well as in the Karkloof and Hlatikhulu Valleys where the EWT/ICF African Crane Conservation Programme has had a long-term partnership with landowners.

The EWT/ICF partnership spans more than 30 years and spans beyond South Africa’s borders to southern and East Africa. While the ICF kickstarted community-based crane conservation work in East Africa and Zambia, the EWT focussed on cranes in South Africa. However, from around 1999, ICF and the EWT started collaborating more on crane conservation efforts across the continent, and in 2005 an official Memorandum of Understanding was concluded between the two organisations.

The EWT/ICF partnership is presently operational in the Kafue Flats of Zambia, and in the wetlands of western Kenya, in northern Rwanda, and across southern and southwestern Uganda, where human activity is also placing increasing pressure on wetlands.

In Zambia, for instance, the Kafue Flats in southern Zambia is not only an internationally recognised floodplain that has been designated a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) but is also a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in recognition of the human benefits drawn from its ecological condition. The Flats is home to 30% of the world’s population of Vulnerable Wattled Cranes, as well as Endangered Grey Crowned Cranes.

But the Kafue Flats is under severe and increasing pressure from wildlife poaching, human settlements deep inside the floodplain, unregulated livestock grazing and fishing, alien invasive vegetation, drought/water stress, and other threats. Thus, the importance of the work being done through the partnership to conserve not only threatened crane species, but also the wetlands through the clearance of invasive Mimosa pigra plants under the leadership of the EWT/ICF’s African Crane Conservation Programme. This has seen the Wattled and Grey Crowned Cranes and numerous other plants and animals starting to return to the area. We have also formed 20 Conservation Clubs, including 800 pupils and 82 teachers from 13 schools near the flats, and we are deploying newly trained community scouts to protect its wildlife and create jobs.

Further afield, the wetlands of Uganda are used as a critical nesting habitat by the Endangered Grey Crown Crane, Uganda’s National Bird. These wetlands are not only critical to prevent the extinction of Endangered species, but also necessary for the health and wellbeing of the people who live in and rely on the wetland for food and water security, livelihoods, and to slow the increasing number and scale of floods, a further impact of climate change.

You can join this valuable work for cranes and other wetland species, by making a difference to our wetlands all year round in a number of ways, including:

Plan a wetland cleanup in your community with local schools and parents.
Reducing your waste, reusing bottles and containers you would normally throw away, use reusable shopping bags, and recycle! Our water resources like rivers and wetlands are heavily impacted by litter and waste, so these small actions can make a huge difference.
Reporting any illegal dumping in wetlands and rivers to your local municipality or police station.
Supporting the efforts of organisations like the EWT in protecting wetlands on your behalf.

On 27 February 2024, Uganda will host a National Crane Festival to foster awareness and education about Crane Conservation. The event, led by the EWT and ICF is an important lead-up to World Wildlife Day on 3 March. The celebrations, being held under the theme “Connecting People and Cranes” will feature diverse activities, bringing together stakeholders from various sectors — schools, local communities, policymakers, the private sector, and the media. Key partners are the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and Antiquities (MoTWA).

Strategic Water Sources key to water security in South Africa: Endangered Wildlife Trust

Conservation and restoration of South Africa’s Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) will improve water security for the country, a report by the Endangered Wildlife Trust has shown.

The report, Assessing opportunities for protected area expansion and ecosystem restoration in South Africa’s Strategic Water Resource Areas, adds that it will also contribute significantly to preventing the loss of threatened species and habitats, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving climate change adaptation for the surrounding and downstream communities.

In a month in which wetlands are being celebrated, attention is focused on wetlands and human wellbeing. This is at a time when worldwide attention is on the safety of water supplies, the conservation of biodiversity in the face of climate change and the ability of communities to mitigate and adapt to the effects of a changing environment.

The report shows that South Africa’s Strategic Water Source Areas make up just over 8.2% (10,020,780 ha) of the country’s terrestrial land surface area.

It illustrates and strategically prioritises what the actual protected area expansion opportunities are across various landscapes towards contributing to the Global Biodiversity Framework targets, specifically the 30×30 target.

At present, only around 9.28% of South Africa’s land surface is formally protected, meaning that we effectively need to more than triple this to reach the ambitious 30% target by 2030. The protection of SWSAs is critical for securing not only water security in South Africa but also the extensive biodiversity that exists within these areas.

South Africa already has a well-established warming trend. Even under more conservative emission scenarios, it is predicted that by mid-century the South African coast will warm by 1–2°C and the interior by around 2–3°C.

As a water-stressed country that already uses its existing freshwater resources intensively, the prediction of a more arid West Coast, which includes several critical water catchments critical for human well-being, is fast becoming a reality. The West Coast also hosts several highly threatened freshwater species, and freshwater biodiversity is declining at twice the rate of that in the oceans or forests. In fact, nearly one-third of freshwater fish face extinction globally, including many South African species – the most threatened animal group in South Africa.

Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) are areas of land that supply a disproportionate amount annual surface water runoff in relation to their size. Within South Africa, they are mainly located along the southern and eastern regions of the country. They are vital for water and food security and provide the water used to generate hydroelectricity. The surface water SWSAs produce just over 50% of the mean annual runoff from less than 10% of the land area. Only 11% of the surface-water SWSAs (about 18.2 million ha) are under some level of formal protection in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act.

The low proportion of SWSAs that fall within protected areas and the very uneven distribution of those protected areas make them highly vulnerable to unwise development and the adverse effects of existing activities.

This situation is even more alarming when future pressures on water resources are considered, given that the demand for water is predicted to escalate exponentially. Many parts of the country are expected to become drier due to climate change, threatening our water supplies.

The report, funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, finds several SWSAs suitable for further protected area expansion and restoration work. Those areas that are poorly protected, but still have large contiguous natural areas, are the Amathole, Eastern Cape Drakensberg (already earmarked for the new Grasslands National Park), Enkangala Grasslands, Mfolozi Headwaters, Northern Drakensberg, Southern Drakensberg, Soutpansberg, Waterberg and Tsitsikamma. SWSAs that have large amounts of recoverable areas (more than 20,000 hectares) are the Eastern Cape Drakensberg, Enkangala Grasslands, Northern and Southern Drakensberg, and Soutpansberg.

As a water-stressed country, climate change poses a further threat to water supplies. The research has found that ecosystems, such as wetlands, are not protected, there will be knock-on effects downstream, especially in terms of a reduction in water quality, loss of habitat for fish and other biodiversity and impaired ecosystem functioning.

South Africa thus needs targeted conservation and restoration action in all our SWSAs to conserve biodiversity, improve water security, and reduce the impacts of climate change simultaneously. Following the results of the report which was developed through the support of the Federal Republic of Germany’s Embassy in South Africa, we have been approved for funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) as well as from the Whitley Fund for Nature. IKI is an important part of the German government’s international climate finance commitment. With these grants we will tackle targeted protected area expansion and restoration across the Amathole, Northern and Southern Drakensberg, Soutpansberg, Waterberg and Wolkberg SWSAs over the next five years.

The EWT’s appeal to you is to continue using water sparingly.
You can also get involved by donating to support out critical conservation work in the remaining SWSA’s in South Africa, and Africa.

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