Hi again,
Herewith, some snippets from various sources.
I appeal to you to send me items to distribute to our members for the Cleft Stick, the Game Ranger magazine and to be posted on the web site. These are your magazine and website, so ensure it gets the news that you would like to see in it.
Please let me have any changes to your physical address, phone no. or e-mail address to keep the database up to date.
Thanks to all of you who have made the effort. Please will any of you who know of members who do not get this “electric” Cleft~Stick, & have access to e-mail, pass their address along to me.
Don Yunnie
7 Chalet Drive, Hilton, 3245, South Africa Local Tel & Fax (033) 343 1534 Int. Tel & Fax (+2733) 343 1534 cell 082 377 7562 E-mail dyunnie@xsinet.co.za.
If you do not wish to receive this e-mail newsletter please send a blank e-mail to me at the above address with the word “unsubscribe C~S ” as the message heading.
“RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE INTERNATIONAL RANGER FEDERATION 5TH WORLD CONGRESS in Stirling, Scotland (June 2006):
We fully reiterate and confirm the continued relevance of the original Zakopane Declaration of May 1995 which is as pertinent as it was then. In addition, we make three further statements to be annexed to that original document:
Shortly thereafter, the Executive Committee of the International Ranger Federation agreed during their meeting on 21 June 2006 that “the International Ranger Federation should work through the Game Rangers Association of Africa and other partners to develop, promote and implement an appropriate environmental certification programme (standards) for nature based tourism and hunting agents in respect of their operations within Protected Areas.”
ANTHRAX, WILDLIFE - NAMIBIA
(CAPRIVI), Date: 13 Jun 2006 International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org
In the last 2 weeks, 11 wild animals have been reported dead of suspected anthrax in Namibia's eastern Caprivi Strip. The carcasses have been burnt.
Caprivi regional governor Bernard Sibalatani said the suspected outbreak was in the same area where the disease broke in September 2005, leaving more than 50 animals dead. Some people were hospitalised after they got in contact and ate carcasses of animals that had died of the disease.
Namibian veterinary authorities last week started vaccinating cattle in the affected areas. Dr Frans Joubert, the chief veterinarian for animal disease control in the Ministry of Agriculture, said although so far no death of livestock had been reported, the vaccination had been introduced as a precaution.
Joubert said the vaccination was currently concentrated on the affected areas as the vaccine was very expensive.
"We are hoping to get more vaccine so that we can extend it to a larger area," he said.
Veterinary officials have once again appealed to people in the affected areas not to eat the meat of animals that died of anthrax as the disease is highly contagious. [Sic: Contaminated meat is infectious, not contagious]. A constant problem in Africa is that villagers close to national parks will graze their animals within the park boundaries -- whatever the authorities command. And virtually without exception the African parks have anthrax in their wildlife on an annual basis. -
Mod.MHJ]
South African Society for Travel Medicine
Administrator: Collette Tosen
Tel: 031 5620692
Fax: 031 5727812
E-mail: admin@sastm.org.za
Website: www.sastm.org.za
Address: 30 Savell Avenue, Glenashley, Durban, 4051---
African Indaba has added a new page to the website
On the link http://www.africanindaba.co.za/conservationafrica.htm you will find more than 40 articles and papers relating to incentive-driven-conservation and hunting on the African continent. We are updating this page frequently and will include more interesting papers in the near future. All items are in pdf-format and can be downloaded.
A few examples:
Baldus, R D & Cauldwell, A E (2004): Tourist Hunting and its Role in Development of Wildlife Management Areas in Tanzania (Parts 1, 2 and 3)
Barnes, J & Humavindu, M (2002):Trophy Hunting in the Namibian Economy: An Assessment CBD/IUCN (2004): Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity.
Damm, G. R. (2005): Hunting in South Africa: Facts, Risks, Opportunities
Hutton, J. & Leader-Williams, N. (2003): Sustainable Use and Incentive-Driven-Conservation - Realigning Human and Conservation Interests
Lindsey, P. et al (2006): Potential of Trophy Hunting to Create Incentives for Wildlife Conservation in Africa
Nelson, R H (2004): Environmental Colonialism - “Saving” Africa from Africans
Wells, M P & McShane, T (2003): Integrating Protected Area Management with Local Needs and Aspirations
6th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium (2004): Proceedings Volumes 1 to 8
Thank you for your interest in African Indaba and in the conservation of Africa's wildlife.
Best regards
Gerhard R Damm
PO Box 411 - Rivonia 2128 - South Africa
Tel: +27-(0)11-883-2299 Fax: +27-(0)11-784-2074
email: gerhard@muskwa.co.za
AFRICAN INDABA is a free bi-monthly e-Newsletter for hunter-conservationists and all people who are interested in the conservation, management and the sustainable use of Africa's wild natural resources. Read African Indaba online at www.africanindaba.co.za
Virunga Elephants Recovering
Thanks to Heroic Park Guards
NEW YORK, New York, June 21, 2006 (ENS) - Numbers of elephants and other large mammals have increased in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park since the last census three years ago, conservation groups in the United States and DRC report.
The most recent census was conducted between June 9 and 12 by researchers from the Institut Congolais pour la Conservacion de la Nature (ICCN), the national conservation agency of the DRC, and from the Wildlife Conservation Society based at New York's Bronx Zoo.
Funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the census found that efforts to protect the park’s wildlife appear to be succeeding in reversing a steep decline in numbers of large mammals due to poaching and armed conflict that claimed nearly four million human lives since 1995.
“The results of the census are encouraging, and proof that protecting the park’s wildlife can be done in the most turbulent conditions,” Said researcher Deo Kujirakwinja of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The researchers give credit for the animals' recovery to the anti-poaching efforts of park guards who patrol this World Heritage Site at great personal risk.
Efforts to curb poaching have come at a high cost. Since 1996, more than 100 park guards in Virunga National Park have been killed while trying to prevent poaching, and one was killed as recently as May.
Currently, park guards receive only $1 per month as a salary from the DRC government, although this amount was increased to $30 per month with funds from UNESCO from 2002-2005.
Additional support for the park guards will come from the European Union through the Zoological Society of London in the near future.
Established in 1925, Virunga National Park once had the highest density of large mammals in the world before a wave of unrest and poaching descended upon the region.
Since the 1960s, the park’s populations of elephants, hippos, and buffalos have plummeted, with the heaviest levels of poaching occurring in 1980s and during the past 10 years since the beginning of the DRC's civil war in 1996.
The park’s once abundant elephant population, estimated in the 1960s at 4,300, had been reduced to a few hundred individuals by 2003.
In the past three years, however, elephants have increased from 265 to 340 individuals. The census also found approximately 3,800 buffalo, up from 2,300 in 2003.
Uganda kob, a species of antelope, now number nearly 13,000, almost the same level for the species before significant poaching began in the 1960s.
“Poaching is still taking a toll on wildlife and the rate of recovery is being slowed as a result, but it is clear that the efforts of ICCN and its partners are finally leading to a reduction in the level of poaching,” Kujirakwinja said.
Virunga National Park has been the major destination for tourists in the DRC since it was created, but unrest over the past decade has resulted in a decrease in tourism dollars as well as wildlife.
Tourism in the region has the potential to generate significant revenues for the parks and the country. In Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, the tourism business has generated millions of dollars, not only for parks but also for local communities throughout the region.
“Virunga Park will be the key to any tourism industry in Congo with its large mammals, gorillas, active volcanoes and biodiversity," said Dr. Andrew Plumptre of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
"It is clear that Congo needs to invest in the future of this park if they are to realize any of the benefits of tourism in future,” Plumptre said. “It is also clear that park guards will need continued support if the park is to show an increase in the large mammal populations in future.”
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is located in the heart of equatorial central Africa and has an area of 2,267,600 square kilometres and a current population estimated at 50 million. The DRC encompasses a unique biodiversity, vast mineral and forest resources, and rich agricultural soils concentrated in the eastern regions.
The occupation and struggle to exploit these natural resources killed nearly four million people since 1995.
Wildlife suffered a great deal from the conflict, according to the 2001 report by a Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo convened by the United Nations.
The panel found "numerous accounts and statistics from regional conservation organizations" to show that, in the area controlled by the Ugandan troops and Sudanese rebels, nearly 4,000 out of 12,000 elephants were killed in the Garamba Park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1995 and 1999.
"The situation in other parks and reserves is equally grave, including Kahuzi-Biega Park, the Okapi Reserve and Virunga Park. The numbers of okapis, gorillas and elephants have dwindled to small populations," the panel reported.
The panel learned that poaching of elephants in violation of international law - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - was well organized.
"Either soldiers hunted directly with the consent of the commander or they provided equipment and protection to local villagers to execute the task with the objective of collecting elephant tusks," the panel said. In some areas, "commanders take the tusks, soldiers negotiate the wholesale price with some locals, and the locals sell the meat in the market place as retailers."
Virunga National Park is located in the eastern DRC, a lawless part of the country where rebel groups are strongest.
In an effort to keep order, some 17,000 UN peacekeepers regularly conduct joint operations with DRC government forces. The country is preparing for its first multi-party elections in 40 years on July 30.
Hunting regulations
Sunday Independent, By Mike Cadman
As South Africa moves to regulate hunting, staggering new statistics show "biltong hunters" are killing more than a million wild animals a year.
These local hunters are quite apart from foreign "trophy" hunters who come to South Africa to shoot about 40 000 animals a year, including lion, white rhino, leopard and elephant.
These figures and new research, which shows the hunting industry is even bigger than previously thought and is worth almost R4-billion a year to South Africa, comes as the government this week considers steps towards the regulation and cleaning up of the industry.
'Hunting regulations in South Africa vary considerably from province to province'
The new statistics come from a study undertaken by North West University's Institute for Tourism Management and Leisure Studies in Potchefstroom, which estimates the 200 000 "biltong hunters" spend at least R3-billion rand a year while hunting.
The government calculates that foreign hunters contribute a further R800-million a year to the industry.
The latest figures from Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (Phasa) show that 7 342 foreign hunters, about 53 percent of whom are from the United States, shot at least 39 130 animals between October 1 2004 and September 10 2005. This includes at least 305 lions, 51 elephants, 74 white rhinos, 202 buffaloes and 34 leopards.
According to Phasa the average cost of a trophy white rhino is about $29 000 (R200 000), an elephant $21 000, a lion $17 390, a leopard $8 000 and a buffalo $7 880.
The South African government is strongly supportive of hunting and argues that the "sustainable utilisation" of wild animals is both a morally and financially acceptable practice that contributes towards the economy and helps create jobs, particularly in rural areas.
Michele Pickover of Xwe African Wildlife, an animal rights non-governmental organisation, said that while large amounts of money are spent on hunting, the industry is neither ethical nor sustainable.
"The hunting industry in South Africa is merely farming with wild animals. It is undergoing unsustainable growth and revenues are not reinvested in the preservation of wilderness and the protection of wild animals. What South Africa needs is a holistic, non-consumptive and ethically driven ecotourism industry.
"A 2004 study estimated that ecotourism on private game reserves generated more than 15 times the income derived from livestock and game rearing or foreign hunters and created more jobs," Pickover said.
Hunting regulations in South Africa vary considerably from province to province and are poorly enforced.
"Canned hunting" - animals reared to be shot are hunted in confined areas - and other malpractices within the industry have been widely condemned by hunting organisations and opponents of hunting.
Dr Peet van der Merwe, a senior lecturer at North West University, said: "The research is the most comprehensive done and shows South African hunters contribute a huge amount to local economies. "The money is generated in the country and spent in the country so contributes directly to the economy."
Van der Merwe said that there that there were about 6 330 exempted game farms - hunting is allowed all year round on exempted game farms - in South Africa covering about 14,7 million hectares. All of South Africa's national parks cover a combined area of 3,7 million hectares.
Van der Merwe said that game farms comprise about 17,9 percent of all agricultural land in South Africa. About 50 percent of game farms are in Limpopo province and the study showed that the most commonly hunted animals are springbok, impala, blesbuck, kudu, warthog, blue wildebeest and gemsbuck.
South Africa is one of the top hunting destinations in Africa and is heavily promoted at international hunting shows and conferences. Most hunting takes place on private game farms but is also permitted in a number of provincial and private game and nature reserves.
Hunting is allowed in, among others, the Pilanesberg National Park, Madikwe Game Reserve, and the Borakalalo and Botsolano Game Reserves run by North West province, the Songimvelo Game Reserve and Mthetomusha Game Reserve run by Mpumalanga province and the Manyaleti Game Reserve and Letaba Ranch run by Limpopo province.
Both Manyaleti and Letaba share unfenced boundaries with the Kruger National Park (KNP) - raising fears that animals from the Kruger are being hunted.
Hunting also takes place on a number or private game reserves including the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR), which comprises the Timbavati, Umbabat, Klaserie and Balule private nature reserves. These reserves also share an unfenced boundary with the KNP.
An elephant shot and wounded by a hunter in the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve in March is believed to have fled into the KNP. During the same month landowners, lodge owners and staff in the APNR were also outraged at the hunting and wounding of a well-known lion.
The draft norms and standards, published earlier this year by the department of environmental affairs and tourism, recommend that in future the minister himself must approve all hunting that takes place in areas adjoining national parks where fences have been removed.
The document also recommends that provincial MECs must personally approve hunting in provincial reserves.
PhD research project
poaching and conservation offence
Dear GRAA member,
I am conducting research, as part of a PhD research project at the University of the Witwatersrand, on poaching and conservation offences in the central low-veld region of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The research focuses on the most commonly conducted poaching and conservation offences in the area and the reasons for people committing such offences. The research also looks at enforcement activities and community involvement in preventing poaching and conservation offences.
In order to successfully conduct this research, I would appreciate if you took time to fill in the attached questionnaire for a national survey among game rangers in South Africa. The questionnaire has been developed to generate comparative data on game rangers' perspectives on best practice enforcement of wildlife offences in different parts of the country.
I will in some cases, if you have indicated your approval on the questionnaire, contact you personally with more detailed questions about your opinion and experience with enforcing conservation offences.
The research has been approved by the GRAA steering committee. You can either contact me, or Andre Botha if you have any questions about the research.
You can either print out and fill in the questionnaire and send it to be via post or fax or fill in the questionnaire on your computer and email me.
I would appreciate if you could send me the filled in questionnaires by the 28th of July the latest.
Thank you for your participation,
Emma Algotsson
____________________________________________
PhD Candidate/Consultant
School of Law, Wits University
10 Rhodes Avenue
Parktown West
Park View 2193
Tel/fax: 011-4823075
Cell: 082-8228415
Email: emmaa@mweb.co.za, algotsson.e@law.wits.ac.za
These are both large documents, so if you are able to assist her, please contact either Emma directly or myself to forward the documents to you – ta ed
POSITION(s) AVAILABLE
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
World Heritage Project Officer, Programme on Protected Areas
Duty station: IUCN Headquarters, Gland, Switzerland
Reporting to: Senior Programme Officer, Programme on Protected Areas
Expected start date: September 2006
Work percentage: 100%
Duration: One year, with possibility of extension
Background
IUCN is the Advisory Body for Natural and Mixed World Heritage properties under the World Heritage Convention. This role mainly involves four functions: (1) evaluating new natural and mixed properties which are proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List; (2) monitoring the state of conservation of existing natural and mixed World Heritage properties; (3) promoting a range of training and capacity building initiatives; and (4) providing guidance on the strategic implementation of the Convention. IUCN’s role on World Heritage is led by the IUCN Programme on Protected Areas. These activities are implemented in close coordination with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and financially supported by a contract with UNESCO, the implementation of which needs to be financially and technically monitored and reported.
Job description
The World Heritage Project Officer will perform a vital function of coordinating the implementation of IUCN’s role under the World Heritage Convention. Specifically he/she will be involved in the following tasks:
A. World Heritage Advisory Services and General Support
Ingwelala private nature reserve
Ingwelala is a private nature reserve in the Umbabat bordering on the Houtboschrand Section of the Kruger National Park.
Ingwelala's most recent claim to fame is the birthplace of of the two white lion cubs.
To find out more about this 3200ha share block, visit the web site www.ingwelala.co.za
The current manager and his wife are leaving and we need the following:
1. A caretaker manager for three to four months to allow us to recruit a replacement. (The caretaker could well apply for the permanent position as well.)
In the first case, we need someone with the right profile who can step in in mid July before the current manager leaves at the end of July.
A suitable profile would be someone with good managerial skills and empathy for the Ingwelala ethic, with a strong personality, to handle the three constituent elements:
We have two strong employees one in conservation and one in admin who could provide the required insight for operational issues, but the incumbent should have the managerial skills to make decisions and handle staff and member matters and generally run the farm.
2. A suitable replacement for the longer-term management of Ingwelala
A decision will be taken at a board meetingin the near future concerning the manner of recruitment. Obviously the interim manager will also receive consideration should he so wish.
The deadline for the permanent appointee to take office would be 1 November 2006.
The interim manager can expect the following package:
R20,000-00 pm, accomodation in the manager's house and transport in the form of a bakkie.
should you need any more info, please give Andre Lombard a ring on 011 807 ext 206 or 082 859 7487.
POSITION(s) Sought
Thank you if you are reading this email!
I am a consultant Wildlife Biologist with 6 years experience in research and monitoring programs for native mammals and reptiles within South Australia, Australia. I am currently assisting the Department for Environment and Heritage (SA) Protected Area Systems Unit with the identification and assessment of properties to be acquired and added to the reserve system. This contract will close on the 30 June 2006.
I hope to take the opportunity of a contract-free workplan to travel over-seas, primarily to Africa. It's short notice, but I'm keen to come over within the next couple of months (by September if possible).
If you can think of anyone coordinating any field-based academic or conservation focused research programs in southern or eastern Africa that may be able to benefit from my qualifications and experience, can you please pass on this email and my offer to work as a volunteer”
Attached is a rather dry version of my resume and a picture of some of the habitats and species I have worked with. Feel free to forward this email to anyone whom you feel may be interested.
Please let me know if you would like any other information.
Take care and have a lovely day!
Nerissa
Following the 30 June 2006, please email nerissahaby@hotmail.com
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Tailpiece-
During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criteria was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."
"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."
"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug.
Do you want a bed near the window?"
Matter of Fact
It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started:
This is an electronic newsletter of the Game Rangers' Association of Africa. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Association, nor of the Editor. This is intended to be an exchange of news snips, ideas and communication between members. Newsletter content may be copied and re-distributed without authorisation. Correspondence should be addressed to the Editor at dyunnie@xsinet.co.za