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.
GAME RANGERS ASSOCIATION OF AFRICA - AGM 2008
The AGM for 2008 will be held at Hlalanathi Drakensberg Resort from Sunday 17th to Thursday 21st February 2008.
The theme for the seminar will be The Natal Drakensberg and the Ukhahlamba – Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site. Field trips will be your choice of a hike to the top of the Amphitheatre (requires a head for heights and good hiking boots), a hike to the Gorge at the base of the Amphitheatre (one of the best known hikes in the Berg), a guided fly-fishing trip to Sterkfontein Dam (must have your own trout fishing equipment) or a bird watching walk with world-renowned ornithologist Dr David Johnston – there are limited places on this walk, first come, first served.
Hlalanathi is in the northern Drakensberg, near Royal Natal National Park, on the R74 (below the Oliviershoek Pass), and has both chalets and camping. The serviced chalets are fully equipped, with crockery, cutlery, linen and towels. The campsites have electricity and modern ablution blocks. There is an on-site shop with basic provisions, also a laundry service and limited freezer space. There is a pub and restaurant, swimming pool, tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course. Trout fishing and horse riding are available in the area. Photos will be available on our website shortly.
We have been given an excellent rate for the chalets, of R131 per person per night, but this is dependant on all the beds being filled. If you are determined not to share a room, please be aware that you will have to pay for both beds, but, as beds are at a premium, please try and make arrangements to share with a friend! There are only 78 beds available, so come on, book now! There is plenty of room in the campsite, good ablutions and plenty of shade. The cost is R48 per person per night.
Lunch and supper will be provided each day, from a light finger supper on Sunday evening, to the final awards dinner on Wednesday evening. Breakfasts will not be provided, so either bring your own or eat in the restaurant. We have not yet been able to finalise the Registration fee, but hope to be able to keep it in the region of R400.00 pp. The more donations you can raise, the less you will have to pay. If you have any special dietary requirements, i.e. vegetarian, no red meat, etc, please indicate them on your booking form.
We have to let Hlalanathi know how many people will be coming by the end of November, to allow them time to let out any un-used accommodation, so PLEASE LET ME HAVE YOUR BOOKINGS AND DEPOSITS BY 30TH NOVEMBER 2007.
There is accommodation available at other venues in the area if Hlalanathi is completely booked up, contact details will be provided on application.
The Booking Request form is attached, please either fax it to 033 3431534 with a copy of your bank deposit slip, or email the information to dyunnie@xsinet.co.za.
Theme: The natal Drakensberg and The Ukhahlamba – Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site – of Provincial, National and International Importance – Its importance for biodiversity and cultural heritage conservation, water production, community partnerships and environmentally-friendly tourism and links to Lesotho.
SESSION 1 Welcome, & Programme Announcements
08:30 Welcome Wayne Lotter GRAA Chairman
SESSION 2 Opening & Keynote Address
08:45 Opening Address Khulani Mkhize (CEO EKZN Wildlife)
09:15 Keynote Address Dr John Scotcher (Guest Speaker)
10:00 Tea / Coffee Break
SESSION 3 Ukhahlamba – Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site – A Cultural and Biodiversity Legacy
10:30 Geology of the Drakensberg John Ward To be confirmed
11:00 Ukhahlamba – Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site Roger Porter EKZN Wildlife
11:30 Maluti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Project Duncan Heard MDTP
12:00 The Role of the Mountain Club – South Africa Andy Wood To be confirmed
SESSION 4 Challenges in Managing a World Heritage Site
12:30 U-D P Management Challenges Yoliswa Ndlovu EKZN Wildlife
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Cultural Heritage John Wright or Frans Prins, MDTP To be confirmed
14:30 U-D P Community Outreach Ntombifuti Luthuli EKZN Wildlife
15:00 Tea & Coffee Break
15:30 Stewardship and partnership opportunities Kevin McCann, EKZN Wildlife
To be confirmed
SESSION 5 Providing a Superlative Visitor Experience
16:00 Tourism Opportunities Gladman Buthelezi EKZN Wildlife
SESSION 6 Closure
16:30 Closing Comments
17:00 End of day
BOOKING REQUEST – AGM, 17 – 21 FEBRUARY 2008, HLALANATHI DRAKENSBERG RESORT
The KZN Region would like to welcome you to the 2008 AGM Please fill in all the details below, and email to dyunnie@xsinet.co.za or fax this form to 033 – 3431534, together with proof of bank deposit before 30th November 2007.
Name: _______________________________________________Membership no.:__________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________
Contact phone no. _________________________________
| Type of Accommodation Required: | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalet | No. of People | Arrival Date | Departure Date | No. of Nights | Tariff | Total |
| per Bed per Night | (17/2/08) | (21/2/08) | (4) | R131.00 | ||
| Campsite pp/pn | (17/2/08) | (21/2/08) | (4) | R48.00 | ||
| Registration Fee All Attendees | ||||||
WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SPECIAL RATE, PROVIDING ALL BEDS ARE FILLED. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SHARE A ROOM IN A CHALET, PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR BOTH BEDS. Please indicate names if you want to share a room/chalet with a specific person/couple. All chalets have fully fitted kitchens, with fridge/freezers, microwaves etc. There is a freezer room in the campsite, used on “first come, first served” basis. Registration fee includes lunches and suppers, breakfasts for your own account. This amount will be advised once we know what donations have been received, but should not be more than R400.00.
As we have to pre-book some of these activities, please indicate which of the following activities you would like to participate in on the field day (Tuesday 18th ) :
Please tick one
| Activity | Cost P/P | No. of People | Yes |
| Hike to the top of the Amphitheatre (drive to Qwaqwa=1.5 hours, hike up to chain ladder and Mont aux Sources plateau=1.5 hours, Need good hiking boots | Nil | ||
| Bird and General walk with Dr David Johnson at RNNP (limited no. of participants) | To be advertised | ||
| Walk to the Thukela Gorge in RNNP | Nil | ||
| Fly fishing at Sterkfontein Dam (guided trip and you need your own equipment) | R100.00 |
Please pay 50% deposit for accommodation with your booking, balance payable by 30th January 2008. Cheques payable to Game Rangers Assoc of Africa, Banking details – FNB, branch no. 220725 (Howick), Acc No 62103195956, Ref. AGM
Other activities in the area:
The Thin Green Line
International Ranger Federation Award presentation on Saturday 6th October 2007 at the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve in Howick.
The KZN Region hosted an award presentation by the IRF, through the Thin Green Line Federation, to the families of those Rangers who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for conservation and who were mentioned in the film “The Thin Green Line”.
The event started at 11:00 when the gathering was addressed by Jim Taylor of WESSA, Dr Ian Player, Sean Willmore and Bryan Havemann when the presentations were made.
They were
Wilson Ndlovu who was killed by an elephant in the Kruger National Park
The Commendation reads
To the family and friends of (name)
His efforts and sacrifice are a credit to the ranger profession and it is our honour to recognise his and your family’s sacrifice, so that nature and culture may be protected into the future.
As a token of our appreciation, we would like to present to you the equivalent of US$1 000.00 to help alleviate the financial strain (name’s) passing may have caused.
Signed by Sean Willmore,
After a light finger lunch, the film, The Thin Green Line, was shown by the film-maker, Sean Willmore. Copies of the film, on DVD, were available for purchase by those present. Should anyone else like to purchase a copy it is available from the website www.thingreenline.info
This event was recorded by an Australian film crew
Thank you note from IRF Acting President
Thank you, Wayne, for sharing the success of the event. I'm very impressed that GRAA members were able to secure the participation of Dr. Player, line up the venue, and bring the families together. It is a good day for rangers of the world, to see funding being distributed to the families as we've envisioned for so long. Thank you to Sean for raising the funds and to all of you in GRAA who made it possible.
Thanks and best wishes,
Long-term Incentives for Park Managers
I have pleasure in attaching a note that I have written on Park Manager Incentives. It may be of interest to you and to the members of your Association.
I am, by trade, an Asset Manager and Merchant Banker but retired 5 years ago and have been involved in advising various Parks since then and was one of the founders of African Parks.
Please let me know whether you think my note is of any value.
Yours sincerely,
Michael. (Eustace)
Long-term Incentives for Park Managers – A Concept Note. 27th September, 2007.
Background.
One of the critical issues in Park sustainability in Africa is attracting and keeping good managers. The current levels of remuneration are generally insufficient to retain good managers because the levels are so low that managers can only feed and clothe their families and provide for a modest annual holiday. They can not finance fundamentals such as good schools, a house to live in once retired, some savings as an insurance against a rainy day and a car, all of which are basic needs that good people are likely to demand in order to join and stay in the industry. Assuming that a modest pension and medical aid are provided for in the current package, a dimension of the additional saving requirements in today’s money is: House R1 million; Savings R2 million; Schooling for 2 children over 10 years R1 million; Car R200.000… a total of R4.200.000. Over a working life of 30 years this amounts to required savings of R140.000 p.a. which may well be greater than the current average annual after tax earnings of managers in the industry. Managers are often responsible for tens of millions of Rands worth of assets and a poor or inexperienced manager can constitute a large net additional cost when fire damage, vehicle damage, animal health, poaching, low tourism etc. are properly taken into account. Low levels of manager remuneration could be at a net cost to conservation.
Alternatives.
“Fauna Shares.”
2) A Park conducts a survey of animal populations every year and provided the populations are optimal or increasing satisfactorily relative to the weather, the Warden, assuming he is good as well as energetic, is allowed to sell sufficient numbers of specific animals to generate an income of R150.000 p.a.
3) “Mr. Good”, an entrepreneur and conservationist buys a herd of Rhino and lends these to a Park. The Park does not need to own the animals as all the Park wants is to be able to show the tourists Rhino and thus offer the “Big 5” and increase tourist income. They currently have the Big 4. Mr. Good has his animals fed and cared for and allows the manager an appropriate and transparent share in the offspring as an incentive.
4) A Park runs at a loss of R3 million p.a. There is little emphasis on cost cutting and increasing revenues in the industry but by cost cutting and increasing revenues a good and incentivised manager is able to reduce the loss to R2 million p.a., over the long term. He is allocated “Phantom Shares” in the animal population and in terms of a formula is able to generate R150.000 p.a., from the proceeds of surplus animal sales, as a direct result of efficiencies that he has been motivated to introduce.
Conclusion.
The irony is that in a number of Parks in Africa there are informal “Fauna Shares”… illegal meat rackets, poaching of ivory and Rhino horn and sales of live animals…all carried out by parks staff. Maybe the less you pay the more you encourage corrupt activities? Perhaps it is time to formalize incentives linked to the well-being of the park rather than paying low salaries and wages that encourage corruption and diminish the park?
Michael Eustace, eustacem@global.co.za , 0829000867.
Tourist Guides & DEAT Registration.
Good Day to All
It has come to our attention that there is a great deal of confusion amongst Tourist Guides with regards to accreditation/registration and what is required in order to perform duties as a Tourist Guide. The document attached hereto (this is an 8 page doc. So drop me a line if you want it from me – ed) should help to clarify a few points. However, if you still remain unclear about a few specific issues, please feel free to address these concerns to me, if I cannot assist with the correct information; I will request an answer from DEAT, THETA or other relevant authority/Organisation/body as the specific case may be.
I would also appreciate receiving full contact details from as many tourist guides as possible in order to bring our Tourist Guide Database as up-to-date as possible, which will enable us to stay I contact with you about issues that may arise. We are planning a monthly newsletter specifically for tourist guides and the database will enable us to reach you timeously. Obviously, an e-mail address would be the preferred method of contact as this makes it easier for us to send thru information.
I look forward to hearing from you in this regard.
Wildlife exploitation
Hi Tim (Snow), I got your email address from Keith Roberts at the Friedkin Conservation Fund. I'm a US student, and I'm currently travelling for one year in Africa. I received a Watson fellowship to travel and study wildlife exploitation independently. I am currently in Tanzania, and I will be visiting Zambia, SA, Cameroon, and Ghana over the year.
Anyway, please let me know if you have any advice. I'm specifically interested in bushmeat and anti-poaching efforts, but I have heard that bushmeat is not a large problem in SA. Is this true? Regardless,
I'd love any information and suggestions you would have.
Sincerely,
POSITION(s) AVAILABLE
The person must have extensive experience in working with enforcement data bases, preferably experience in the development of similar data bases (please note, this means someone that will develop something similar to the attachment … this does not mean programming skills etc.) Obviously, some academic credentials would not hurt our cause.
If you are interested please contact Robert Primmer the contact details below:
Protected Area Management and Natural Resource Law Enforcement Advisor
---
NATIONAL WILDLIFE INSPECTOR
NATIONAL WILDLIFE INSPECTOR
Please forward a copy of your CV to :
Kind regards
]
NSPCA
Tailpiece-
Julie Andrews turned 69 a few years ago -
To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was "My Favourite Things" from the legendary movie "Sound Of Music."
Here are the actual lyrics she used:
Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Cadillacs and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
When the pipes leak,
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
When the joints ache,
Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.
Matter of Fact
This is one of the country’s premier hiking areas, please take the time to experience some of the walks available at Royal Natal National Park
Golf and tennis at Hlalanathi
Horse riding at RNNP
The award was made possible by the donations made to the TTGLF at the World Premiere held in some 36 countries around the world on the 31st July, which was World Ranger Day.
Three Rangers families were awarded a donation of US$1 000.00 and were presented with a certificate to commemorate the sacrifice made by the Ranger.
Freddy Ntuli who was killed by poachers in Sodwana Forest Reserve
And
Boyi Ngubane who was ambushed in Amatikulu Reserve, by poachers when he was arresting them.
We, at the Thin Green Line Foundation (TTGLF), The International Ranger Federation (I R F)and
I U C N (The World Conservation Union), and the world community supporting rangers, wish to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice (name) has made on the frontline of conservation.
We understand this in no way compensated for your loss, but hope it goes some way in showing our support for fallen colleagues to his family.
Director, The Thin Green Line Foundation Ltd, on behalf of TTGLF, I R F and I U C N
Deanne
Acting President, IRF.
Park owners could simply pay more, either by salary increases or performance bonuses but a doubling of current levels is a tough call. The private sector may be persuaded but many of the
National Park budgets are strained and there is often a culture of quantity of employees rather than quality. (It would seem important to try and find formulae that are acceptable to both the private and the public sector.) One option would be a scheme where valuable managers are given or lent an interest in part of the animal population. This would be similar to managers in a business owning shares or stock options as an incentive which incentive also aligns the managers’ interests with those of the owner. There are a number of ways that this could be structured but to illustrate the concept here are 4:
1) “Astute Park” wants to introduce Roan Antelope. The owner buys a herd of 10 animals and lends an adult female to his excellent manager who he wants to keep. The female produces 6 calves over 5 years and each calf is worth R100.000. At the end of 5 years the manager has, say, 7 Roan but in accordance with an agreement entered into at the outset, he is required to repay the owner 2 animals as a form of capital repayment and interest on the loan. In this scheme the manager has accumulated a net 5 animals with a total value of R500.000.
The purpose of this note is to encourage discussion on the concept of “Fauna Shares”. There are numerous ways in which a scheme can be constructed and as happens in commercial companies the incentive needs to be formulated so as to be specific to the Park, the manager and behaviours and outputs that need to be encouraged.
Many thanks and kind regards – Muriel Falconer
muriel@ingwe-tourism.co.za, 013 751 3026, 086 606 3891, 083 473 6734
Can anyone help this researcher?
Although this is well in advance as I won't be in South Africa until December, I was hoping that I could open the lines of communication and eventually set up a meeting with you. Because I'm not affiliated
with an institution and nothing I learn goes toward a degree or publication, I'm trying to just talk with various NGOs, gov't officials, and anyone else involved in monitoring exploitation. In addition, I will try to volunteer and learn from my experience in that manner.
Caitlin McDonald, caitlinannmcdonald@gmail.com.
Law enforcement data base
The late Douw Swanepoel (Swannie) was working with me (Arrie Schreiber) to develop a site law enforcement database system in Vietnam. We now need to develop a Central national data base which is basically fed by these site based data systems and therefore need someone that can identify the data that is required by the central system, depending obviously on the needs that will be identified through the development of this central enforcement task force.
FRR East Asia
No.23, Lane 31
Xuan Dieu
Hanoi
Vietnam
Office Tel: +84 (04) 7195101, Mobile Tel: +84 -(0) 903209008, E-mail: rob.frrhn@fpt.vn, www.frr.co.uk
Are you interested in a career in animal welfare? The National Council of SPCAs has the following
position available:
Fax: 011 – 907 4013
Email: performing2@nspca.co.za
Winnie Erkens
Animals for Exhibition, Entertainment or Sport
Tel: +27 11 907-3590/1/2/3
Fax: +27 11 907-4013
Web:www.nspca.co.za
PO Box 1320
Alberton, South Africa
1450
THIS WILL APPEAL TO THE THOSE GETTING ON A LITTLE.
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favourite things.
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favourite things.
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favourite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favourite things.
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short, shrunken frames,
When we remember our favourite things.
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.
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