18 August 2006
Thirteen of the world's leading elephant scientists will meet in Cape Town
on 22 August to submit their views to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, on the need for further research into the
ecology of elephants.
This follows his statement in September last year that the Cabinet has
instructed him to develop policy guidelines for the management of South
Africa's burgeoning elephant population in national, provincial and private
parks.
The second Elephant Science Round Table (SRT2) follows a similar discussion
in January this year when the scientists told the Minister and senior officials
of his department that there is no compelling evidence to suggest the need for
immediate, large-scale reduction of elephant numbers in the Kruger National
Park.
The Minister convened the panel after scientists from South African National
Parks (SANParks) recommended that elephant populations should be reduced (see
report at http://www.sanparks.org)
through translocation, contraception, range expansion and culling.
Participants in SRT1 did, however, agree that in some protected areas, some
intervention might be necessary to manage elephant density distribution and
population structure. In areas of significant size and diversity where some
risk could be accommodated, "deliberate, bold actions" were required.
The concept of "active adaptive management" (i.e. learning by doing) would
be helpful in reducing management uncertainties in complex systems. Adequate
monitoring and feedback loops should be part of such a process.
In the meantime, he said he would have to develop policy guidelines based on
the best scientific information currently available, along with other factors
such as ethical and social considerations, indigenous knowledge, environmental
and tourism impacts.
In parallel with the SRT process, the Department has engaged with a large
number of stakeholders. Hundreds of submissions have been received from around
the world.
According to Mava Scott, acting head of communications at the Department,
the scientists attending SRT2 are being asked to assume for the purpose of the
round table discussion that the Minister intends to adopt this consensus
stakeholder view as a policy guideline and to provide advice on the following
questions:
* what scientific interventions are required for the implementation of an
adaptive management research programme in the near future
* how would a multi-stakeholder research programme be set up and
administered
* how would it work in practice
* how much will it cost and over what time period should it operate
* who should monitor the process and how would the "learnings" be absorbed into
elephant management policy and practice?
Scott said that specialists in the Department were making good progress with
drafting of the Norms and Standards for Elephant Management, which would
hopefully be published for public comment before the year-end and the
contribution from the SRT2 would enhance the process.
Participants in SRT2 are:
1. Dr Brian Huntley (Facilitator) - Director, South African National
Biodiversity Institute
2. Professor Norman Owen-Smith - Research Professor in African Ecology at the
University of the Witwatersrand
3. Professor Rudi Van Aarde - Professor of Zoology and Director of the
Conservation Research Unit in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science,
University of Pretoria
4. Professor Graham Kerley - Director, Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit,
Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
5. Dr Hector Magome -Head of Research, South African National Parks
6. Dr Ian Whyte - Research Manager: Large Herbivores, South African National
Parks
7. Dr. David Cumming - Tropical Resource Ecology Programme, University of
Zimbabwe
8. Bruce Page - Lecturer in Ecology in the School of Conservation and
Biological Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
9. Professor Rob Slotow - Professor, School of Conservation and Biological
Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
10. Dr Bob Scholes - Systems Ecologist, Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research
11. Dr Holly Dublin - Chair, Species Survival Commission, IUCN - The World
Conservation Union
12. Dr Iain Douglas Hamilton - Chief Executive of Save the Elephants
13. Professor Kevin Rogers - Professor of Ecology in the School of Animal Plant
and Environmental Science at the University of the Witwatersrand.
For more information, please contact:
Mava Scott
Acting Chief Director of Communications
Cell: 082 411 9821
Roopa Singh
Deputy Director: Content Management
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Tel: (012) 310 3566
Fax: (012) 322 2476
Cell: 082 225 3076
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
18 August 2006
