Keynote Address by the Deputy Minister Ms Barbara Thomson on World Rhino Day
Programme Director,
The Board Chairman of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Inkosi ZT Gumede,
The Chief Executive of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Mr Andrew Zaloumis,
Representatives of our Traditional Leadership,
Government and iSimangaliso officials,
Members of the media, and
Most importantly, all the school children and members of the local community gathered here,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today we stand here on the shores of one of iSimangaliso's jewels - Lake St Lucia - in South Africa's first declared World Heritage Site. We are here to mark the 5th anniversary of World Rhino Day.
Today is significant on a number of levels:
- KwaZulu-Natal is the province where Dr Ian Player and his team pioneered the saving of the white rhino from extinction through what was then called Operation Rhino.
- It is also the province where individuals and organisations are banding together to ensure that the dream of respected conservationists like Dr Player was, is not in vain. The rhino, as a key member of the Big Five and an important tourist attraction, particularly in this part of our country, survives the daily onslaught by unscrupulous poachers who kill these ancient animals for their horn.
That is evident from the number of provincial, national and international organisations that have joined hands to raise public awareness amongst learners in this 640 000-strong community that surrounds iSimangaliso, about the plight of the rhino.
It was iSimangaliso's late Park Operations Director, Herbert Mthembu-Mvelase, who first had the vision to build support for rhino conservation by organising a rhino walk for schools living in and around the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. As a local person from KwaNgwenya and Thengani, Mvelase knew the importance of involving local communities in the important work of conservation. He was an expert on rhinos and taught many now renowned specialists about rhinos when they are fresh out of University.
Last month Mvelase's vision was realised when the Department of Environmental Affairs joined members of the iSimangaliso Authority, ZAP-Wing, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation, African Conservation Trust, Wildlands, the Peace Parks Foundation and Vega Archipelago Verdensarv (Norwegian World Heritage Site) in that walk that will end in the Kosi Bay area on 2 October this year.
About 11 250 learners from 75 local schools are participating in this walk, which started on 7 September. Learners and educators, as well as community members and their traditional and political leaders have been walking across the length of iSimangaliso.
Ladies and Gentlemen, iSimangaliso makes up eight percent of the South African coastline and this walk aims to increase community conservation awareness and protection, and to celebrate the miracle of iSimangaliso.
I would like to thank the principals and educators for fostering a conservation ethic in their learners by participating in the pioneering event. Partnerships with the schools in the area have laid the foundation for the cutting edge development programmes implemented by iSimangaliso, like the bursary programme for local students to study.
Why focus on learners? These young people are an important layer in our anti-poaching campaign. The learners are being taught about the heritage, economic and job creation value of the rhino and other endangered species.
This is particularly important in the Umkhanyakude District, one of the poorest in the country, where residents rely heavily on eco-tourism and agriculture as a means of survival. In this context, iSimangaliso is a leading example of a model for conservation led economic development. The effort of the Department of Environmental Affairs and the iSimangaliso Authority has seen conservation based tourism become a driving economic force in the region.
Lake St Lucia alone generates more than 6 000 direct permanent jobs and iSimangaliso accounts for 6% of KZN Tourism's GDP and 0.6% of South Africa's GDP. This has created the platform for iSimangaliso to move forward with municipalities, amakhosi, the private sector and other partners to make this region one of Africa's greatest conservation based tourism products driven by community empowerment.
I am pleased that both the Umkhanyakude District Municipality and the local Mtubatuba municipality are working closely with iSimangaliso to make this World Heritage Site the driver of tourism-led economic development in this area. Our efforts to conserve rhinos and other iconic species must go hand in hand with the delivery of tangible economic benefits to our people.
Today we had the pleasure of handing out much-needed equipment to some of the 185 entrepreneurs supported through iSimangaliso's rural enterprise programme. So far, equipment to the value of R 5.9 million has been awarded to participating enterprises. iSimangaliso is also investing in skills for the future - 67 students are being supported to study at University in the fields of conservation and tourism to develop skills.
I am impressed with the calibre of the iSimangaliso students and interns I have met today and am proud to hear that the pass rate of these students is 94%. I encourage the learners here to grab the opportunities available to you through this programme as you are tomorrow's leaders in conservation. This past financial year iSimangaliso paid out R 1,136,685 to land claimants as part of the annual revenue payments defined by the co-management agreements between the Park and land claimants.
Year-on-year the land care and infrastructure development programmes, funded through the Department of Environmental Affairs, have employed community-based contractors creating over 50 000 temporary jobs in the last 10 years. Training programmes in tourism, hospitality and tour-guiding have included local people in the growth. These new partners benefit directly from conservation and in this way the Park’s outstanding heritage values have become tangible.
Ladies and Gentlemen, local and international youth have shown they are the future leaders in ensuring that the rhino is saved for their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A year ago young people met at the Centenary Centre in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, a short distance from here, to call for action against rhino poaching and wildlife crime.
The youth had through the World Youth Wildlife Declaration demanded that their voices be heard stating that they did not want to be the generation to tell their grandchildren that they did nothing about rhino poaching or wildlife crime.
The dedication of young folk did not end there. In June this year, a group of 22 youth from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam visited iMofolozi as part of the Vietnamese Youth Wilderness Trails Project in support of rhino horn demand reduction.
The visit by the Vietnamese youth, and the planned visit to Vietnam by South African youth in the coming weeks, is part of the awareness and demand management programmes contained in the Implementation Plan that puts into action the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of Biodiversity and Conservation signed between South Africa and Vietnam.
The education and awareness campaign is also part of the Rhino Protection Programme, which is being implemented under the auspices of the Department of Environmental Affairs in partnership with South African National Parks (SANParks), Ezemvelo KZB Wildlife and the Peace Parks Foundation (PPF).
The youth, as the moral, economic, political and thought leaders of tomorrow are key in the battle that is being fought. They are the future conservation leaders and are the generation that will influence the continued existence of legal and illegal wildlife markets, thus contributing to a decline in the consumption, and demand, for rhino horn.
Ladies and Gentlemen, public awareness is pertinent in achieving the Department’s priorities aimed at building a culture of environmental awareness and instilling a sense of responsible citizenship using social marketing tactics.
The Department of Environmental Affairs, as you may be aware, has been leading the implementation of the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros in South Africa, which was approved by the Cabinet in August 2014.
The four key aspects of the programme are the management of rhino populations, compulsory or pro-active anti-poaching interventions, national and international collaboration and long-term sustainability measures, which include the inclusion of communities in all initiatives aimed at ending rhino poaching.
One year later, we are able to state that working together with our colleagues in the South African Police Service, the Departments of Justice and Correctional Services, State Security and Defence and Military Veterans, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority and SANParks, this approach is beginning to bear fruit.
Our anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park have been stepped up and now include the utilisation of K-9 units, night capability as well as air and land capability.
Another measure bearing fruit has been the deployment of the Department’s Environmental Management Inspectors, better known as the Green Scorpions, at the O R Tambo International Airport to make sure that non-compliance with the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) and its Regulations are enforced. The main aim is to detect the trafficking of wildlife products.
As part of the national roll-out of this initiative, we are in the process of deploying Green Scorpions to KwaZulu-Natal. These inspectors will be based at King Shaka International Airport (KSIA) and service Durban harbour, the Airport and the Golela border post.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as the South African government we remain committed to the fight against poaching.
I also understand that iSimangaliso is also in the process of appointing its first 30 Environmental Management Inspectors to the Park to assist with, amongst other duties, rhino anti-poaching operations.
While not a specialist unit such as the Black Mamba rhino anti-poaching unit, these inspectors is expected to have a similar impact given that they will be drawn from local communities and, like their counterparts in other provinces, carry home the message of conservation and protection of our wildlife within the surrounding villages and towns.
In an effort to stay one step ahead of the poachers, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation (PPF), has started with the roll-out of a range of innovative rhino monitoring, rapid response and advanced security technologies across Ezemvelo’s rhino reserves.
Programme Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would again like to emphasise – as I did at World Rhino Day celebrations in Thulumahashe in Mpumalanga last year: The war against rhino poaching cannot be won by the government alone.
We rely on communities, nationally and internationally, to support us in neutralising the threat posed by organised transnational criminal syndicates involved in the illegal wildlife trade.
It is only through working with communities that sustainable solutions to the problem can be found. For example, one of the long-term sustainability solutions of the Integrated Strategic Management is the provision of alternative incentives for communities by ensuring that real benefits are from conservation through infrastructure development, job creation, and enterprise and skills development.
In KwaZulu-Natal this includes the implementation by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s Community Conservation Programme of the Rhino Ambassadors Programme which is funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), with SANParks as the implementing agent.
Rhino Ambassadors create awareness amongst community members about the plight of the rhino, the issue of rhino poaching and to encourage the community to fight against this crime. Through their work they have reported that public attitudes are changing – something I hope the walk by iSimangaliso and our partners will achieve.
Ladies and Gentlemen, World Rhino Day was launched by the World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010 to celebrate the five different species of Rhino. The Day has since grown to become a global event to draw attention to the impact of poaching on the continued survival of the species.
But, because of the vision and dedication of people like Dr Player, Magqubu Ntombela and Herbert Mthembu South Africa has such a proud conservation record. Today, KwaZulu-Natal, despite being one of the hardest hit provinces in terms of rhino poaching, is home to the second-largest population of white rhinos left in the world, and 25% of South Africa’s population of black rhino.
As a community living so close to our natural environment and our natural heritage, you should all be aware of the threats of rhino poaching. But, many of you may also be acutely aware of the ability of poaching syndicate to exploit vulnerable people – young and old – by offering them large amounts of money to kill and dehorn a rhino.
You, and I, can do something to stop that. We can blow the whistle on wildlife criminals. We can stand up and proclaim, no more. These are Our Rhino, Our Future! These animals contribute to job creation in our area, they contribute to our local economy through eco-tourism and the vast number of foreign visitors to this region every year. All this will, in the long run, result in the improvement of your lives through the creation of more businesses, the development of entrepreneurship initiatives by iSimangaliso, for example, and the ability of the local municipality to deliver services to you. To win the day we need the kind of community programmes that iSimangaliso has pioneered to be rolled out across all park in SA. We are looking at iSimangaliso to share this knowledge.
Without the rhino there will be no Big Five. Without tourism there are no jobs and no tourists. We are all linked in the cycle of life. Saving the rhino may ultimately save communities from poverty, increased crime and suffering.
By blowing the whistle on rhino poaching and wildlife crime you are not only contributing towards saving a species for future generations – our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – to enjoy and benefit from, you are also contributing to a safer society.
We have witnessed the commitment of the learners and educators that walked to be the voice of the iSimangaliso rhinos. I would again like to appeal to all of you here today, to become the eyes and ears of the police – to report rhino and wildlife crime, and to state clearly: Not on our Watch!
I thank you
