African Wildlife & Environment Issue 77 FINAL ISSUE

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

A way of countering this threat is to actively engage with the communities to see what is needed and the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve was involved with other NGOs providing essential meals to the vulnerable and special- needs children. There is also an initiative being explored where tangible beneficiation through providing game meat that has been culled, could provide some respite. This does however need to be sustainable, ethical and be in line with ecological and veterinary legislation. The national veterinary laws are particularly restrictive and any area where foot and mouth disease (FMD) is prevalent, becomes a challenge. The loss of jobs for community members within the reserves is currently the biggest threat, because the knock-on effect for all the family members who have been reliant on the income, has dried up. The sooner the lockdown is lifted within reason, the sooner the staff can get back to work and start earning an income again. Many people have said that the one big positive to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is that nature has had a chance to take a deep breath and recharge her batteries. Because of the severe restrictions that were imposed, there was little movement within protected areas, apart from the essential services staff. Nature continued unabated and all the ecological processes still took place and the animals were possibly wondering, “where have all the people gone”? The shutdown of air travel, reduced vehicle travel and other related industries where the emissions are substantial, would have had a positive influence on the global carbon footprint. Hopefully, we have all had a chance to reflect during these unprecedented times on our role in nature, and how we can perhaps change our behaviour and become better custodians of our planet. Keep smiling, even though you are wearing a mask, and keep sanitising, both internally with your soul and externally in your physical environment, to ensure we all have a cleaner, brighter future.

of many depend on it, especially women and particularly in the world’s most vulnerable countries, including small island developing states and least-developed countries. Moreover, in many parts of the world the protection of biodiversity relies heavily on the tourist sector, from conservation to the revenue generated by those efforts. Tourism can be a platform for overcoming the pandemic, by bringing people together, tourism can promote solidarity and trust, crucial ingredients in advancing the global cooperation that is so urgently needed at this time. United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is strongly committed to this work. I encourage all those involved in the tourism sector to explore how we can recover better, including some prime protection and other steps that advance sustainability and build resilience. On our journey towards a better future we must uphold our pledge to leave no one behind”. When the lockdown was first implemented in South Africa many people were confined to their homes and were not allowed any form of travel except for medical reasons and shopping for groceries. In the protected area environment, the wardens, rangers, and field rangers however had to be extra vigilant and their workload increased. The crime syndicates and those poachers and thieves who at the best of times do what they want, saw this as an opportunity to carry out their evil deeds. The restriction on road movement in South Africa has helped to curb the drop-off and pick-up of poaching gangs outside of protected areas as well as inside the parks and reserves, where they possibly had free reign before. The overall poaching of rhino still continued during these times; however, it has reduced in certain areas, possibly due to the difficulty in transporting the horns.Where rural communities have been hard hit economically, there is a constant threat of increased bushmeat poaching. The setting of wire or cable snares has always been a very effective way of catching some unsuspecting antelope or smaller creature with the only chance of being caught by the field rangers is when the snares are set or when they are checked. Snaring is however indiscriminate, and anything can get caught. A lioness was caught and killed by snaring, while we have seen elephants missing the tips of their trunks, hyenas and wild dogs with snares still attached, buffalo, zebra, other smaller antelope, and numerous other species.

Bryan Havemann Warden of the Umbabat Private Reserve warden@umbabat.co.za

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