African Wildlife & Environment Issue 79

& ENVIRONMENT

ISSUE 79 (2021)

Water as a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

WILD AMARANTH

This is mine: BIODIVERSITY OR MINERALS?

MARIEVALE BIRD SANCTUARY

THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

CONTENTS

The content below is hyperlinked to the article Just click and read

1 Editorial 2 Guest editorial 3 Celebrating 95 years of WESSA 6 Letters to the editor 8 Good reads

Cape Floristic Region

WESSA Leadership 13 Mpendulo (M.P. Dlamini) - the new kid on the block

Conservation 15 Water as a national security issue

Fauna, Flora & Wildlife 18 Clearing up the misonceptions about forests in the Cape Floristic Region 23 The Wild Amaranth 26 This is mine: biodiversity or minerals

The Wild Amarath

Gardening for Biodiversity 36 The Tree Fuchsia

Destinations 43 Marievale Bird Sanctuary

Marievale Bird Sanctuary

Birding 50 Narina Trogon the jewel of the forests

Nature Notes 54 Kingfishers are king

Subscriptions / General 59 WESSA membership 60 Leaving a legacy 61 Region, area office, branch & centre contacts 62 Publication details

Kingfishers are King

Copyright © African Wildlife & Environment. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by and means, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. African Wildlife & Environment retains the right to make alterations to any material submitted. The publisher, while exercising due care, cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage to material submitted. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of WESSA. Copyright on all content belongs toWESSA and the individual contributors.

Cover photograph: Albert Froneman

GENERAL

Dr John Ledger EDITORIAL The Covid – 19 virus continues to wreak havoc on South Africans, our friends, families and associates, and our businesses and institutions. On top of the political turmoil that threatens the stability of our fragile society, the slow roll-out of vaccines is adding to the general aura of despair and gloom that affects many of us right now. Then we have the changing seasons, having just passed the winter solstice on 21 June. The high interior of the country is cold, dry, dusty and often windy, fanning the flames of runaway fires in the dry grass. In the Cape, rain, wind, floods and grey skies are the order of the day. But as the saying goes, this too will pass, and we have a new issue of your magazine to help you pass the time during these wintery days.

Sanctuary as a worthy destination should whet your appetite for a visit there, preferably in summer when the migrant species are present. Finally, please read the article by Bryan Havemann and Alan du Toit, and be very afraid for the future of biodiversity conservation when it is threatened by mining. Some time ago our government introduced legislation to make the minerals beneath the ground of this country the property of the government, regardless of those with rights on the surface. The Selati Game Reserve one day found that plans to do open-cast mining on its pristine wildlife areas were far advanced. It seems that any applicant can submit mining proposals on any privately owned land, and unless the owners can put up a very strong case, there is little they can do to stop things! In this case there was a happy outcome, and the miners withdrew their application. My sense is that mining comprises a dire threat to conservation in South Africa, and an opposing force to the National Protected Area Expansion Strategy (NPAES), a key strategy for the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. When this Department clashes with the Department of Minerals and Energy, the DME usually wins. WESSA should put this particular matter high on its list of priorities, and come up with a strategic plan to prevent mining from trumping biodiversity issues in future.

In this edition we have some really interesting articles and some great images for your entertainment. In our gardening feature, Charles and Julia Botha introduce you to the Tree Fuchsia, a wonderful plant that will attract insects and birds to your garden. And remember, no pesticides, especially those whose packages tell you lies about being 'eco- friendly'! Professor Anthony Turton always gives us some very big issues to think about, and his article on the national security issues around water is no exception. The tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt around a new dam on the Nile River illustrate the kinds of problems that can and will arise increasingly in the future as the human population continues to grow and the demand for water increases exponentially. Humans remain largely ignorant about earth's regular natural cycles that drive periodic droughts and floods around the planet. One of the most powerful of these is 'ENSO', the 'El Niño Southern Oscillation' of the Atlantic Ocean, that dramatically affects rainfall on our continent. Strong El Niño generally signals more droughts while the contrasting La Niña condition generally brings us wetter conditions.We have just had a La Niña period, and when the rainy season ended in April this year, I had recorded 842 mm in my Johannesburg garden, more than double the rainfall in 2020. When I was a young birder one of my dreams was to spot a Narina Trogon. Now I am an old birder, and I still haven't seen one! But for those of you like me, John Wesson's article on this enigmatic species will give you a glimpse of what might have been! And if you are a birder in Gauteng, or passing through these parts, our feature on the Marievale Bird

Dr John Ledger Consulting Editor john.ledger@wol.co.za 083 650 1768

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GUEST EDITORIAL YOURWILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE

African Wildlife was launched in 1946 and grew to become the second longest standing newsletter and magazine in South Africa. In 2009, after much research and collaboration, WESSA was one of the founding partners in the launch of Environment - People and Conservation in Africa. This Environment magazine incorporated African Wildlife and brought together a number of key conservation groups in South Africa, in addition to providing information on WESSA’s activities and achievements, Environment magazine also reported on the many areas in which conservation organisations are working on collaboratively for the benefit of all. Environment tackled pressing conservation and environmental issues and provided fascinating, credible, authoritative, well-researched information that aimed to empower, and inspire readers to take action for the good of the environment. Unfortunately, over time, and with dwindling advertising support, several of the partnering NGOs withdrew, resulting in the final decision in early 2016 to close the publication. With the above as background,WESSA took the decision to reintroduce AfricanWildlife & Environment, using top writers as anchor contributors, all of whom are leaders in their respective fields. Some of these who have contributed from the beginning include are Prof Eugene Moll, Prof Anthony Turton and Bryan Havemann. The magazine continued to be edited by consulting editor Dr John Ledger who has been a key role player in African Wildlife, Environment and Over the past 95 years, WESSA has made an enormous contribution to conservation and environmental legislation, compliance and in promoting public participation, both locally and internationally. An important part of this contribution has been the raising of issues and sharing of information through African Wildlife, and later Environment magazines.

JohnWesson

now African Wildlife & Environment , also taking on the book reviews. With high quality photographic support by Albert Froneman, John Wesson and others, the final key person in the revival has been our graphics layout specialist Marlene McKay who expertly weaves the magazine together. The rest of the team consists of John and Jenny Wesson who do the production and first editing of the magazine, and Daleen van Manen who carries out the final edit and proofing. African Wildlife & Environment magazine kicked off where Environment magazine had stopped, and initially for several years was available in both hard copy and PDF, while 2021 saw it convert to a full e-magazine with a PDF as well. This was brought about by amongst others failing postal services, high costs of paper and printing, and the use of plastic packaging for posting it. The e-magazine has been applauded by many members and public alike. It is distributed widely, shared both locally and overseas. This year the magazine celebrates 75 years of promoting People Caring for the Earth . A recent welcome addition to the magazine is the young readers' section, written by Nadine Clarke, which has created a great deal of interest.

For more information, or to subscribe, please have a look at www.wessalife.org.za The African Wildlife & Environment team

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GENERAL

CELEBRATING 95 YEARS OFWESSA

Ex-CEO of WESSA Vincent Carruthers reflects on the history of the organisation.

Vincent Carruthers

Vincent Curruthers (on the left) with the late Willem Hazewindus, former chairman of the WESSA NAR, and James Clarke at the WESSA National AGM in September 2014 hosted by the Northern Areas Region.

The most pleasant memories I have of my time as Executive Director of the Wildlife Society (now WESSA) are of the dozens of people I met who were important contributors in the conservation field. I learned a great deal from them and many of them have remained close friends ever since. In 1983 the three big NGOs in conservation were the EWT, the SA Nature Foundation (the South African arm of the WWF) and the Wildlife

Society. The Society was a significant player in this trio with over 20 000 members, seven very active branches throughout South Africa and another in London, a permanent seat on the National Parks Board (now SANParks) and a powerful public voice through the prestigious African Wildlife magazine. It had recently played a major role in preventing coal mining in Kruger Park and in the proclamation of the Magaliesberg as a protected area. So it was a

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wonderful platform from which I could meet and get to know the big names in conservation. Clive Walker, founder of the EWT and Lapalala Wilderness Trust, Dale Parker, the owner of Lapalala, and I worked closely together. Dale and I had been in the army together and he was already a good friend.The three of us held earnest talks about integrating the efforts of our respective organisations. It came to naught because others in the Wildlife Society viewed the idea with suspicion, but I joined the Lapalala Trust immediately after I resigned from theWildlife Society. Sadly, Dale died not long afterwards but Clive and I have remained close friends. John Ledger, who took over from Clive at the EWT was another person who became a good friend. He combines a profound scientific knowledge with

world. When I came into the Society, fifteen years later, one of the first things I did was mount a drive for corporate members. My encounters with Stroebel were therefore focussed on whether the SANF’s 1968 undertaking not to recruit private members automatically implied that the Sociey could not recruit corporate members. One of his trump cards was that the SANF funded some of the Society’s projects, so my fight for the right to corporate membership had to be approached with circumspection. I admired Stroebel, but his legal skills tested me severely and I learned a lot about negotiation brinkmanship. In the end we remained respectful adversaries rather than friends.The society carried on building its corporate membership and SANF didn’t stop funding our projects. On a lighter note, I

a great sense of humour. Other great personalities whom I met and worked with were John Skinner, Director of the Mammal Research Institute, Willie Labuschagne, Director of the National Zoo, Ian Player, Ken Newman, the author TV Bulpin, Paul Ehrlich of Population Prediction fame, Tol

remember one incident when Dian Fossey was to give a Wildlife Society public lecture at a large hall. I introduced her and sat down to enjoy her leaping about the stage whilst imitating gorillas. She was explaining the importance of grooming behaviour when she

The job of Executive Director was exhilarating but very stressful. I decided that, once we had met all of the objectives we had set in 1983

and the Society was back on its financial and managerial feet, I would move on. Vincent Carruthers

Pienaar, head of National Parks, Roy Siegfried, Brian Huntley and many others. It was a wonderful learning experience and their wisdom and knowledge helped me to formulate a less naïve understanding and approach to environmental issues. The SANF was managed by Frans Stroebel, a smart Stellenbosch lawyer who was appointed by Anton Rupert. The relationship between the SANF and the Wildlife Society was an interesting one. In 1964 Prince Bernard, President of the WWF, had expressed concern that South Africa’s homeland policy in South West Africa threatened wildlife in Etosha. Hendrik Verwoerd was infuriated by the Prince’s interference and prohibited the establishment of the WWF in South Africa, stating that the Wildlife Society was an adequate conservation entity. After Verwoerd’s death, Anton Rupert started the SANF in 1968 with a strict undertaking that it would not compete with the Wildlife Society for public membership; instead it raised prodigious sums of money from sponsorship based on Rupert’s high standing in the corporate

suddenly pounced on me and started nit-picking my head, purporting to find a range of micro-fauna tasty to a gorilla. I prefer to remember her for that incident rather than for her tragic death a year later. Spike Milligan was another one who took the mickey out of me in a television publicity interview when I met with him at the Wildlife offices at Delta Park. Early in the interview I pointed out that Delta was a rehabilitated sewage works at which he burst into uncontrollable giggles and refused to let the topic go. I tried, subtly at first and then more desperately, to get him to tell the would-be audience about the importance of wildlife conservation and the need for environmental education, but he just collapsed into gales of laughter. In the end, we scrapped the interview and just sat sharing lavatorial humour for the rest of the morning. I had applied for the position of Executive Director at the end of 1982 and joined the following year.The post had been newly created by the Society to centralise the management of the organisation, and put it on a business-like footing. The chance

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to combine my love of wildlife and my business experience was immensely appealing. However, in the series of appointment interviews it soon became apparent that the Society was facing serious problems. It was in deep financial trouble, it was riven with internal politics and petty intrigue, and the all-important magazine was nine months behind its publication date. Advertisers were withdrawing support while members were cancelling. As soon as I settled in the job I set a series of objectives to correct these problems. The staff supported an incredible work regime and weekends and holidays were forgotten and membership recruitment and fundraising campaigns were vigorously pursued. We placed mail order catalogues in the magazine, we sold calendars and diaries and members sold raffle tickets. (Yes, we sent books of tickets worth R25 to 20 000 members. Almost everyone sent back the money or the unsold tickets – very few pinched the money.) Jo Tanner (now Meintjes) joined as marketing manager and opened a retail store in Rosebank and a Wildlife Travel Agency. We computerised the membership records and introduced basic management systems, staff policies and budgets. By the end of the first financial year, revenue had increased by 70%. We were out of debt and membership had risen to over 22 000. To combat the internal politicking, I visited all the branches as often as I could. These were fantastic experiences and I met some wonderful people doing amazing work. I tracked aardwolf outside Kimberley, I watched rock-jumpers in the Cape and blue swallows in Barberton. Everyone I met was incredibly hospitable and enthusiastic and the Natal Branch was especially active and successful having initiated the critically important environmental education programme. Soon after I joined Head Office, they appointed Malcolm Powell to head up the education programme. He was an exceptionally good director and, together with the Umgeni team, he created one of the leading environmental schools in the country. Keith Cooper, Director of Conservation, was also based in Natal and was doing excellent work for which he was later awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of KZN. The visits were successful in renewing strong bonds between branches and Head Office, and between the branches themselves. To sustain communication and suppress

rumour-mongering I introduced monthly reports to all branch chairmen in which we reported everything – successes and failures – and nipped rumours in the bud. The last remaining hurdle was the African Wildlife magazine. The editor John Comrie Greig, a fiery red- headed Scot, combined a highly qualified zoologist with his remarkable writing talent. But he was also a perfectionist and wrote almost the whole magazine himself, then had it peer-reviewed and refused to send it to the printers until he was certain of its perfection.This meant that every edition was late. He and I had enormous arguments trying to get a perfect but punctual publication and at one stage he resigned only to return in a huff a week later. We employed an assistant editor to help him but the two did not get on. We had a bumper edition – two magazines combined into one – to help recover the backlog. We asked the past editor, Creina Bond to produce an independent edition to fill the gap but tragically her husband was murdered in the middle of this and she was unable to continue. Then we put out a ‘Best of AfricanWildlife’ that simply combined a selection of old articles and required no editing.Then, at last, came Sandie Anderson. She worked miracles in getting John to publish on time and, for the first time in ages, members received the magazine on the date of publication. The job of Executive Director was exhilarating but very stressful. I decided that, once we had met all of the objectives we had set in 1983 and the Society was back on its financial and managerial feet, I would move on. That point arrived in 1985 and I left to find other ways of contributing to the critically important necessity of conserving natural ecosystems. For many years after that I lost touch with WESSA but I have never forgotten the important lessons I learned and the wonderful people I met during my two and a half years in the organisation.

Vincent Carruthers vcms@mweb.co.za

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LETTERS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Your opinion is highly valued and welcome. Please send your feedback, letters, comments and suggestions to editor@wessa.co.za

Roadkill in the countryside I recently undertook a trip to the Western Cape, determined to avoid the main national roads, something I hadn't done in a long time. Whilst it was great to be able to see our fantastic countryside from a different perspective I was horrified by the number of roadkill carcasses I encountered along the way. One particular stretch of road, namely between Smithfield and the Gariep Dam, was particularly bad.The number of dead, what I identified as probably being Cape Fox and possibly some Bat-eared Fox as well, was staggering. What was equally bad was the number of flattened Spotted Eagle-Owls on the road. The thing that disturbed me most was the sight of

an injured owl with what looked like a broken wing perched on the road verge, looking at me as I approached it. I was heartbroken at the sight, mostly because I wasn't in any position to help the bird because of the time frames allocated to my travel plans. I have been aWESSA member for many years and have never sent anything in the form of a letter to the editor but in this instance felt compelled to do so. I fully understand the difficulty in avoiding these nocturnal friends of ours in our vehicles travelling at speed, but nevertheless was incredibly saddened by the casualties I witnessed. The area I reside in KZN has a dedicated raptor rehabilitation centre as well as other organisations that will accept and rehabilitate injured birds and animals, and I was wondering

Spotted Eagle Owl (Photograph: Albert Froneman)

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LETTERS

if there isn't a similar setup in the areas where I encountered these road-kills. if I had the time on my trip it would have been great to be able to rescue the injured owl and take it to a rehab centre. Perhaps a WESSA branch in the area I mentioned earlier on in particular can look into whether a facility of that nature does actually exist or can be established. Ivan Foster. 0844888515 ivanfoster5703@gmail.com We forwarded Ivan's letter to Wendy Collinson-Jonker at the EndangeredWildlife Trust, and thank her for this response: Hi Ivan, Aside from the number of roadkill that you saw, I hope you had a great trip. I did a similar trip a few years ago, assuming that I wouldn’t see much roadkill and was quite shocked.At the Endangered Wildlife Trust, we have a centralised database where we keep roadkill records that are sent to us via our roadkill app. (You might want to download this from the Google Playstore -it’s called RoadWatch). Interestingly, several species that you mention are some of the most common that we have recorded, in addition to Black-backed Jackal, Serval and nightjars. The database has over 30,000 datapoints, and is invaluable in helping us identify areas where we need to apply mitigation. At the moment, we are working on the N3 highway, but I hear that the N2 is also quite bad for roadkill numbers. Please consider downloading the app – otherwise, you can send reports through via email.Thanks again for alerting us. Kind Regards Wendy Collinson-Jonker Wildlife and Transport Programme Manager EndangeredWildlife Trust C + 27 73 596 1673 | Email: wendyc@ewt.org.za | Web: www.ewt.org.za | Skype: wendy.collinson21 Research Fellow: South African Research Chair in Biodiversity Value & Change, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Venda,Thohoyandou, South Africa.

Morning John, I have just spent the last hour reading through your excellent African Wildlife & Environment magazine. This is really a top publication linking quality information on conservation, research, key sustainability issues, global conservation politics and local actions with the general intelligent public. I know of no better in Southern Africa. Congratulations!! I hope that this gets spread far beyond the WESSA membership. May I share with the NCE’s 70 NGO members and some of our key partners (e.g. Namibian government agencies)? Kind regards, Dr Chris Brown 20 Nachtigal Street, Ausspannplatz,Windhoek Tel: +264 (0)61 240 140 NCE Mobile: +264 (0)81 162 5807 e-mail: ceo@n-c-e.org www.n-c-e.org Black-backed Jackal in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (Photograph: John Wesson) NCE democratizes access to environmental information at www.the-eis.com - Namibia's one-stop-shop for retrieving, submitting and publishing environmental information. We welcome feedback from our readers, and you are all encouraged to send us your letters to express your opinions.

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GOOD READS

GOOD READS Book reviews by Dr John Ledger

Once regarded as a seemingly insignificant sanctuary for the survivors of an elephant extinction campaign, Addo has been transformed into a successful mega-park, and the most ecologically diverse protected space in South Africa. Beautifully illustrated and with an authoritative and informative text, this book, one of ten produced by Mitch Reardon, is one that every person interested in wildlife and biodiversity will want to have on their library shelves. It is heart-warming and inspiring, and a tribute to the numerous South Africans who played a role in shaping Addo. Highly recommended. Birds McDougall, Rory & Derek Solomon (2021). Pocket

Addo Reardon, Mitch (2021). Shaping Addo. The Story of a South African National Park. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 17x23 cm, 208 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs, sketches and maps. ISBN 978-1- 77584 -604-8. R320.

Guide Birds of Zambia. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 10x18 cm, 160 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and maps. ISBN 978-1- 77584 -714-4. R190. Zambia has 20 National Parks and 42 Important

The cover photograph of a family group of Addo elephants is absolutely charming, with some tiny youngsters playfully sprawling over their larger siblings, while the mothers calmly pose for their family portrait. This is especially poignant when we learn that a century ago every effort was made to wipe elephants out of the eastern Cape altogether – they were systemically hunted until only 16 were left! Today there are 650 elephants in the Addo Elephant National Park, and although in earlier years the focus was on elephant protection, the past four decades have seen the emphasis shift from protecting a single species to conserving five biomes and the wild animals that occupy them. Today Addo hosts the 'Big Seven': elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino, as well as the Great White Shark and the Southern RightWhale This wonderful book delves into the history of the park, detailing the positive impact that changing conservation practices have had on its development. Drawing on decades of ground- breaking research, the author provides fascinating insights into the lives and habits of the numerous animals, the relationships between individual species, and the carefully crafted management strategies that have ensured the survival of all the species that live in Addo.

Bird Areas, with an impressive list of over 700 species of birds recorded. This handy little pocket guide deals with 425 of the birds likely to be seen in the region because they are widespread or abundant, plus a few of the 'specials' that are sought after by birders. The page spreads comprise six birds, three to a page, with a good photograph, short description and a distribution map. The maps are colour- coded to indicate whether a particular species is a resident, a Palaearctic migrant or and intra- African migrant. The introductory pages provide a valuable overview of Zambia in terms of habitats and bird distribution, with eight major vegetation zones that influence the composition of the bird communities found in each. There is a comprehensive index at the back of the book, and it is to be hoped that this publication will find its way into the hands of not only birders and visitors to Zambia, but also local school teachers, farmers and children.

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GOOD READS

Mushrooms Gryzenhout, Marieka (2021). Pocket Guide Mushrooms of South Africa . Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 10x18 cm, 160 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and maps. ISBN 978-1-77584 -749-6. R200. Mushrooms appear in an astonishing variety of shapes, sizes and colours,

Insects Scholtz, Clarke, Jenny Scholtz and Hennie de Klerk (2021). Pollinators, Predators & Parasites: The Ecological Roles of Insects in Southern Africa. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Hard cover, 22x29 cm, 448 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs, diagrams and maps. ISBN 978-1-77584 -555-3. R590. I spent 18 years of my life as a medical entomologist, and I was the editor of the revised edition of Skaife's African Insect Life , published in 1979. Illustrated with Anthony Bannister's superb colour photographs of insects (all on film in Hasselblad and Nikon cameras), this book was the benchmark for naturalists, students and researchers for many years. A number of field guides to insects and specialised groups such as butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies were published over the years, the latter books by Warwick and Michèle Tarboton employing astonishing technology in the preparation of illustrations from digital images of the actual insects.

and their diversity is amazing, with an estimated minimum number of 171,500 species in South Africa alone! This handy little pocket guide makes an ideal companion for your hikes and nature walks, as it will help you to identify a selection of the most commonly found species in the field. Each of the species described is assigned a full page with colour photographs, an informative account with the distinguishing characters highlighted, and a quick reference at the top of each page about edibility (or not). Many of our mushrooms are poisonous and the book carries a clear warning about the need for great care and circumspection before attempting to eat any specimens collected from the field. But for those who take the trouble to learn more, and go into the field with experienced collectors, some of the edible species are extremely tasty. I have wonderful childhood memories of delicious breakfasts with fresh Field Mushrooms Agaricus campestris collected by my parents on the farm after summer rains. The majority of mushrooms in this little pocket guide are not edible, but the challenge of identifying them will make your outdoor experiences that more fulfilling. If you would like to learn more about this fascinating group of organisms, it is highly recommended that you visit the following blog site where you find lots of information and references: www.themycologyblog.com. Humorously subtitled 'The site where you can learn fungus', the blog shares information with experts, including the author of this pocket guide, Marieke Gryzenhout.

Colophon beetle (Photograph: Hennie de Klerk)

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GOOD READS

EndangeredWildlife Trust to organize the 'State of South Africa’s Species' conference in preparation for theWorld Summit 2002. "At the conference, Dr Mervyn Mansell’s paper on the state of insects included this sentence: “Higher organisms exist because of the ecosystems that support them, but ecosystems exist because invertebrates establish and sustain them”. This was a very meaningful statement,

But my jaw dropped when Pollinators, Predators and Parasites landed on my desk with a hefty thud. In these days of skinny soft-cover books and electronic publishing, it is a cause for celebration when a really impressive, hard-cover, big-format book of 448 pages is presented to the world. This is a truly impressive book, and it is certainly a groundbreaking compilation that will set the standard for many a year to come. No university

Brown locust (Photograph: Hennie de Klerk)

because it inspired me to highlight the importance of insects, both in the publication that resulted from the conference, and in my involvement with this book. I wonder how many people realise that in fact approximately 80% of all living organisms are invertebrates, and of these 75% are insects – and yet they attract very little interest. And their importance as ecosystem service providers is immense – they are essential for providing fertile soil, pollinating plants, controlling numbers of other insect species that are pests, providing food for a host of other animals, and a multitude of other services highlighted in PPP. "Now, since biomes consist of ecological regions made up of smaller ecosystems, and insects drive the dynamics of ecosystem functioning, biomes formed the perfect basis from which to emphasise the importance of insects.

library can be without a copy for the use of lecturers and students alike, and those individuals interested in natural history, the farmers, and field guide instructors, game lodges and reserves, will just have to find the money to buy this outstanding publication. I was also privileged to chair the 'virtual launch' of the publication, hosted by the Struik Nature Club and 'attended' by a number of people. We had representatives of the publishers and all three co-authors of the book online. I asked Jenny about her role in bringing this book to life: "I was introduced to insects by Hanneke van der Merwe at Lapalala Wilderness School where I was an environmental education officer during the 1990s. Ecosystem functioning and the ecological role of insects was the main focus of our work with the children. Later, I was employed by the

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Bombylid fly (Photograph: Hennie de Klerk)

is emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria. He teaches undergraduates, supervises postgraduates and continues his research work, while he and Jenny live on a remote farm in the Karoo. The photographs in this book are superb, and apart from a few, are the work on Hennie de Klerk, a retired metallurgist who has devoted his life to insect photography and the extraordinary possibilities that now are available through digital photography. Jenny talks about the ideas they had for the design of the book: "I had a very specific idea about the layout for the book even before we wrote the first word. I worked at SANBI in the Publications Department for a short while, where I reviewed and uploaded various natural history books to their Bookshop website and was privileged to see some really wonderful layouts. By combining these I came up with the idea for 'PPP'. I liked the idea of using ‘text boxes’ to highlight interesting facts – or as a means for including ‘stories’ that did not exactly fit into the narrative of the particular chapter.

Ecological regions are characterised by particular climates, soils and vegetation structures with distinctive combinations of plants and animals, many of which depend on each other for survival. In fact, the relationship between plants and particularly insects, has been so important that many species have evolved in tandem with each other. "We decided to work with nine biomes (mainly, but not exclusively, based on Mucina and Rutherford’s The Vegetation of Southern Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland) but added other ecosystems with unique structures such as Caves, the Coastal Zone and Freshwater Habitats. And then we added the Urban Environment, since urban areas are now quite distinct from the biomes within which they are situated. Within each biome we discuss the ecological roles of the various insects based on the services they provide and their interesting life histories." It is impossible to do justice to this book in a short review. Professor Clarke Scholtz

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multitudes of other organisms, including bacteria and fungi, as well as specially adapted plants, reptiles, birds and mammals; • Features some 1,600 photographs to depict the region's insects and phenomena described in the text; • Includes a guide to each of the 25 insect orders found in southern Africa, with images showing representative species.

"I am very grateful to Struik, particularly Helen de Villiers and Janice Evans who included me in the design work and patiently listened to my ideas and implemented them, and produced something even better than I had envisioned. I must also add, though, that without Hennie’s breathtakingly beautiful photographs we could never have produced a book such as this – so everybody – please raise your glasses to Hennie!" All of us at WESSA and beyond should raise our glasses to the authors and publishers of this magnificent and ground-breaking book. In its 448 pages you will find this and more: • Reflects the essential role insects play in most ecological processes such as pollination, predation, parasitism, soil modification and nutrient recycling; • Details how insects serve as food for

Don't forget to get the new Sasol Checklist of Birds in Southern Africa ISBN: 9781775847571 Recommended Price: R50.00

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WESSA LEADERSHIP

MPENDULO (M.P. ) DLAMINI, the new kid on the block He is also a member of the Environmental Assessment Practitioners of South Africa as a Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner as per Section 24H of the National Environmental Management Act. He is currently employed by the Western Cape Provincial Government as a Specialised Environmental Officer in Air Quality Management, within the Air Quality Management Directorate of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. Mpendulo is also a lively environmental communicator. While he was still based in KwaZulu-Natal, he featured on an occasional basis as an Environmental Educator in KZN’s Regional Radio Station, iGagasi FM (G 99.5) in its prime-time current affairs talk show, Indaba with Alex Mthiyane (6pm to 8pm). Recently he’s been networking in the climate change space, linking up with movements that advocate for the protection of the planet for generations to come. In May 2021, he presented at the Climate Actions Summit 2.0 organised by the Climate Actions Now organisation in Kalk Bay. His presentation was on the 'The Importance of Community and/or Public Participation in Tackling Climate Change'. Mpendulo is multi-disciplined, as he holds a double major Environmental Science degree (Environmental Science and Biological Science) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also holds an Honours Degree in Environmental Science, which included a research project focusing on air quality, waste management and public health. In the project, Mpendulo assessed the health impacts of a landfill that generates electricity using landfill-generated methane. Currently, Mpendulo is a master’s candidate at the University of Cape Town with a research project assessing the nexus between Climate Change Science, Public Administration, Politics and Economics. In terms of advanced personal career development, Mpendulo has undertaken a series of climate change short courses offered by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).These short courses focus on Climate Change Science, Climate Change Finance

(including Sustainable Financing Instruments) as well as Climate Change Policy (Mitigation, Adaptation, Planning and Impact Management). He also has certificates in Air Dispersion Modelling for Environmental Management, Project Management as well as Legal Environmental Compliance & Auditing. In terms of leadership and management, Mpendulo has undertaken certificate short courses in Strategic Planning and Management, Financial Management and Budgeting, as well as in Leading Change in the Public Sector offered by the National School of Government. Mpendulo is also a Climate Reality Leader trained by the former USA Vice President, Al Gore, under the Climate Reality Project. The Climate Reality Project is focused on climate change education and global advocacy spreading awareness of the climate crisis and working for solutions to the greatest challenge of our time. Mpendulo is an ambitious and a very hard- working individual who started his career in the environmental discipline whilst he was still a second-year student in 2013. Since 2013, Mpendulo has held various positions where he has been exposed to different thematic areas within the environmental discipline. He completed vacation work at SAPREF (Shell and BP Petroleum Refinery) (2013). From 2014 to 2016, Mpendulo Mpendulo Dlamini is the WESSAWestern Cape Regional Representative as well as the Social Media and Youth Coordinator. He is an experienced and competent public sector Professional Environmental Scientist (Pr. Sci Nat.) registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP).

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the committee he took up the Social Media and Youth Mobilisation Portfolio in which he revived the region’s Facebook page and also created an Instagram page. Later in 2020, when new committee duties were assigned, he was nominated for the role of Western Cape Branch regional representative, a position which he later accepted. He now represents the Western Cape at the Regional Representatives Forum. Mpendulo is enjoying his new role, as he says that it is giving him extensive leadership experience in corporate governance at his tender age of 27 years. He’s learnt that running an organisation of this magnitude requires courage, determination, wisdom and compassion. The organisation is not only a member-based organization which people only attend to at their leisure, but it also a permanent occupation for some and puts bread on many tables throughout the country whilst fighting for the environment. This is the one thing Mpendulo says makes him very proud ofWESSA. Mpendulo admits that before he studied Environmental Science and also consequently falling in love with the field, he thought that WESSA, just like the environmental discipline as a whole, was not for people of colour because many young and old black people still predominantly believe that things to do with nature and the environment are for white people. He says, that tenet is brought by the fact that his race previously lacked representation in the leadership of such spaces, and that people do not see their own kind that they relate to in the public and media domains, and this is something that Mpendulo wants to change. Mpendulo recognises the recent election of a black chairman as a symbol of change, and new opportunity for WESSA to break boundaries and reach heights and populations that they have never imagined reaching. As a young dedicated and enthusiastic public servant, Mpendulo hopes to plant the seed of environmental consciousness amongst his peers, race, and society at large and hopes that this will do good for the environment and future generations to come.

was a contract worker at Mthabelas Engineering as an environmental advisor and researching consultant; this was during his final undergraduate year and postgraduate qualification while he was completing his Honours degree. At Mthabelas Engineering he was responsible for project identification and project management, liaising with other specialist environmental consultants, government and other appropriate personnel. In March 2016, Mpendulo got a permanent job as an environmental consultant at WSP Environmental (Pty) Ltd (WSP) which he held for four years until February 2020 when he joined the public service with the Western Cape Government. Mpendulo has worked on different projects in government as well as the private sector, providing consulting and technical advisory services. While at WSP, he had exposure in the following local and international sectors, renewable energy, electricity generation, distribution and transmission, mining, maritime engineering, construction, heavy and light industrial, pulp and paper, oil and gas as well as environmental and public health. In terms of Leadership, Mpendulo has been in leadership positions for nine years, as he has held two very important roles in the faith-based and religious space within his church, the St Johns Apostolic Faith Mission – Umlazi Circuit, where he was on the Umlazi Circuit’s Executive Board as the Youth Society Chairman in 2012, and was soon elevated to Acting Treasurer (2015) and finally made the permanent Treasurer in 2017, which is a position he holds to date. Professionally, Mpendulo is a social and professional mentor to three individuals who are within the field of environmental science. He often gives constructive advice and guidance to the unemployed and university students who are within the environmental science field, and mentored and supervised junior vacation work staff atWSP. In terms of WESSA, Mpendulo supported and followed WESSA from about six years ago, but only joined three years ago due to his love for environmental advocacy. He joined the KZN branch but shortly moved to the Western Cape Branch in 2020 when he relocated. Upon relocating there, he introduced himself to the Regional Committee, and was warmly and happily co-opted onto the committee. In

Connect with and Follow him on LinkedIn through his professional and academic journey at: @Mpendulo Dlamini (Pr. Sci. Nat) (Reg. EAP).

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Emerging from this period of deep introspection, came masses of intellectual endeavour, mostly classified and thus invisible to the man in the street, was a new national security framework. Central to that framework was the emergence of so-called non-state actors. On that new landscape of as yet unmapped strategic issues was that of the environment. Within that general category of emerging national security risk, was climate change, and directly related to that were two notions of direct importance – refugee flows and water (Turton, 2020). Until that moment, no intelligence service in the world had begun thinking of exogenous factors, such as changes to the weather, as a legitimate national security risk. Suddenly a new consensus emerged, first within certain services, WATER AS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE

The Cold War ended in 1989 when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, without a shot being fired. Prior to that, the last hot battle of that Cold War was fought between tanks and artillery in the upper reaches of the Okavango River Basin, at a place called Cuito Cuanavale. After the guns fell silent, negotiations began, and South Africa eventually transitioned to a democracy in 1994. But what few realize is what was happening during those turbulent times, within the secret halls of the various intelligence services of the world. Rumbling through the corridors of power, like a growing tsunami, was one burning question. What will the national security landscape look like in a post-Cold War era?

Prof Anthony Turton

but ultimately between cooperating services, because these institutions are tightly bound together in a perpetual dance of enmity and amity. Intelligence services work against one another as

potential foes, but also cooperate with one another as friends when areas of common interest emerge. The Environment as a National Security Risk The environment emerged as a common interest, at least among the progressive Services of the world, and thus began the quest for a new model of national security risk that enables their clients – the national decision-makers – to select policy from a range of options. At that time, the author was a senior intelligence officer, tasked with the responsibility of making sense of these global trends, to build a South African position aligned with global best practice. In executing that task, the author reached out to various specialists, and reviewed masses of literature. Liaison was also had with other Services as ideas were exchanged. One of the most useful models that the author discovered, while executing this task,

Figure 1. An adaptation of Falkenmark’s (1994) model applicable to the South African national security debate.

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Figure 2. Changes to precipitation represent an example of Mode “A” vulnerability as defined by the National Security Model (source Abatan et al., 2018).

was the academic work done by Professor Malin Falkenmark. Her model is shown in Figure 1 as it was adapted to inform the South African National Security discourse then underway. This model identifies four distinct modes of water scarcity. These are evident as circles with letters in them. The logic in the model moves from left to right, top to bottom, starting with environmental vulnerability. This implies that such vulnerability can be measured and quantified, so many new ideas began to emerge. Mode 'A' vulnerability is defined as the shortage of water needed to sustain biomass production arising from natural precipitation. This can be thought of as environmental flows, or water needed to sustain rainfed agriculture or natural ecosystems such as forests and grasslands. We can think of this as 'Green Water' for ease of discussion. Central to this is any shift in 'normal' rainfall events, which might cause a disruption to crop production. Currently we see this in South Africa as a distinct shift in winter rainfall (see Figure 2). Mode 'B' vulnerability is related to normal drought cycles but is potentially managed by storing water in dams. This water is known as 'Blue Water' for ease of discussion, and would only apply to some cropland, but not to natural

ecosystems other than in the form of a reduction of streamflow and modification of habitat. Mode 'C' is a distinct form of vulnerability, directly associated with desiccation of soils caused by improper agricultural practices. In this mode of vulnerability, soil water is directly associated with fertility and therefore biomass production, so it becomes a distinct form of national security risk. A direct consequence of Mode 'C' risk is a loss of national food security. Mode 'D vulnerability deals with water as a resource in rivers and dams. Due to the dependence on engineered systems, this form of vulnerability is directly linked to so- called Blue Water and has both an endogenous and exogenous component. The endogenous element includes aspects of eutrophication – the enrichment of water by sewage and agricultural runoff – which serves to create an induced scarcity. This limits options for economic development and thus becomes a distinct national security risk driven by unemployment, migration and potential mass uprising. Exogenous factors include changes to precipitation, such as that associated with global warming or climate variability, either natural or anthropogenic in origin.

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