African Wildlife & Environment Issue 79

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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