African Wildlife and Environment Issue 64

CONSERVATION

CONSERVATION

POSITION STATEMENT

but most importantly and secondly, because we know that it is ecologically sustainable. Overall the wildlife industry has shown continued growth against a backdrop of a contracting economy. Between 2008 and 2013, the sector grew by more than 14% (3) . Furthermore, based on the past performance data, it is estimated that there will be between 4-14% annual growth for the next 13 years. This is good news, but there are activities which are included in the data and contribute to this growth but are not supported by WESSA as they are not aligned to our position on sustainable utilisation (e.g. canned hunting, intensive wildlife breeding and production systems). Many communities have a range of livestock. The owning of livestock is often important for both consumption and cultural purposes. Where there is livestock in extensive areas, there is also an opportunity for communities to include compatible wildlife species.

So, what are the real opportunities in the biodiversity economy for communities? There are two main value chains which have been identified in the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy (2015), namely bioprospecting and the wildlife industry. With an estimated market size of nearly R2.1 billion in 2012, the bioprospecting industry and the opportunities it presents cannot be ignored. However, for the purpose of this article we will focus more on the second value chain, namely the wildlife industry for communities. As mentioned, there are several communities that possess some of the key ingredients to easily plug into the wildlife economy. This includes expansive areas of land which can host a range of indigenous species with limited input. Extensive systems are the easy entry into the market and arguably they offer the greatest level of economic sustainability because firstly, they can deliver a range of economic outputs

there is a growing number of local hunters - estimated to be about 300 000 who contributed ± R8.6 billion in 2015 (6) – as well as the international market. Hunting on extensive communal land seems to be an area that could see significant growth. Many of these hunters may be less averse to hunting on extensive mixed cattle and game areas than international trophy hunters. Trophy hunting is a premium wildlife product. At the recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 17) in Johannesburg, the following resolution on trade in hunting trophies was adopted; “well-managed and sustainable trophy hunting is consistent with and contributes to species conservation, as it provides both livelihood opportunities for rural communities and incentives for habitat conservation, and generates benefits which can be invested for conservation purposes”. Hunting also creates job opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled labour, with many of these skills being latent within communities. According to Wildlife Ranching South Africa, wildlife ranching provides up to three times the number of jobs than livestock farming. Added to this is the potential for the development of associated local industries (e.g. crafts, furniture, tanning etc.). Eco-tourismhas been painted as one of the solutions for communities that have land under some level of conservation status. This is a sustainable economic activity that can be a good income generator, especially in marginal landscapes. In 2013 an estimated 56 million foreign tourists visited Africa and spent 34.2 billion USD. By 2030, it is expected that the revenue generated will be 134 USD million with South Africa and Kenya taking the lion’s share. The reason for this is that 80% of these tourists travel to Africa to view wildlife (7) . However, developing a name in the destination market takes time as well as requires a much higher financial investment, especially when looking to cater for international clientele. Thankfully South Africa has buoyant domestic tourism markets which are easier to access and less fickle than international markets. Finally, communities can also choose a model which is a mix of any of the above wildlife economy opportunities. There are even some models in Africa which have successfully incorporated livestock farming and Big 5 viewing as part of their tourism product (e.g. Northern Rangeland Trust – livestock to Markets programme in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy (8) . The opportunities highlighted above are real for several communities in South Africa. WESSA together with a number of other organisations, are working on developing strong wildlife-basedmodels which can contribute significantly to the conservation of South Africa’s natural resources base that generates ecological services and sustainable benefits to communities. We must not think that our rich biodiversity heritage will be safe within our formally protected areas as most of it lies beyond these parks’ borders. Mainstreaming natural resources conservation into national development agendas is vital, as is the establishment of strong partnerships for their implementation. We need to empower communities to reap the rewards of well-managed natural resources, for if we achieve this, we all stand to benefit.

WESSA supports the sustainable utilisation of natural resources where the use is backed by defendable and justifiable data which conclusively reflects that sustainability can be achieved. However, where there is scientific uncertainty, the precautionary principle must be applied. For a resource to be used, WESSA expects it to be acquired in a way that is humane, ethical, in accordance with best practice principals and relevant legislation. BIODIVERSITY STEWARDSHIP The Biodiversity Stewardship Programme assists national and provincial government in fulfilling its mandate to conserve biodiversity outside of state owned protected areas, in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas (Act 57 of 2003) and Biodiversity (Act 10 of 2004) Acts. The programme helps to implement provincial conservation plans through a consistent, national, landscape-scale approach to stewardship. Essentially, Biodiversity Stewardship is a highly cost-effective mechanism for expanding protected areas.

As can be seen from the graph below, wildlife and livestock can co exist to generate meat (including all usable products such as hides) and live sales with low ecological input. Sales of wildlife products amounted to R4.5 billion in 2014 and live sales through auctions, totaled R1.1 billion (4) . There are several wildlife species that utilise different parts of the vegetation layer. Quite simply, a cow is largely a grazer, and a kudu a browser and can make use of trees and grass on the same unit of land, increasing productivity (meat or live sale of the kudu or cow). The diversity of species adds to improved ecological functioning. However, good management of the area still needs to be applied for maximum, sustainable beneficiation. The next opportunity is that of hunting which contributes over 800 USD million per annum (2015) to South Africa’s economy and 70% of the annual revenue generated by the wildlife industry (5) . Hunting remains resilient in that

EXTENSIVE SYSTEM

Tourism

Hunting

Meat & live sales

Economic Output

VISION

For all land with high biodiversity value outside of formally protected areas to have secure

Ecological Inputs Adapted from Child, B. 2013 Presentation to Sci entific Authority

legal protection through conservation stewardship

agreements and be linked to a network of other conservation areas in the landscape. This will be based on strong partnerships between conservation agencies and landowners that result in good biodiversity management practice and in tangible benefits for landowners. www.kznwildlife.com/ conservation/stewardship/ biodiversity-stewardship-sa.html

(1) Larger than elephants - Inputs for an EU strategic approach to wildlife conservation in Africa – Synthesis, European Commission, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development. 2015 (2) Sustainable Use: IUCN Policy Statement. Adopted 2000 – website: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/policy_en.pdf (3) National Environmental Management; Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act N. 10 of 2004): Biodiversity Economy Strategy (2015) (4) Hunting and Wildlife Associations of South Africa (HAWASA), CoP 17, Johannesburg October, 2016 (5) Hunting and Wildlife Associations of South Africa, CITES, CoP 17, Johannesburg Oct 2016 (6) Tourism Research in Economics, Environment and Society, North West University, Potchestroom

Chris Galliers Senior Manager: Wildlife & Conservation Initiatives

033 330 3931 079 504 4296 chris@wessa.co.za

(7) Lubbe, B. et al. 2016. Presentation at the Conservation Symposium, Howick, KZN. (8) http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/community/economic-projects/nrt-trading/

12 | African Wildlife & Environment | 64 (2017)

13 | African Wildlife & Environment | 64 (2017)