SA needs ‘Kruger Park and a bit’ annually to meet global conservation target:
South Africa will need to add 16 million hectares to its conservation estate to reach a global target aimed at conserving 30% of global land and seas by 2030.
“We need to add a Kruger National Park and a bit every year, to the estate to meet the 2030 target. This is just, sort of, a reality check,” said Karl Naude, the director of protected area planning and management effectiveness at the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment. This is equivalent to or 2.2 million hectares per year.
He was speaking on a panel discussion at a three-day consultative workshop, which the department hosted last week in Boksburg, on the implementation of the 30×30 Protected Areas, which is Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
South Africa, as a party to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, is a signatory to the framework, which consists of four goals and 23 action targets.
Target 3 calls for 30% of the world’s terrestrial and coastal and marine areas to be in effective protection and management by 2030. The department said that in South Africa, the framework will be implemented within the four goals of the White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity, “namely conservation, sustainable use, fair and equitable sharing of benefits as well as transformation”.
By the end of March this year, Naude said South Africa’s conservation areas (not declared) stand at 6.87%, protected areas (declared) at 9.88% with the full total area at 16.75%.
To hit the 30×30 target, “we need to identify and map,” he said. “We need to think broadly, we need to move into what are our other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), are we going to add that?”
The department is already looking at other operating mechanisms including the Square Kilometre Array, bio-economy opportunities, game farms and military areas, to add to its conservation portfolio.
“But not to forget, management effectiveness, representativity, and connectivity — all of those things that sit in the target that we’re trying to reach.”
Meanwhile, human rights and environmental NGOs, as well as indigenous groups, have warned that the 30×30 target could lead to widespread human rights abuses, displacement, and further marginalisation of those least responsible for climate change and the loss of nature, arguing that the target is not backed by science, and risks distracting attention away from the real drivers of the planetary crisis.
‘Paper parks’
This week, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), a conservation NGO, said in a perspective document on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s goals and targets, that it “recognises the critical importance of Target 3, given its potential for achieving impact for the long-term conservation of terrestrial and marine systems”.
“Linked to the importance of this global target, the EWT feels strongly that South Africa, as one of only 17 megadiverse countries in the world and an established advocate for increasing our own marine and terrestrial protected areas, can and must play a pivotal role in achieving and exceeding the ‘30×30’ target at a global and national scale,” it said.
The EWT said it appreciates and echoes concerns around the potential for creating what are referred to as “paper parks” (protected areas formally proclaimed but not effectively managed or sustained in terms of conservation impact thereafter).
“This highlights the current shortfalls in effective management and institutional support for many provincial reserves, with the majority of provincial reserves across South Africa being poorly managed.
This also emphasises the need for more administrative transparency, supportive policies, and the development of sustainable financing solutions for the long-term maintenance of effective protected areas, it said.
According to the department, 16.65% of the country’s 121 million hectares of terrestrial land are under conservation estate — just over 20 million hectares — and about 14.5% of South Africa’s coastal and marine areas are protected.
But the EWT said this terrestrial protection percentage includes the country’s vast biosphere reserves, which have expansive buffer zones but “offer no real or effective protection” for biodiversity.
“According to the South African Protected Area Database our protected area estate would actually equate to around 11.7% without these biosphere buffer areas,” it said.
Biological diversity
The EWT said it recognises the intentions and, in principle, commitments of the draft white paper on the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa’s biological diversity. It “recognises and emphasises” the importance of protected area expansion and good governance of effective protected areas towards the country’s ecological and economic sustainability.
In South Africa’s pursuit of Target 3, it said, among others, that the next revision of the National Protected Area Expansion Strategy must align with the 30×30 targets of the framework at a national scale by continuing to include protected areas (special nature reserves, national parks, nature reserves, marine protected areas, protected environments and world heritage sites).
Additionally, it must recognise the contribution of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s OECMs and the land and territories of indigenous people and local communities that bring about “the effective and long-term in situ conservation of biodiversity, support associated ecosystem functions and services, and promote cultural, spiritual, socio-economic and other locally relevant values”.
‘Bold approach’
The EWT said in its document that it encourages Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy to adopt an approach towards achieving the ‘30×30’ target by removing key barriers to protected area expansion and “unlocking opportunities to engage non-traditional stakeholders in the process”.
This, it said, will require strategic coordination between the various government departments with “either aligned or competing agendas in the landscape”, including but not limited to the department of mineral resources and energy and the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development.
The EWT, too, stressed that protected area expansion does not occur solely through government processes and with public funds and is heavily supported by the NGO sector and private sector funding.
“We also recognise that resource mobilisation from the global community is important for ramping up our ability to achieve the global targets.”
It said there is currently poor political will, resource allocation and support at a provincial level for protected area expansion, which must be addressed to assist in achieving the 30X30 target. Importantly, financial support for provincial conservation agencies must be increased “to enable them to support protected area expansion and to effectively manage existing protected area networks”.
South Africa, it said, must take a “bold approach” towards achieving protected area expansion targets through enhanced collaboration, participation and the co-creation of a variety of biodiversity protection models with new stakeholders to achieve these important national targets. In turn, this would, “benefit all through building sustainable livelihoods, enhancing climate resilience, supporting the green economy and enabling social equity at a national scale”.
UPDATE: Poland prevents Ukrainian bound South African delegation from disembarking for hours:
Poland blocked the South African delegation travelling on a peacekeeping mission to Russia and Ukraine from getting off their plane for hours, citing what it said were undeclared dangerous goods on board.
Journalists who travelled to Poland en route to Ukraine were stuck at Warsaw’s airport with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s protection unit during the standoff.
In videos released by the reporters on social media, Ramaphosa’s head of security, Major General Wally Rhoode pointed to racism and sabotage as reasons for having been prevented from disembarking the aircraft.
In one video published by eNCA journalist Aviwe Mtila, Rhoode said the Polish government was placing Ramaphosa’s life at risk, adding that this was the first time he had encountered such a situation while having a diplomatic passport. Rhoode said the Polish police had said their South African counterparts did not have permits for entry to the country.
“They are delaying us. They are putting the life of our president in jeopardy because we could have been in Kyiv this afternoon already,” he said.
“I want you guys to see this, how racist they are. When we started to open our packages, they wanted to confiscate our firearms, which is why we had to put them back.”
Negotiations between the South African and Polish police had lasted well over 11 hours, according to a South Africa woman who flanked Rhoode during the impromptu media briefing.
In a statement, the Polish foreign affairs ministry said dangerous goods were on board the plane carrying South African representatives without the necessary permission to bring them in.
It said there were also people on board the aircraft whose presence the Polish government had not been notified about beforehand.
“The ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Poland made every possible effort to properly prepare President Ramaphosa’s visit to Poland,” it said.
“Three consultation meetings had been held and representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs remained in constant contact with the South African advance team of president Ramaphosa’s office and the South African embassy in Warsaw.
“The South African side had been informed of all formalities necessary for the delegation’s entry into Poland and the required transport permits,” the statement said, adding that steps were being taken to resolve the situation.
Journalists later reported that they had now disembarked the aircraft and were making it through Polish customs.
Poland, a member of Nato, a military alliance between 31 member states, has been critical of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. South Africa has maintained a non-aligned stance on the war, annoying its trade partners in Washington.
This has been further exacerbated by Pretoria’s incoherent messaging on whether it would host Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in August during the Brics summit of member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in light of the International Criminal Court issuing a warrant of arrest against him over crimes related to the war.
This week, four US senators from the Republican and Democratic parties wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying South Africa should not host the US-Africa trade summit because of its stance on the war. South Africa is a beneficiary of trade concessions with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)
The US has also accused South Africa of loading arms onto a Russian ship in Simon’s Town naval base in December.
In a statement, Blinken’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington shared congressional concerns about South Africa’s potential security relationship with Russia.
“And as good partners do, we have raised those concerns directly with multiple South African officials,” Miller told the Mail & Guardian.
But the South African government has remained firm on its non-aligned position. Ramaphosa has said he would not be drawn into the conflict while his international relations minister, Naledi Pandor, insisted that Pretoria would not bow to US threats of being kicked out of the Agoa agreement.
Ramaphosa’s peacekeeping mission to Russia and Ukraine had already hit a snag when the heads of state of Congo, Egypt and Uganda pulled out this week, opting to deploy their delegates instead.
The mission — which includes Zambia, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire — is envisioned to form the first phase of negotiations for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Ramaphosa arrived in Kyiv on a train from Poland to meet the Ukraine delegates.
His spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told radio station 702 on Friday morning that the peacekeeping mission was going as planned. He said that although the three heads of African states had opted out of the visit, they remained firmly behind the mission.
Magwenya said talks between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would commence on Friday afternoon and thereafter the delegation would depart for St Petersburg.
He said it was hard to rationalise the actions of the Polish authorities because Ramaphosa’s security had all the necessary papers and permits.
“All passengers on the charter flight had Polish visas, because there was an understanding that they would transit in Poland. So it’s a bit difficult to understand what has informed the actions that were taken by the Polish authorities except to say we have a team on the ground consisting of embassy staff. Our own ambassadors are engaging with their counterparts trying to find speedy resolution to the impasse.”
Ramaphosa, who earlier met Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, did not discuss the country’s refusal to allow his protection unit entry to the country because the meeting happened prior to the situation that evolved at the airport, Magwenya said.
He said the two heads of state discussed their bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine and Poland’s stance on this.
“President Duda was actually quite positive and complimentary of the African leaders’ peace mission and referred to it as necessary and wise and was quite supportive of the mission,” Magwenya said.
Poland shares borders with both Russia and Ukraine. It was the first port of exit for Polish people when Russia invaded Ukraine. There are about two million Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
“I can assure you, and I can assure your listeners, the president is safe. Remember, during such visits the host country takes quite a degree of responsibility for the safety of their guest so we have a good diverse team from South Africa and for the Ukraine side,” Magwenya told 702.
He said South Africa had deployed a team two weeks prior to the visit for security assessments.
*This story has been updated with a statement from the Polish ministry of foreign affairs, and to show that the South African delegates and journalists were eventually let off the aircraft.
KZN rhinos find new home in DRC’s Garamba National Park:
Sixteen southern white rhinos have been moved from &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Garamba had the only surviving population of the northern white rhino, which saw a rapid decline in numbers from 2003 because of a surge in poaching, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
In 2006, fieldwork by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) confirmed that the region had only four white rhinos left. But based largely on extensive foot surveys which failed to sight live rhino or find any signs of their tracks and dung, the population is now considered extinct.
Phinda reserve says translocations are a critical tool in securing the survival of endangered species such as rhino.
“We believe that this latest conservation translocation and reintroduction is a way of protecting the species through the creation of a new, safe and secure habitat for them,” it said.
The 16 southern white rhinos were moved to Garamba to also restore the ecological balance there.With the disappearance of the endemic northern white rhino, the habitat in Garamba has changed significantly over the past decade with a loss of “grazing lawns”, originally maintained by rhino, says African Parks, a nonprofit organisation headquartered in Johannesburg.
These lawns are a vital source of sustenance and habitat for other grazers, as well as being instrumental in fire management by creating natural fire breaks. By re-establishing rhino back into the Garamba, the park’s mega-herbivore populations will be restored to ensure a healthy ecosystem.
“The return of white rhinos to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a testament to our country’s commitment to biodiversity conservation. As Garamba is poised to become a globally important sanctuary for megaherbivores, introducing southern white rhino to the country is an important step in advancing our contribution to rhino conservation in Africa” said Milan Ngangay Yves, director general of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) in a statement.
The translocation was achieved through a collaboration with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, African Parks and Phinda reserve, and was sponsored by the Barrick Gold Corporation, which has undertaken to support the project over the next few years, according to a statement by African Parks.
Mark Bristow, president and chief executive of Barrick Gold Corporation, said in the statement that it had a 10-year partnership with African Parks and its investment in conservation at Garamba National Park.
“Biodiversity underpins many ecosystem services on which our mines and their surrounding communities depend,” said Bristow. “Being able to play a role in protecting biodiversity and preventing nature loss is central to what we do. We aim to continue working with our partners in the drive to achieve economic, socio-political and ecological sustainability.”
Phinda reserve has a close relationship with African Parks and they have worked together on a number of translocations, including the translocation of lions to Akagera National Park in Rwanda in 2015 and of rhino to the same destination in 2021. Both species are currently thriving.
“By partnering with them in this rhino translocation, we believe that we are working with the very best partners possible to stimulate the growth of rhino populations in parts of Africa where their numbers are currently either very low or non-existent,” Phinda reserve said.
The rhino population in South Africa is facing increased pressure from poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn. Almost 10 000 rhinos have been lost to poaching in South Africa since 2007, according to the International Rhino Foundation. It is estimated that there are 12 968 white rhino and 2 056 black rhinos in the country.
Phinda reserve says it will continue to do everything possible to protect rhinos. “We are also dedicated to helping create multiple populations of rhino in a number of different geographic regions within Africa,” it said.
Lesego Chepape is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa
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