Pretoria - The increasing number of rhinos poached in South Africa should prompt government to review current strategies against poaching, conservation group Act Now SA said on Thursday.
Chamu Muvheyo, chairman of the group which runs the Act4Rhinos project, said communities surrounding game reserves should now be co-opted into mainstream anti-poaching interventions.
“We understand that government is trying to involve communities through the People and Parks Programme but we think the pace is very slow. These communities should be our first line of defence. They should be the buffer zone to poaching activities,” said Muvheyo.
“A lot of funds, guns, high-tech helicopters, night vision lenses and intelligence is being channelled inside the parks with a lot of enthusiasm and energy but we do not see that same channelling of resources into communities in order to uplift them.”
He said government programmes would not work unless there was buy-in from affected and surrounding communities.
“If government is already trying similar strategies, then it needs to take a step backwards, take stock, re-strategise and then re-implement. Communities need tangible benefits such as service delivery, eco-business (communities to start farming their own rhinos and attract tourism benefits), employment creation, better lives and many others.”
“Education and awareness campaigns need to be continually activated in communities. Take a leaf from how government and the whole of South Africa reacts when there is xenophobia and also the lessons learnt from the drive on HIV/Aids,” said Muvheyo.
This week, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa revealed that at least 749 rhinos had been killed across South Africa this year as the poaching figure continued to rise.
Of these, 544 were poached in the Kruger National Park (KNP), she told reporters at a briefing in Pretoria.
“By this time last year, the number of rhino lost to poachers was 716 for the whole of the country and 459 for the KNP.”
She said without government’s multi-pronged interventions, including the integrated strategic management of rhino, the number would have been significantly higher.
The number of people arrested for poaching-related activities had also increased.
Muvheyo said government should also incorporate numerous private companies and conservation entities, like his, which were already fighting poaching but on the sidelines.
“Government and SanParks must stop politicising this whole rhino poaching issue. We, at Act4Rhinos, keep saying that everyone must be encouraged to stand up and play their part just like what government is asking all South Africans to do. But when people try and stand up to help, it becomes a whole new ball game. Why must it be difficult or impossible for ordinary people to work with SanParks or government in helping to fight poaching?”
The Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions believes sharpening legislation could significantly boost the fight against poaching.
“The most important thing for Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions is that South Africa has still, after eight years of the rhino poaching crisis, failed to adopt the Criminal Procedure Act to legislate that arrested and or convicted poachers get no bail, if convicted they should receive 15 years prison sentences,” said conservationist Dex Kotze.
He said if the law was amended, convicted poachers should also be made to refund the legitimate owner the value of the poached rhino.
“Furthermore, Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions is totally against any proposals to apply to CITES at CoP17 to legalise rhino horn trade. Essentially the affluence in Asia (the traditional market for rhino horn products) has grown so much in the last 20 years, that any form of legalised trade will never be able to keep up with the demand.”
Another conservation entity, Unite Against Poaching, said the country’s rangers, who were at the forefront of fighting poachers, now required additional support including tools and legal instruments.
“They are the final barrier between our rhinos and the poachers and we need to ensure they have the equipment and the skills to prevent poaching and where possible to apprehend the poachers. Our rangers are environmentalists and they are being asked to go out and fight a guerrilla war,” said Unite Against Poaching’s Linda Joyce.
“Our rangers are required to abide by the laws of the country and their actions can and often are challenged in court, while the poachers mostly act with legal impunity.”
Joyce said despite the increase in poaching activities, ongoing efforts in educating communities and raising awareness among communities around nature reserves needed to take priority.
She said her organisation was working with government on anti-poaching strategies.
“The canine unit mentioned by Minister Molewa at Kingfisher Spruit are the Unite Against Poaching tracker hounds and we are thrilled that in 2015 they have been instrumental in the arrest of 23 poachers already and the recovery of 12 firearms,” said Joyce.
ANA