Durban - Attention has been drawn to the conservation status of some of the world’s most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and the need for discussions toward their conservation.
This would be the focus for World Nature Conservation Day, celebrated on Thursday.
Local author, artist and anthropologist Ashling McCarthy believes that nature conservation, and the protection of both key species and their habitats, is the responsibility of multiple stakeholders.
McCarthy had taken the conversation further when she drew inspiration for her first book, ‘Down at Jika Jika Tavern’, from her childhood in Zululand, and having lived and worked in rural communities.
The themes in the book lend themselves to important current topics such as conservation and wildlife crime, culture and diversity, as well as faith.
The novel, which centres around student anthropologist Nonhle Ngubane, who is home for the summer holidays and discovers that her father, a game ranger, has been arrested for rhino poaching. It’s a crime she believes he’d never commit.
As Nonhle struggles to make sense of the accusation, she is blind to the dark plot of revenge unfolding.
On a wind-swept mountain, a conflicted traditional healer seeks revenge for the great betrayal committed against him. And in the shadows, a slippery rhino poaching boss is expanding his terrible business.
Nonhle wants to help prove her father’s innocence, but she’s out of her depth. Yet, when the evidence against her father starts stacking up, and help is too slow for her liking, she knows she must act.
She takes matters into her own hands, and sets in motion a chain of events. Events that find her fighting for her father’s innocence, but also, for her life.
McCarthy said her personal experience prompted her to write the book.
“My family was involved in a game farm in Zululand for many years, where six rhinos were poached. On the flip side, I was also aware that many people living on the periphery of game farms have no access to them, and have never experienced ‘the wild’ like a tourist has,” she said.
McCarthy added that more plants have become extinct or endangered, and that it was the responsibility of every individual to prevent this.
“We are, as humans, mandated to look after what we’ve been given, and that requires responsibility. We are to not litter and not waste water in spaces where there is service delivery – we are required to conserve them,” she said.
Conservation depends on the context in which you are working, McCarthy said. “In order to get young people involved in nature and conservation, you have to give them an experience. You can’t just have a workshop – you must bring them into those spaces.
“Children around a game reserve should have access to this. I work in rural areas, talking is not enough for me, experiential learning is the most powerful way for people to change their mindsets,” said McCarthy.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE