Conservation

South Africa has some 741 publicly owned protected areas covering about 75,000 km2 representing some 6% of the land area. There are 19 types administered by many different bodies. Only six of the protected areas are larger than 100,000 ha including two National Parks, Kruger and the Kalahari-Gemsbok and 73% are under 5,000 ha. The network is augmented by 197 privately owned protected areas covering a further 9,330 km2.

The country is party to a number of international environmental agreements which include Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands and Whaling.

In common with many countries in Africa, there are a number of environmental issues including the lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requiring extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage which is outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; and desertification.

The 4th International Hornbill Conference was held at Mabula Game Lodge, Bela Bela, South Africa during 6-10 November 2005. The theme of this Conference was The Active Management of Hornbills and their Habitats for Conservation. Details about the Conference can be found at www.nfi.org.za/tmpage.html.

Conservation News

30th May 2007: 34,000 seabirds killed annually in Africa’s Benguela Current.

BirdLife South Africa and WWF South Africa have released a report that for the first time assesses the impact of longline fishing on vulnerable species foraging in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, a rich and biodiverse ecosystem that stretches up the west coast of South Africa and the entire of the Namibian and Angolan coasts.

The report estimates that as many as 34,000 seabirds, 4,200 sea turtles, and over 7 million demersal and pelagic sharks, rays and skates are killed annually. The five migrant pelagic seabird species occurring in the Benguela Current that are most susceptible to the impacts of fishing operations are Black-browed Albatross Thallasarche melanophris, Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchus and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri, (all Endangered), Shy Albatross T. cauta (Near Threatened) and White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis (Vulnerable). Also seriously affected is the Cape Gannet Morus capensis, a Benguela endemic now listed as Vulnerable.

“This report provides a platform from which informed decisions can be made that will reduce the impact on these threatened species in the region,” says Samantha Petersen, manager of BirdLife South Africa's Seabird Programme and the WWF Responsible Fisheries Programme, and author of papers in the report covering the impact on seabirds, and on measures to mitigate seabird mortality. The report also provides practical recommendations, such as the use of tori or bird-scaring lines with attached streamers which scare birds away from the baited hooks until they are under the water. Other measures which are simple to implement include the use of thawed rather than frozen bait and sufficiently weighted lines – both of which increase the sink rate of the main line; and setting the lines over the side of the boat, so that the hooks and bait are fully submerged by the time they reach the stern, where the birds congregate.

The report makes specific recommendations for the three countries involved. In South Africa, a critical concern is the low level of compliance with fisheries permit conditions, which require fishers to use bird-scaring lines – although in an encouraging development, a South African vessel was recently fined R2,500 ($350 USD) for failing to use them.  In Namibia, “bycatch” mitigation needs to be included in fishing regulations. In Angola, where artisanal fishermen deliberately catch Cape Gannets and White-chinned Petrels for food, efforts should be focused on developing alternative sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities. “The project has also been active in raising the level of awareness about this issue within the fishing industry, with workshops and training programmes,” says Petersen.

Petersen says the findings of the report need to be taken seriously by the governments of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola, as well as relevant intergovernmental regional fisheries organisations, as part of their commitment to implement a new Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) by 2010. She explains: “An EAF recognises the need to adopt an ecological approach which considers impacts on both the target and non-target species, as well as direct or indirect ecosystem effects of fishing operations.” She concludes: “Only by maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem can we ensure the sustainability of our fisheries and the survival of our vulnerable marine life.”

Source: BirdLife International News

16th November 2006: ‘World Cup 2010’ development threatens millions of roosting Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica.

A proposed airport development in South Africa is threatening the winter roosting sites of three million Barn Swallows that journey there after spending breeding months in countries across Europe and other parts of the world.

The development is being proposed by the South African government, apparently to meet the demands of hosting World Cup 2010. BirdLife International objects to the plans on the basis of the site’s global importance for Barn Swallow. The site is to be designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) based on the fact that numbers represent more than 1% of the global population of Barn Swallows. This equates to more than 8% of the European breeding population.

The roost-site of the Barn Swallows, the Mount Moreland Reedbed, sits on what would be the flight-path for aircraft landing and taking off at the proposed airport extension. Conservationists from BirdLife South Africa are concerned that safety concerns for visiting aircraft will lead to the clearance of the reedbed, removing the roosting site for the swallows.

“The swallows roost here in such numbers because of the lack of other suitable roosting areas around KwaZulu-Natal.  The site is an island in a surrounding sea of sugar cane plantations. It’s vital. If the reedbeds are cleared, it’s unlikely that these Barn Swallows will find suitable roosting places elsewhere” – Neil Smith, Conservation Division, BirdLife South Africa.

Source: BirdLife International

8th February 2006: Wattled Crane Recovery Programme

With the backing of the Johannesburg Zoo, a Wattled Crane recovery programme is underway and set to expand dramatically over the next 5 years. The South African Wattled Crane may be genetically unique from all other Wattled Cranes in Africa, making the success of a captive breeding program ever more urgent to prevent local extinction of this species. This coupled with the fact that Wattled Cranes have the lowest reproductive success of all the crane species, makes the Wattled Crane Recovery Programme one of South Africa’s most crucial and challenging conservation projects.

The Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus is one of only three crane species indigenous to South Africa and is the most critically endangered crane species on the African continent. Due to habitat loss and poor reproductive success there has been a 35% decline in the South African Wattled Crane population over the last two decades. The current in situ population in South Africa consists of approximately 235 (Crane census 2004) birds.

9th January 2006: Race heads towards albatross hotspots

The seven yachts in the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race have now set sail for Australia, on a journey that will take them through some of the world’s greatest albatross hotspots.

The Prince Edward Islands are home to the first major albatross colonies that the race will come near to after leaving Cape Town. These islands, which belong to South Africa, are uninhabited, apart from scientific researchers. Marion Island, the larger, and Prince Edward Island are about 1,200 miles south-east of Cape Town.

The islands are home to thousands of pairs of breeding albatrosses. Most of them will have young on the nest and will be actively scouring the ocean for food, some travelling thousands of miles from their nests in a single journey.

Two of the species that breed here are classified as Endangered. The Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca breeds on both islands, and the 2,750 pairs represent half the Indian Ocean population and 21 per cent of the world population. The Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Diomedea (chlororhynchos) carteri breeds on the smaller Prince Edward Island and the 6,000 pairs are 17 per cent of both Indian Ocean and world populations.

The population of Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans on the islands (2,700 pairs) represent nearly half of the Indian Ocean breeding population, and the commonest species is the Grey-headed Albatross D. chrysostoma with 7,700 breeding pairs.

Source: BirdLife International News

Last page update 25th July 2007