10 January 2013 - The
Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs,
Ms Edna Molewa has expressed grave concern
about the high rate of rhinos poached in
2012 and would like to reiterate government’s
unwavering commitment in the continued fight
against rhino poaching.
The rhino poaching statistics
indicate that a total of 668 rhinos were
lost to poaching in South Africa in 2012
and a total of 267 arrests were made in
relation to rhino poaching.
Five rhinos have been
poached since the beginning of this year,
three of them in the Kruger National Park,
one in the North West Province and one in
Mpumalanga.
In 2012, the Kruger
National Park was the hardest hit by poaching,
losing 425 rhino. The North West, KwaZulu-Natal
and Limpopo provinces suffered the greatest
losses, collectively accounting for the
loss of 202 rhino in 2012.
Minister Molewa would
like to assure South Africans that Government
will continue to implement its various interventions
and work jointly with other key stakeholders
to address the problem of rhino poaching.
The number of arrests
has seen a steady increase from 165 and
232 in 2010 and 2011 respectively to 267
in 2012. In 2011, the SAPS took a bold step
in declaring the illegal killing and trade
of rhinos and rhino horn a priority crime.
After the matter of rhino killings was elevated
to the National Joints Security Committee
(NATJOINTS) resulting in the “Operation
Rhino” project, there has been constant
monitoring and evaluation of the project
and where gaps were identified, interventions
were made. It is initiatives such as the
Operation Rhino project that the Department
hopes will further strengthen the fight
against rhino poaching in 2013.
Among several interventions
since the start of the rhino poaching crisis
has been the process of consultation with
stakeholders by the Rhino Issue Manager,
Mr Mavuso Msimang. Draft recommendations
emanating from the RIM process were presented
to the Minister in October 2012 and Minister
Molewa requested further clarification and
details relating to the recommendations.
The final report was submitted to the Department
and the recommendations contained in the
report will be presented to the Minister
in due course.
The Rhino Issue Management
(RIM) team, which had based its report on
the input and contributions made by a comprehensive
range of stakeholders through extensive
consultations across the country, looked
at the key categories of rhino conservation;
rhino safety and security and rhino commerce
and trade.
Integral to the RIM
team’s findings is that there is no single
solution to the rhino poaching scourge.
From this, it is quite clear that our efforts
will pragmatically require the employment
of a range of strategies along several fronts.
As part of our efforts
in the war against rhino poaching, the Department
of Environmental Affairs also used legislation
as a tool to curb rhino poaching and in
2012 published and implemented revised norms
and standards for the marking of rhinoceros
horn and for the hunting of rhinoceros for
trophy hunting purposes. These norms and
standards have put in place stricter controls
for the issuing of rhino hunting permits,
hunting of rhino and the transportation
of the horn, which resulted in a significant
reduction in the number of hunting applications
received; from 222 applications in 2011
to 90 in 2012.
In addition, the National
Environmental Management Laws First Amendment
Bill [B13B-2012] aimed at strengthening
the regulatory and enforcement provisions
to prevent abuse of the hunting permitting
system is at an advanced stage in the Parliamentary
process.
The National Environmental
Management Laws Amendment Bill, 2011 was
published for public comment in August 2011.
Due to the scope of comments received, a
decision was taken by the Portfolio Committee
for Water and Environmental Affairs in September
2012 to split the Bill into two Bills: the
National Environmental Management Laws First
Amendment Bill [Biodiversity amendments]
and the National Environmental Management
Laws Second Amendment Bill [NEMA amendments].
The Bill referred to in this release is
the National Environmental Management Laws
First Amendment Bill [B13B-2012].
Once promulgated, the
Bill will make provision that a person who
is involved in an illegal restricted activity,
but who does not physically carry out the
restricted activity can also be found guilty
of an offence. Presently, professional hunters,
hunting outfitters and trainers only register
in individual provinces and if they are
non-compliant in one province, they can
apply to operate or continue to operate
in another province. To address this loophole,
the Bill compels the national registration
of professional hunters, hunting outfitters
and trainers involved in the hunting industry.
In this way, action can be taken against
those who facilitate the carrying out of
illegal restricted activities by their clients.
The Bill further prescribes
that all specimens in transit through the
country must be accompanied by the necessary
documentation. This important provision
will assist in addressing the movement of
illegal specimens.
In addition to strengthening
the regulatory and enforcement provisions
in the hunting industry, the Bill also allows
the Minister to limit the number of permits
that can be issued in order to protect a
species. The Bill also makes provision for
an issuing authority to suspend, defer or
refuse a permit in the following circumstances:
1.Suspension if the
permit holder is under investigation for
the contravention of a provision of the
NEMBA
2.Defer a decision to issue a permit if
the applicant is being investigated, until
the investigation has been concluded
3.Refuse a permit if there is a detrimental
impact on the species
4.Refuse a permit if a person is found guilty
of an offence in terms of the NEMBA
Together with the courts, the provinces,
the Department of Defence, South African
Police Service, South African Revenue of
Services and Customs and Excise, the Department
of Environmental Affairs continues to fight
against organised environmental crimes such
as rhino poaching.
While it is acknowledged
that the Bill alone will not stop rhino
poaching, it is expected to assist in addressing
activities associated with poaching and
closing the loopholes in terms of the abuse
of the permitting system.
International efforts
in the fight against rhino poaching were
intensified in December 2012 when the Minister
of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna
Molewa signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on cooperation in the field of Biodiversity
Conservation and Protection with the Minister
of Agricultural and Rural Development of
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Dr Cao
Duc Phat. The MoU was signed in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The objective of the
MOU is to promote cooperation between the
two countries in the field of biodiversity
management, conservation and protection.
Particularly aimed at curbing the scourge
in rhino poaching, the MOU seeks to promote
cooperation in law enforcement, compliance
with the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) and other relevant legislation
and Conventions on the basis of equality
and mutual benefit. Officials from both
countries are currently working on a draft
Plan of Action with short and long term
activities which include activities to curb
the illegal trade in rhino horn.
“We believe that this
latest development at an international level
is crucial for South Africa to effectively
deal with the current scourge of poaching,
and with illegal hunting largely driven
by the international demand for the rhino
horn,” Ms Molewa had said.
The Minister emphasised
that all citizens have a critical role to
play in the fight against rhino poaching.
She went on to urge South Africans to report
any information or tip offs that they may
have in relation to rhino poaching to 0800
205 005.