20/09/2005 - Marthinus van
Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs
& Tourism, today outlined the Government’s
approach to addressing the increasingly pressing
challenge of managing elephant populations
in South Africa.
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria ,
the Minister said: “ South Africa remains
a world-leader in conservation and biodiversity
management. Our science and our methods are
acknowledged as global best-practice. In some
cases however, our conservation success also
poses serious challenges – like the rapid
growth of our elephant numbers and the pressure
this places on every other element of conservation
in elephant range areas. Take just one example:
the elephant population in the Kruger National
Park is increasing at a rate of about 7% every
year, and doubling roughly every ten years
– so by 2012 there may be as many as 20 000
elephants in Kruger, and by 2019 as many as
30 000.”
Speaking about his approach, the Minister
said: “ I am persuaded that the ‘do nothing’
option is not an option. Quite frankly, I
would rather not have to make these tough
decisions, but as Minister it falls to me
to act. W e have to find practical and sustainable
solutions that are fair to people, elephants,
and our broader environment - and that are
acceptable to the majority of our communities.”
“Elephant management and the broader elephant
question in Southern Africa, remains one of
the most emotive issues within regional conservation,”
said the Minister, who then outlined, as one
of the inputs into the elephant question,
the recommendations of the recently completed
SANParks report (which can be accessed at
www.sanparks.org), which recommends that:
In order to maintain biodiversity in national
parks, elephant populations must be controlled
in some areas and left to fluctuate naturally
in other zones of the parks;
Guidelines (so-called ‘Norms and Standards’)
should be developed to help parks decide when
population control is needed, and what measures
are best for that specific location;
Population control measures (such as capture,
translocation, contraception or culling) must
be overseen by an animal ethics committee;
and
Where culling is necessary, animal products
should for utilised to the benefit of local
communities.
The Minister added that, in recent consultations
with the provincial authorities, the other
perspectives that arose included:
That all provinces, parks, and elephant ranges
face similar challenges and that there is
a pressing need for sustainable solutions
to be found;
The need for National Norms and Standards
to define a flexible basket of management
options including culling, contraception,
translocation, conservation corridors, and
reinforced & upgraded fences; and
The importance of creating such a national
framework to empower the Minister and MEC’s
to ultimately approve elephant management
plans for individual parks.
The Minister said that the challenge of elephant
management had been presented to Cabinet,
which had given a mandate for the drafting
and publication of Norms and Standards, based
on the recommended range of management options,
for public comment. When approved, these would
provide the framework for the development
of Elephant Management Plans for national,
provincial and private elephant reserves.
These plans would, in turn, be subject to
a public consultation process.
“Although it is the growing biodiversity
concern within our national parks that has
brought the elephant question so strongly
to the fore, the issue is of crucial interest
and concern among all spheres of government,
in national, provincial and private reserves,
and throughout the region,” said the Minister.
“With this in mind I shall now task experts
from within our Department and from our provincial
authorities to draft National Norms and Standards
for elephant management across the country.
Our aim is to publish these for public comment
by the end of this year, with the goal of
publishing the final document in the first
quarter of 2006. The finalised Norms and Standards
will then guide and inform the drafting of
location-specific elephant management plans
for all parks and elephant ranges – each of
which will also be required to be thoroughly
consulted with all interested and affected
local stakeholders.”
The Minister said that the purpose for this
two-phase approach was his determination to
create an “open space” to debate the Draft
Norms and Standards and properly consult on
site-specific management plans.
“The elephant question has already been the
subject of intensive lobbying by vocal and
passionate advocates of the various management
options – both locally and internationally.
Although their perspectives have been well-documented
this consultation process will provide every
concerned stakeholder with the opportunity
to formally register their views. My undertaking
is that serious consideration will be given,
at the highest levels of decision-making,
to all viable alternatives and I would urge
all interested parties to make their inputs
as soon as the draft Norms and Standards are
published for comment. I want our final choices
to be based on scientific research, ethical
and social considerations,indigenous knowledge,
and environmental and tourism impacts. We
have a global responsibility to act in the
best interests of sustainable conservation,
and we will do so, but my heart will never
be far from my head on this issue.”
