6 February 2014
The Dutch and Swedish Postcode Lotteries have made a R232.2-million grant to the Peace Parks Foundation to help in the fight against rhino poaching in South Africa.
Announcing the donation on Wednesday, South African Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said it was “the largest single contribution made by the private sector to combat rhino poaching and wildlife crime.
“We welcome this public-private partnership to help ensure the survival of the species,” she said in a statement, adding that she believed the grant would “be the catalyst to turn the tide on rhino poaching and wildlife crime”.
The Peace Parks Foundation was founded in 1997 by then South African President Nelson Mandela, billionaire Anton Rupert and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands to help governments in southern Africa with the development of transfrontier conservation areas.
The South African government and its public entities, South African National Parks (SANParks) and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo), are working closely with the foundation to develop a multi-pronged approach to combat wildlife crime, particularly rhino poaching.
Just over a thousand rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa in 2013, the equivalent of nearly three animals a day, making it the worst year ever for rhino poaching in the country
According to the Department of Environmental Affairs, the majority of the grant will be spent on enhancing existing efforts to protect rhino in South Africa, which hosts 83% of the continent’s wild rhino population, where a special project is currently being implemented.
“All other southern African rhino range states have been consulted during the development of this project, and they will form an integral part of the strategies designed to save the species,” the department said.
The main focus of the project, according to the department, will be on devaluing the horns of live rhino through a combination of methods, including physical devaluation and contamination of the horn, as well as the use of tracking and monitoring technology.
“This special project has been designed to augment the procedures implemented by South African National Parks in the Kruger National Park and the Mozambican government in the Limpopo National Park, both integral to the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.”
The emphasis will be on intelligence gathering and on technology applications such as conservation drones and other specialist equipment, the department said. It will also include training and capacity building, as well as incentives and rewards for rangers, communities and members of the public who support rhino conservation.
Ezemvelo will be supported with similar interventions in KwaZulu-Natal, home of South Africa’s second-largest rhino population.
“In September 2012, Ezemvelo became the first state conservation agency in Africa to trial the treatment of rhino horn to deter the rampant poaching of this species. Thanks to this innovative step, not a single rhino has been lost in the reserves where the treatment was piloted,” the department said.
The Dutch Postcode Lottery donated R217-million of the total R232.2-million grant, with R15.2-million being contributed by the Swedish Postcode Lottery.
The R217-million (€14.4-million) cheque was presented by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Anglican Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu, on behalf of the Dutch Postcode Lottery, to Peace Parks Foundation board member Mavuso Msimang, Peace Parks Foundation CEO Werner Myburgh, SANParks CEO David Mabunda, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife CEO Bandile Mkhize.
SAinfo reporter
