Parallel A: Conservation of Rangelands

The Gauteng Province has committed to expanding the number of hectares of land under formal protection in 2018/2019 by 9 000 ha, and Biodiversity Stewardship has been identified as an effective mechanism with which to achieve this. The Gauteng Biodiversity Stewardship Programme (GBSP) is a collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Nedbank Green Trust. The Programme was formed to catalyse the implementation of Biodiversity Stewardship in Gauteng grasslands through the development of capacity to support stewardship processes at all levels. This public-private partnership aims to capacitate existing stakeholders as well as to support strong and relevant institutional structures for long-term impact and sustainability. The measurable target for this project is to publish the intent to declare 5,000 hectares of privately or communally owned land under Biodiversity Stewardship within three years. Since its inception in 2015, the project has made enormous progress towards understanding the natural landscape in Gauteng and the identification of institutional processes needed within the GDARD to ensure effective implementation of stewardship in the province going forward. The project team has also streamlined the ecological assessment procedure for the Gauteng landscape and implemented these procedures in a number of sites; conducted desktop assessments of the sites, followed up on these on the ground with the assistance of the GDARD’s Scientific Services unit, took the site assessment results through the review panel process, and have put in place the institutional steps required for the formal approval and subsequent recommendation of the appropriate Protected Area category to landowners. The team has also been very busy engaging landowners to communicate the recommended protected area category, confirming landownership information and is now taking the first steps into the declaration phase for four sites. Time was spent on identifying natural resource management activities for proposed stewardship sites and building partnerships with role-players in this space as a means of identifying potential incentives for stewardship sites whilst through this process started on the development, in negotiation with the landowner, of an Environmental Management Plan for the first privately owned Nature Reserve to be declared under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM: PAA) in the Gauteng Province. 
 

Large private protected areas (PAs) adjacent to the Kruger National Park (KNP) have embraced the basic philosophies of the KNP management approach since the removal of the fence between them. They have similar general objectives but function at different spatial scales. Animal movement is possible but due to actions such as differences in water provision policies, a unique set of management challenges arise. The recent serious drought resulted in steep declines in a number of larger herbivores and in this presentation, we examine trends across the range of protected areas open to one another to gain an understanding of the dynamics of these species. The 2017 aerial survey showed declines in mobile species such as buffalo in Balule, Klaserie, Umbabat, Timbavati, Sabi Sand and the KNP. Using a 10-year data set we explore possible explanations for these trends as they relate to drought, predation, poaching, movement and the implications for management and the achievement of land use objectives. The need for integration of monitoring and research between institutions is critical to track in ensuring the achievement of objectives for all stakeholders in the Greater Limpopo Trans Frontier Conservation Area.
 

Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to revolutionize conservation and spatial ecology. Conservation agencies are required to monitor species populations and their habitats and report on management effectiveness. The use of UAVs may contribute towards more effective and efficient monitoring and management of biodiversity, by providing the opportunity to collect data and high resolution images in a better, faster, cheaper and safer manner. For example Cape Vulture population estimates have increased from 120 to 200 individuals and crocodile population estimates improved by 26%, using drone technology. High resolution imagery and mapping facilitates management decisions. I explore a range of scenarios to illustrate the benefits and challenges associated with the use of UAVs across the conservation spectrum.

The process of developing regulatory lists of alien and invasive taxa should be based on scientific evidence through an objective, transparent and consistent process. Here we review the development of the lists for the South African National Biodiversity Management Act (NEM: BA) alien and invasive species regulations. Lists published in the national Government Gazette were compared and assessed for changes in the taxa listed and their status between 2009 and 2014. Minutes from expert workshops convened to inform the listing were reviewed and relevant information like the criteria for listing taxa were extracted from the minutes. Three draft versions were published in the Government Gazette for public comment before the final list was published in August 2014, coming into force in October 2014. This list was further amended in May 2015. The main goal of the NEM: BA Alien and invasive species list was to document species known or suspected to have considerable negative impacts on natural ecosystems, or congenerics of alien and invasive species. The process endeavoured to get engagement with academics, conservation experts, managers and various stakeholders through inclusion either actively in workshops or through a public commenting process to achieve shared governance. A scoring tool based on the likelihood of invasion versus the impact of invasion was recommended for evaluating the risk of a species, but rarely used. We conclude with some recommendations for future refinements in the process.