Integrated Report
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ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST INTEGRATED REPORT 2015 – 2016 INTEGRATED REPORT 2015 2016 1 2 INTEGRATED REPORT 2015 2016 ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST TABLE CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN 2 GOVERNANCE 110 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO 3 FUNDING AND SUSTAINABILITY 118 SNAPSHOT 6 AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 121 WHO WE ARE 7 WHO WE WORK WITH 122 BIG PICTURE 8 SUPPORTERS 123 LOOKING INWARDS 10 BOARD & TRUSTEES 126 PROGRAMMES 26 CONTACT US 127 THE VOICE OF THE EWT 102 OUR PASSIONATE PEOPLE 106 The Endangered Wildlife Trust is a signatory of the International Union for Conservation of Nature INTEGRATED REPORT 2015 2016 3 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN We are faced with the glaring fact needs to nurture us. We need more conservers than consumers that there are far more consumers to ensure a sustainable future for all of God’s creatures as I than conservers in our world. cannot help believing that they were all created for a purpose. It This state of affairs is a result of the current predominant mode is vital that we instil a conservation culture in our youth – which of production which requires increasing consumption for its should start in our homes and must prevail through all stages perpetuation. of our youth’s education, training and development. Society must play its part to ensure that it’s “cool to conserve”. I do not accuse the economic modes of production or choose to select one which I believe is best, or criticise the ones I I am extremely privileged to serve as the Chairman of the EWT. I perhaps would like to single out as having caused the most applaud our CEO, Yolan Friedmann, the devoted management damage to our planet. I stare at the moral fabric of humankind and staff of the EWT, as well as the dedicated Trustees and and realise that there have to be some very significant changes Board members of one of the oldest and truly significant made in a very short time-frame if we are to deal effectively with conservation organisations in our country. the serious damage that man continues to inflict on our planet. This team has, once again, produced a sterling set of outcomes We are blessed with an ever improving analytical aptitude of over the past year which has seen the Trust’s performance all of the physical aspects of our planet, we take giant leaps and stature improve in all aspects of our endeavour. For this I in our ability to process and analyse data, we perfect scientific thank them. Their efforts have been rewarded with numerous processes and we create awe-inspiring technology. However, awards and recognition that has been garnered through the the vast majority of these efforts are not aimed at protecting evident success of our advocacy efforts and solid results on the most vital and precious gift – our planet the earth, as a the ground. Our Trustee ranks have grown in the past year first priority. as we appointed numerous new Trustees whose seasoned expertise has contributed greatly in broadening our scientific I believe that the exponential growth of the human population and governance capabilities. will continue unabated as I am unable to see how our global community, with its current divisions, could reach some form My sincere appreciation to the growing numbers of the Trust’s of world consensus on how we advance towards a solution donors whose support and generosity sustain our work. Thank to deal with this elephant in the room. This, I believe, will be you all for your contributions – you are justly recognised as the the case in the short and medium term – until we are forced conservation doers of our society. to face the harsh consequences of this reality. The numbers don’t lie. Therefore we need to realise that the earth needs to #cooltoconserve prepare to maximise its productive ability to sustain the ever increasing need for the sustenance of humankind. This can only be done with a healthy planet. Beware those who believe that Sincerely, Mother Nature can be tamed solely to suit the misguided needs of mankind. Nature requires a very structured and symbiotic state to remain in balance, to enable us to nurture all who rely on her sustenance. Thus I implore all of you to regard conservation as a necessity for human survival, not just for the protection of wildlife and critically endangered ecological areas. We all need to identify with the growing conservation consciousness which should Dirk Ackerman form the basis of our moral evolution. We have made tremendous strides in our understanding and commitment to sustainability in the past years. There is continuous advocacy for us to improve and evolve our perspective in this regard. Our companies and organisations are now required to report on their sustainability plans and there is an ever-growing environmental awareness. I would like to ask each and every one of you to dedicate your efforts and support to the continued acceleration in this vital trend in placing sustainability at the forefront of our commercial endeavours. We must remain committed to the preservation of the fauna and flora which are the key ingredients Mother Nature 2 INTEGRATED REPORT 2015 2016 ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST MESSAGE FROM THE CEO In an ideal world, one would not need NGOs. In an even close- this suite of global goals aimed to-perfect world, basic services and needs would be met by at creating a better, more governments, the private sector and individuals. Civil society sustainable world for all. The organisations would serve as watch dogs and lobby groups diversity of work undertaken by the EWT is only achievable through only, mobilising for change. And the provision of life saving an expanding network of partners and throughout the 13 African and social development services would not fall, as they largely countries in which the EWT supports and drives conservation currently do, onto the shoulders of thousands of not-for-profit activities, we work with universities, governments, NGOs, social entities who rely on volunteers, donations and sponsorships to development organisations, the private sector and more. deliver on the promise of a society that is equitable, sustainable We are proud to have entered into the first conservation and prosperous. But we don’t live in a perfect world and, in partnerships with human health and reproductive rights South Africa in particular, the NGO community needs to grow organisations in several regions, as a means of supporting and expand its role, to address the burgeoning and complex the development of sustainable, healthy communities. needs of our societies, the planet on which we all live and the species with whom we share it. The EWT is registered as a Trust, and not a company under the Companies Act of 2008. Despite this, the EWT has In line with this trend, the Endangered Wildlife Trust has maintained always striven to achieve, and go beyond the expectations of a steady growth trajectory over the past few years, despite corporate governance excellence. The EWT’s Board of the tough economic climate. The previous financial reporting Management highlighted, in their annual review process at period revealed a 25% increase in revenue with a commensurate the end of 2015, small gaps in the composition of the Board, increase of 27% in project spend. The financials on pages and in the Board’s execution of their responsibilities in the 110–112 of this report demonstrate that we surpassed those area of IT Risk Governance. These were addressed in the figures in the 2015/6 financial year with an increase of around following months by inserting remedial actions into the annual 29% in programme spend and an increase of ~24% in revenue Board work plan and the introduction of a more rigorous risk across the EWT. This is somewhat extraordinary given that times framework for the EWT which now sits with the Board for remain tough and donors are becoming increasingly selective oversight. The EWT is fully compliant with all relevant new about who gets their money. legislation in South Africa including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) and we appointed an Information and The EWT has not just been lucky. A carefully considered and Compliance Officer to ensure that the EWT remains abreast well implemented integrated strategy across the organisation of legislation and manages our risk, through a detailed has ensured that the Trust remains credible, relevant and compliance register. We have furthermore introduced a Health dependable to our donors and that the Paw is the Partner of and Safety Committee into the Trust, as well as policies to choice for our Planet. So how are we doing this? address bribery and corruption, kidnapping, and conflicts of interest. The rigorous oversight provided by our Board of The EWT operates within a dynamic strategic framework Management, the Audit and Finance Committee and the that clearly defines what we do, as well as where and Social, Ethics and Remuneration Committee of the EWT, how we do it, and critically, how we measure and adapt it offers our donors a sense of comfort and our staff a supportive accordingly. Our existing strategic framework of six Strategic backbone to retain our potion as a leader in excellence in Imperatives (see pages 12–25) was developed in 2012 and regular corporate governance. iterative processes have ensured that it remains fresh, relevant and, importantly, measurable. The EWT embarked on a Perhaps the single greatest strength of the EWT has always process in 2014 to establish a set of measurable conservation been, and remains, the passionate, driven people who make outcomes, through an integrated system of distinct targets it all happen.