Guidelines for Implementing Sadc Rhino Conservation Strategies
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GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING SADC RHINO CONSERVATION STRATEGIES GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING SADC RHINO CONSERVATION STRATEGIES Complied and edited by R. du Toit with contributions from R. Emslie, M. Brooks, G. Daconto and L. Mungwashu (2006) Disclaimer The information, opinions and materials presented herewith do not necessarily reflect the official views of any of the organizations involved, including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SADC, CESVI, WWF-SARPO, IUCN-ROSA, AfRSG or governments of SADC member countries. i ii Published by: WWF-SARPO on behalf of the SADC Regional Programme for Rhino Conservation Funded by: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation Citation: du Toit, R. (ed.), Guidelines for Implementing SADC Rhino Conservation Strategies. SADC Regional Programme for Rhino Conservation, Harare (Zimbabwe), 2006. Edition: 2006 ISBN: 0-7974-3183-7 Copyrights: (2006) SADC Regional Programme for Rhino Conservation Reproduction of this publication for education and other non commercial purposes is authorized without prior permission from the copyright holders, provided the source is quoted. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. The information, opinions and materials presented herewith do not necessarily reflect the official views of any of the organizations involved, including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SADC, CESVI, WWF-SARPO, IUCN-ROSA, AfRSG or governments of SADC member countries. Layout and design: Design@7 Visual Works Available from: WWF - Southern African Regional Programme Office 10 Lanark Road Harare, Zimbabwe SADC RPRC The Programme is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (Project AID 5064). The Programme is contracted to CESVI and implemented through a regional consortium which comprises: -The Secretariat of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) -IUCN-ROSA (The World Conservation Union - Regional Office for Southern Africa) -The IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group -WWF-SARPO (World Wide Fund for Nature - Southern Africa Regional Programme Office) -CESVI (Cooperazione e Sviluppo) The Programme goal is to contribute to the maintenance of viable and well distributed metapopulations of Southern African rhino taxa as flagship species for biodiversity conservation within the SADC region. The Programme objective is to implement a pragmatic regional rhino strategy within the SADC region following the acquisition of sound information on, firstly, the constraints and opportunities for rhino conservation within each range state and secondly, the constraints and opportunities for rhino metapopulation management at the regional level. Programme website www.rhino-sadc.org i ii GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING SADC RHINO CONSERVATION STRATEGIES Foreword Southern Africa is endowed with exceptional natural landscapes both within and outside of protected areas, containing a rich diversity of species. The SADC undertaking that has brought this manual Experience shows that tangible economic benefits to completion has been promoted and wholeheartedly can be derived from tourism and sustainable use of supported by the Italian Government from its inception biodiversity resources. At a higher level, the overall in 1999. The first question that comes to mind when resilience of agro-ecological systems, supporting considering such a steady and proactive commitment millions of rural African people, relies on the judicious is: what are the linkages between the management use and management of land and resources. of rhinoceros and the fundamental objectives of the Italian overseas development cooperation? The For flagship species such as rhinos, decades of answer can be readily provided by considering the extraordinary conservation efforts in southern Africa linkages between the fight against human poverty have yielded victories and failures. These efforts and the conservation of biological diversity. This is have often enjoyed great international support. They a development binomial which vividly stands out in have also demonstrated how the conservation of Sub-Saharan Africa, as a priority region for Italian species like rhinos can become a means to achieve cooperation. much wider goals of rational land management and sustainable resource use. Conversely, where we have The region battles with enormous challenges to uplift sadly witnessed the ravaging effects of poaching people from poverty and to produce options for on endangered species such as rhinos, it has been tangible, far-reaching and sustainable development. obvious that poverty has been the main driving force The rural poor are at the forefront of the damage behind this poaching. caused by unsustainable use of resources. This situation makes it imperative, but also very difficult, to On the one hand, these experiences convincingly preserve future resource use options by conserving support the contention that rhino conservation can biodiversity and maintaining the resilience of the help to fight poverty by sustaining the sound use natural ecosystems. of land, protected areas and landscapes, and by strengthening the institutions and skills required to M. James iii achieve these goals. On the other hand, it is clear cooperation at political and technical levels among that rhinos will be conserved only insofar as rural the countries of the region; the application of people can be uplifted from poverty in ways that give sound science and sophisticated technology; the conservation a tangible economic meaning to them. development of the tourism and the wildlife industries in a socially inclusive way; the execution of complex It is with these challenges in mind, that the Italian field operations to exchange animals required for Cooperation supported the SADC Regional Programme metapopulation management; the strengthening for Rhino Conservation over a number of years, as of critical institutions such as park management part of its agenda to support biodiversity conservation agencies; the establishment of collaborative and sustainable development in southern Africa. We partnerships among a large number of stakeholders in gladly welcomed the addition of this new challenge to each country; and the formulation of strategic policies our established partnership with the Southern Africa at national level together with the monitoring of their Development Community, and through it, with ten execution. countries: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia The manual to guide the implementation of the and Zimbabwe. The delivery of this programme SADC rhino strategy has been conceived to present was entrusted to the SADC Secretariat along with a in a succinct form the accumulated know-how consortium of competent organizations: CESVI (as required to deliver this strategy. An effort of this the lead contractor), IUCN, WWF and the African nature is clearly not only the fruit of the work by the Rhino Specialist Group of IUCN. SADC Programme or by the authors identified in the publication. The manual has indeed benefited from After about five years of hard work, the Programme the collaboration, inputs, expertise and experience delivered important results, including a considerable accumulated by a large number of individuals and range of experiences, methodologies, pilot initiatives, institutions in the region. It is targeted to an audience augmented skills and know-how at several levels. One of rhino conservation practitioners who will be directly of the primary endeavours was to promote devolution involved in conserving rhinos in the field or in devising of rhino conservation from a technical level dominated policies, programmes and strategies. But while it by conservation practitioners within a few southern primarily informs rhino conservation practitioners, African countries, to becoming a reality for the region we are confident that it will be also be useful to a as a whole. We believe that the foundation for this wider range of relevant professionals in academia, more holistic approach is now in place. conservation and development organizations, and in The SADC Regional Strategy for Rhino Conservation the wildlife and tourism industry. for 2005-2010, developed with the support of the Plenipotentiary Minister Giuseppe Deodato programme, embodies a new level in the battle to Director General conserve wildlife species in southern Africa. This Directorate General for Development Cooperation battle is increasingly meshed with: intergovernmental Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs WWF/ N. Anderson vi Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. STRATEGIC PLANNING R. du Toit, M. Brooks and R. Emslie 3 2.1 Setting strategic goals for rhino conservation: what are we trying to achieve? 5 2.1.1 Broad goals for conservation and development 5 2.1.2 Relevance to SADC development priorities 6 2.1.3 Rhino metapopulation management goals 7 2.2 Achieving coordination 8 2.2.1 Continental and regional coordination mechanisms 8 2.2.1.1 IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG) 8 2.2.1.2 SADC’s regional structures for rhino conservation 9 2.2.2 National coordination and planning mechanisms 10 2.2.2.1 National Coordination Committees 10 2.2.2.2 National Rhino Coordinator 11 2.2.2.3 National Rhino Strategy 12 2.2.2.4 Annual action planning 15 2.2.2.5 Definitions of terms used within plans for rhino conservation 15 3. MAXIMIZING THE INCENTIVES FOR RHINO