Olga Laiza Kupika,
Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe
Cohort 1 CIRCLE Visiting Fellow
As
part of my CIRCLE fellowship, I had the priviledge to subscribe to one of the
renowned platforms for wildlife ecologists from across southern Africa, the Southern
Africa Wildlife Management Association (SAWMA). SAWMA is an independent, non-profit
association, founded in 1970 to promote conservation and effective management
of the wildlife resources of southern Africa (http://www.sawma.co.za/). Over the past years, SAWMA has been
organising conferences based on different thematic areas. The theme of this
year’s symposium was Responsible
Wildlife Management: A Key to Biodiversity Conservation (http://www.sawma.co.za/sym2015.html).
A large number of the talks fell under the themes of understanding and managing
threats to wildlife and biodiversity, and emerging information to aid wildlife
management decisions. I took the opportunity to attend this year’s conference
so that I could also share my research on the threat of climate change to
biodiversity. The five day event which ran from 6 to 10 September 2015 was
attended by ecologists and conservationists from across Southern Africa.
In
her official opening speech, the reigning president of SAWMA Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert
said....“We are all aware that pressures on our biodiversity from renewable
energy developments, wildlife crime including poaching, legislative
developments and the impacts of increasing economic uncertainty, to name a few,
mean that the need for responsible management is of key importance to ensure
the protection of our wildlife resources. A critical balance needs to be struck
between conservation needs and developmental imperatives, and it has therefore
never before been so crucial for us to work together to tackle the knowledge
gaps and identify and implement priority actions to ensure that the use of our
natural resources remains sustainable in the long term.......”. This speech
is closely linked to SDG 15 which highlights the need to protect, restore and
promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests,
combat desertification, & halt reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss.
My
presentation was on “Legal and institutional frameworks for natural resources
management: implications for managing threats to wildlife and biodiversity in
the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, Zimbabwe”. This paper sought
to answer the following questions:
1. To what extent do international, regional and
national legal and institutional frameworks address such threats to
biodiversity and the need for responsible wildlife management within the Middle
Zambezi biosphere reserve?
2. What programmes, projects or strategies have
been put in place in pursuit of the goals of sustainable utilisation of
wildlife resources?
The paper evolved from secondary data gathered
through review of technical reports and government publications, as well as
empirical data from semi-structured questionnaires and key informant interviews
of experts. Results from the study indicate that there is a need to mainstream
biodiversity threats, particularly poaching, illegal harvesting of wildlife
resources and climate change into local policies. National and local natural
resources management institutions should be reviewed in order to integrate
strategies to mitigate threats to wildlife and biodiversity. View the presentation
online at: http://www.slideshare.net/OlgaLaizaKupika/presentations
 |
| Author captured during presentation |
Other key
note speakers included Dr Andrew Jenkins, who delivered a speech on the
development of sustainability standards for renewable energy development in SA,
with a particular emphasis on reducing impacts on birds. Dr Jenkins gave insights
into the role and impacts of wind farms from across South Africa. This was
quite interesting considering that with climate change mitigation and
adaptations underway.... the quest for renewable energy options should be a
priority for the wildlife sector. I guess the wildlife industry across Africa
should seriously think about this! Prof Louw Hoffman gave a thought provoking presentation
on changing research paradigms to face the realities in wildlife management and
conservation emphasising that a major threat to wildlife management and
conservation comes from the changing climate.
Considering that the
African continent is endowed with a variety of wildlife flora and fauna, some
of which are or might be vulnerable to climate change (few studies have documented
such evidence....hence more studies are also needed). African countries must
address climate change adaptation and mitigation in their national policies,
wildlife management plans and research programmes as part of adaptive
management.
Extract of the Chapter
