SCI Foundation recently hosted a working meeting about elephant and rhinoceros management as part of our ongoing African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) activities.
First held in 2002, the AWCF annually brings together critical stakeholders—government wildlife management authorities, hunting associations, community members, and researchers—to solve pressing issues in sustainable use conservation in Africa. As the AWCF mission has become increasingly important, we have expanded to host working groups for a timely focus on issues of special importance. As two of Africa’s most iconic species, and two of the species most associated with controversy related to hunting imports and human-wildlife conflict, elephant and rhino management is among those special issues and SCI Foundation responded by hosting a special working group meeting at the African Hills Lodge in Johannesburg, South Africa from 14-16 August.
SCI Foundation staff (George Pangeti, Dries van Coller and Rosemary Chimedza) with guidance from SCIF Director Dr Christopher Comer convened the meeting with 21 delegates from across the region. Participation was by invitation only and included representatives from government wildlife management entities, hunting associations and rhino custodians, community representatives, researchers from pro-sustainable use countries of southern Africa and pro-sustainable use interest persons.
The meeting was convened to further the critical work of the two species started at the 21st AWCF meeting held in October 2023 in Windhoek, Namibia. The Windhoek meeting identified several objectives related to the key species of rhinoceros and elephants including working towards greater coordination in the development of harmonized policies at international policy forums such as CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The perennial challenges of human-wildlife conflicts and the emergence of anti-sustainable use groups were identified as challenges needing robust mitigation proposals.
Elephant and rhino poaching remain as important challenges to continued growth of these populations. A particular attention was paid to the recent enactment of legislation which did not give incentives to rhino custodians on private land.
The working group split the meeting into two sessions, with one focused on each species. At the end of each session there was discussion on summary and action items to be carried forward to the 22nd AWCF meeting in Stellenbosch in October/ November 2024.
At the end of day two a summary of issues from both sessions recommended for discussion at the 22nd AWCF meeting were itemized. Key items identified to be carried forward were:
