Fiona Macleod In the reality game that people play on the planet, South Africans have evicted more than 50 species and nominated hundreds more for eviction. We also have a fair number of popular favourites voted to win the survival race.
An ambitious report being prepared for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development shows the stakes in this survival race are high: eviction, or extinction, is forever. The prize for winning is a future that is sustainable.
The Biodiversity Baseline Data Report will comprise detailed scientific papers and a 32-page booklet that will make the subject accessible to the public. It is a joint project involving three of the country’s most influential conservation organisations: the Endangered Wildlife Trust, The Green Trust and the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa. “The theme of the 2002 World Summit is people, planet and prosperity. We can’t have prosperity without the natural resources to build on,” says Thrse Brinkcate, manager of The Green Trust.”The wealth of our biodiversity is the basis for our economy.” Scientists from different fields of taxonomy gathered in Gauteng earlier this year to kickstart the Biodiversity Baseline Data project. This conference provided a peep into the state of South Africa’s species: The evicted Three large mammals the Cape lion, quagga and blue duiker are extinct. So are 53 plants, two butterflies, one velvet worm and two birds the Egyptian vulture and the African skimmer which are listed as extinct for breeding purposes in South Africa. Scientists say these are probably the tip of the iceberg. It is likely many more plants, insects and invertebrates disappeared before they were discovered.
The nominated l Carnivores: One of the least popular contestants for survival is the wild dog. This carnivore faces a very high risk of eviction in the wild in the near future. Among the reasons are a bad public image and a lack of space. Also unpopular among the carnivores are cheetahs, lions and spotted necked otters. They face a high risk of extinction in the medium-term future. Again, negative perceptions are the main culprits. l Small mammals: South Africa has about 240 species of small mammals weighing less than 5kg, excluding carnivores. This constitutes 6,1% of the world’s mammalian species. Three species of small mammals are close to eviction Visagie’s golden mole, Van Zyl’s golden mole and Juliana’s golden mole while another 47 species are listed as threatened. The main reasons for declines in the small mammal populations are habitat degradation and hunting. l Sea creatures: Though South African waters have about 15% of the total number of marine fishes worldwide because the country is located at the confluence of three oceans, serial overfishing is a big threat. Local fisheries have shown a progressive increase in the number of species harvested over the years. In 1964, only 17 species of marine fish were reported in national landings. Today there are at least 51 species involved. There are concerns over the amount of species wasted by catch. For instance, for every ton of prawns caught on the Tugela banks, four tons of fish are dumped, including endemic and rare species. Marine invertebrates such as abalone, mussels, rock lobsters and corals are also heavily over-exploited. Coral bleaching associated with global climate change is now added to the factors weighing against the future of South Africa’s coral reefs. l Plants: About 10% of the plants of the world occur in South Africa, including some of the most endangered species. The Cape Floral Kingdom contains 44% of South Africa’s plant species in 4% of the area, and more than half the taxa listed in the Red Data Book as threatened are found here. The scientists say major threats to the survival of threatened plant species in South Africa appear to be agricultural activities and urbanisation, invasions by alien vegetation and the increase in harvesting of medicinal plants.
“A large proportion of the Red Data List species are medicinal more than 400 are currently known,” the scientists told the Biodiversity Baseline Data conference.”It is estimated that 4 000 tons of indigenous plant material is traded in KwaZulu-Natal, equal to approximately one-third of the annual maize harvest in the province.” Voted to win l Southern right whales: Pushed close to extinction in the first half of the 20th century by the whaling industry, these whales are recovering well at the maximum rate biologically possible about 75% a year. There are now more southern right whales on the African coast than at any time in the previous 150 years. They visit the shores of the Western Cape between July and November each year. l Marine turtles: Although marine turtles are struggling to survive in most other parts of the world, where they are killed to be eaten or for their shells, in South Africa they have been protected for many years and are slowly on the increase. Four species of marine turtle occur in South African waters. Protection has always been of a very high standard, and all turtle nesting beaches are fully protected inside the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. A three-fold increase in nesting Leatherback turtles has been recorded in the past 38 years from an average of 24 females per season between 1964 and 1974, to an average of 89 from 1991 to 2000. Since 1963 there has been a significant and encouraging increase in the number of Loggerhead females nesting on the beaches of Tongaland. The Loggerhead is South Africa’s most common and widely distributed sea turtle. Green turtles and Hawkesbill turtles do not nest here, but are found in South African waters. The former is listed as”vulnerable”, the latter as”endangered”.
l Rhino: The most popular winners of last century’s conservation efforts were the southern white and black rhino. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were between 20 and 50 white rhino left in the country; at last count in 1999, there were more than 9 750.
By the 1930s, the number of black rhino had been reduced to about 115; in 1999 there were 1 074. How did these lumbering beasts manage to jump to the million dollar position?”It was a combination of increased law enforcement, good biological management and improved translocation techniques. This meant we could move them to new and better areas,” says Richard Emsley, of the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s rhino specialist group. Brinkcate says the intention behind the Biodiversity Baseline Data Report is to give an accessible snapshot view of where conservation efforts should be concentrated in future. “What victory in this survival race shows us is that, with this right kind of intervention, both humans and the other species on Earth can be winners,” she says.