Month: July 2013

The 26th of July marked a day of history in the making as the first “Rhino Parade” rhino was unveiled at the offices of Life Residential, at Mandela Rhodes Place, Cape Town. This rhino was inspired by a partnership between Life Residential and the Wildlands Conservation Trust and is the 13th rhino in the Wildlands parade to be officially unveiled.

The Rhino Parade is an innovative Rhino conservation fundraising campaign (pioneered by Wildlands) based on the internationally renowned ‘Cow Parade’ concept. It is aimed at profiling the plight of South Africa’s Rhino and creating public awareness around the crisis that we as a nation are facing, whilst raising funding to support rhino conservation efforts. Wildlands work closely with Celebrities and Rhino Ambassadors who are tasked with decorating a ¾ life size rhino sculpture to represent their personal message around poaching.

Richard Boxford, Managing Director of Life Residential, found Wildlands Conservation Trust through their Adopt-a-Rhino initiative in 2011, when he adopted a female White Rhino, who he named Ubomi. Since then, Boxford has become progressively passionate about Rhino and is what Wildlands refer to as a Rhino Ambassador. Boxford makes Rhino a topic that is explored in every Life Residential Newsletter, whether it is actively recruiting new adoptees for Rhino or simply spreading awareness around the poaching crisis, he is truly an ambassador for the cause. Boxford is currently also helping Wildlands in their search for an individual to adopt Ubomi’s one and a half year old calf.*

“I am passionate about property and rhino conservation,” said Boxford, “and the Wildlands Rhino Conservation Projects have always been an awesome opportunity to combine these two passions. We’re very proud of our commitment to Ubomi and the opportunity to launch the ‘Rhino Parade’ in Cape Town,” said a beaming Boxford.

Boxford also surprised the Trust when he produced a cheque for R75 000 at the unveiling, which will bring the total amount raised and donated by Boxford and Life Residential to R100 000 within a 2 year period.

“Funds from passionate individuals and corporate entities, such as Richard Boxford and Life Residential are key in ensuring our projects are efficient and effective in fighting the rhino poaching crisis,” said Wildlands Strategic Manager Kevin McCann. “Wildlands is working closely with like-minded organisations to find a long term solution to curb this conservation crisis,” said McCann, “and together with our partners, members of Project Rhino KZN, we have developed 3 projects that will provide a coordinated and effective response. Namely, Project Rhino Tracker, Project Rhino Aerial Support and Project Rhino Investigations & Prosecutions Support,” said McCann.

Lauren Laing, Marketing Manager at Wildlands and the custodian of the ‘Rhino Parade’ brand said, “This campaign would also not be possible without the talented individuals that sponsor their time for the cause. I would like to thank Graphic Designer, Craig Rafferty of Whalley & Associates and Artists Dane Knudsen and Karla Nixon, for making this rhino the bright orange beauty that it is. We must also mention Stuttaford Van Lines who made sure the rhino made it safely, and in one solid piece to Cape Town from Kwazulu-Natal,” concluded Laing.

Civil Society Organizations are invited to propose projects for funding from the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF) in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot.

CEPF is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Dévelopement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank. CEPF is designed to safeguard biodiversity hotspots – the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth. In 2005 The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region was identified as a global biodiversity hotspot. This area spans 275,000km², stretching from Xai-Xai in Mozambique in the north to Port Elizabeth in the south. It is a meeting place of six biomes and includes three centers of plant species endemism.

In September 2010 CEPF contracted the Wildlands Conservation Trust as Regional Implementation Team for the investment in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot. A fundamental goal of the CEPF investment is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. As a result, the primary objective of the investment is strengthening the involvement and effectiveness of civil society in conservation and the management of globally important biodiversity. In order to achieve this goal CEPF developed an Ecosystem Profile for the Hotspot, identifying five strategic funding directions, covering 22 Key Biodiversity Areas and two corridors within the hotspot.

Please note below that this call is only relevant to Strategic Directions 2 and 3 and that proposals for Strategic Direction 1 and 4 will not be accepted at this stage. The Ecosystem Profile is available online at www.cepf.net and all potential applicants should refer to this document when preparing project concepts for consideration.

This call for proposals focuses specifically on the following themes and geographic areas, and applicants are requested to propose projects that will support the achievement of the following outcomes.

Strategic Direction 2 – Leverage funding for current CEPF investments under Strategic Direction 2 of the Ecosystem Profile, to maximize the impact of projects catalysed by CEPF. This will include, but is not limited to, investigations into and piloting of applicable economic instruments that will secure long-term and sustainable financing of conservation efforts; using CEPF’s investment as co-funding that will unlock investment from other donors, where other donors have committed a minimum of 10% of the total project value; and, planning and preparation for large scale investments that have already been secured, but that do not have adequate funds for project planning prior to implementation.

Strategic Direction 3 – The improvement and implementation of environmental regulations to maintain functional ecosystem corridors, particularly rivers and coastal zones; and/or support for community stewardship initiatives that will catalyze sustainable financing from local carbon markets

Applicants should be specific and explicit about the link between the proposed activity and the relevant strategic direction. The maximum size of grants awarded under this call is $50,000 (approximately R450 000). Non-governmental organizations, community groups, private enterprises, and other civil society applicants may apply for funding.

Individuals are encouraged to work with civil society organizations to develop applications, rather than to apply directly. Anyone who is uncertain of their eligibility or likelihood of receiving funding from CEPF should contact the Wildlands Conservation Trust RIT at cepf-rit@localhost/import-data-post, or visit www.localhost/import-data-post/mpah; facebook page for more information. This call will remain open until Monday, 2 September 2013.

On the weekend of the 13th of July a team of professionals descended on a gem of a Game Reserve in Zululand with a common purpose of saving Rhino. The focus of the weekend was to dart several rhino within the reserve and fit them with both VHF (Very High Frequency) UHF (Ultra High Frequency) real time tracking devices. This helps to ensure the animals can be monitored more effectively and ensures a decreased response time when reacting to any potential poaching threats.

This forms part of Project Rhino Tracker, a project of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, only possible with funds donated by passionate individuals. In this case the conservation activities were made possible by a generous donation from Durban North resident Filippo Faralla. Shaun Pollock, a Wildlands ambassador, also joined the team, together with his wife, Tricia and their two beautiful little girls.

“The experience my family and I had this weekend was truly unforgettable,” commented Shaun Pollock. “I am so glad we got to be a part of this amazing experience that will ultimately ensure my children’s children get to see live rhino one day… truly priceless,” he said.

The day’s activities involved a highly experienced team including a helicopter pilot and a vet, as well as a team from Wildlife ACT Fund, who specialise in the fitting (and monitoring) of endangered species with advanced technology.

“It is tough to see such a huge animal helpless as it is immobilised by a drug in order to be worked on,” said Marketing Manager at Wildlands, Lauren Laing. “But you simply need to remind yourself how important this sort of work is on order to achieve the long term vision and to help save the species,” she said. “We also must acknowledge ambassadors like Filippo Faralla and Shaun Pollock for their support, as without them this experience would not have been possible,” said Laing.

“One must remember that the objective of projects such as this is not for the benefit of Wildlands but for the surrounding communities,” said donor Filippo Faralla. “Wildlands are training community members involved in the running of the Reserve and have a long term vision to build something substantial (an Eco Tourism destination) for them, and yes, we are saving Rhino from an immediate threat in the process, but the vision Wildlands has goes beyond that,” he said.

“The interesting fact is that this Game Reserve is the perfect sort of habitat for Black Rhino to live in, and it is ultimately the Black Rhino that has brought Wildlands and the community together, with sustainability as the driving force,” said Filippo.

Although this work will make a significant difference in Wildlands ability to fight the rhino poaching crisis there is still more work that needs to be done. If you would like to contribute to Wildlands Rhino Conservation Projects or explore the possibility of Adopting a Rhino please email MarkG@localhost/import-data-post.

Click here for some more photos!

Wildlands Conservation Trust decided to honour this day, Mandela Day, and the amazing statesman that inspired it – and allocate 67 minutes of our staffs time to cleaning and greening near Hilton, where our head office is based.

The team of passionate employees set off from Sweetwaters, decked out in their signature Wildlands bright green t-shirts and gloves, and headed towards Hilton, clearing alien plants and picking up litter for recycling along the way.

“These sorts of activities are not new to Wildlands staff, as sustainability is what drives us all, but what better way to echo a famous quote by Nelson Mandela:
‘We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right,’ than to set an example on this special day,” said Wildland’s Marketing Manager Lauren Laing.