August 2017 - WILDTRUST

Nedbank and Wildlands: Working together towards a thriving and economically active Magalies

Wildlands, together with the support of Nedbank and the Magalies Business Forum (MBF), is establishing a network of schools and approximately 70 Waste-preneurs from the surrounding communities, as well as working on innovative recycling solutions with the aim of creating a systematic recycling collection process in the area. This initiative forms part of the greater Magalies Development Initiative (MDI).
As a long-standing supporter of Wildlands and the work it does, Nedbank has partnered with the non-profit environmental organisation in supporting a community initiative aimed at helping to ensure the sustainability of Magaliesburg and its people. The ultimate goal is the transformation of this small town into a thriving, economically active hub.

Wildlands is working with local schools to promote the value of responsible waste management and to empower members of the local community to become Waste-preneurs, clean up the town and establish a recycling hub.

Cleaning the town
Wildlands has partnered with the MBF to employ a team of local community members who have been tasked with cleaning and greening the Magaliesburg town. The responsibilities of the team include picking up litter, collecting recyclables, controlling weeds, sweeping and doing basic kerb maintenance.

Establishing a recycling hub
Wildlands has established a recycling facility where sorted recyclables collected from the schools, Waste-preneurs and the clean-up team are baled and stored before being sold to preferred recyclers.

Working with schools
Wildlands is working with learners and educators in schools in the area to collect recycling material. The schools receive payment for their efforts, which they use to improve their facilities and learning programmes. In this way, the recycling programme teaches learners the importance and value of responsible waste management. Schools will also benefit from financial literacy training, in terms of which Nedbank teaches learners, educators and community members about the basics of good money management. Local MBF businesses can also ‘adopt a school’ – meaning that they drop off their recycling at that school to grow the total amount of recycling material it eventually hands over. This model will be piloted at the Magaliesburg Secondary School.

Empowering the community
Wildlands is in the process of enlisting over 70 local community members to be trained as Waste-preneurs. These individuals collect and sort recyclable waste, which they then sell to Wildlands as a means of making a living. Local businesses that are members of the MBF have the opportunity to ’empower a Waste-preneur’ – by providing them with the recycling materials from their company to help them grow their own small businesses.

‘This project will make a meaningful difference to the people living in the area, while contributing to a cleaner environment,’ says David Moldenhauer, Wildlands Project Manager in Magaliesburg. ‘These outcomes also contribute to a feeling of hope and opportunity – which is very empowering! Working with a team who takes responsibility for its actions is extremely satisfying. Nedbank, the MDI and the MBF have been 100% committed to supporting us and have been very willing to offer their practical support,’ says Moldenhauer.

When asked about his long-term vision for Magaliesburg in this context, Moldenhauer says: ‘It would be great to establish a network of people who contribute towards a greater sense of community through a range of activities, from recycling and restoration to climate-smart food production. A healthy and vibrant community that enthusiastically and collectively approaches challenges and finds solutions rather than waiting for someone else to do it would be amazing.’

Nedbank contributes to the transformation of Magaliesburg through its support of the MDI, the MBF and the annual Magalies Rocks the Cradle Festival. Nina Wellsted from Nedbank says: ‘A clean environment influences the way a community and investors view a town. It reflects a commitment to positive change, communicates optimism and attracts visitors. The work being done by Wildlands is not only helping to make this possible for the town of Magaliesburg, it is also providing job opportunities and building small-scale entrepreneurs – all round a winning combination.’

According to MBF chairperson, Hannelie Hartman, one of the earliest needs that the MDI identified following feedback from local businesses and the community was that of a clean town that would promote economic growth. ‘The MBF is working hand-in-hand with the Wildlands team to meet this objective. It is an ongoing process and, apart from daily cleaning and recycling, behaviour changes are necessary for long-term success.’

The business forum is going the extra mile to reinforce this message and create awareness around this issue at this year’s Magalies Rocks the Cradle Festival, which is taking place from 25 to 27 August. Says Hartman, ‘One of our key focus areas this year will be recycling. With the help of Nedbank and Wildlands, we will be putting up 10 mini recycling stations at strategic places. In addition, as part of the festival, Ranyaka Community Transformation has joined forces with MelonRouge to bring an interactive puppet theatre show to the Ga-Mohale and Bekker preschool children to create awareness of sustainability.’

#ShockWildlifeTruths: Pressure mounts to ban wild animal interactions in SA

Cape Town – The walls are closing in on animal interaction operators in South Africa as international tourism role-players distance themselves from unethical wildlife experiences.

International travellers are looking for ethical, responsible experiences and circuses and petting zoos where animals are kept solely for human entertainment are no longer generally accepted.

Responding to the changing sentiments of tourists, tourism authorities and operators have taken an active stand against animal interactions, scrapping them from their itineraries.

Following international movements, SA’s major tourism representatives are catching up with international trends in order to protect South Africa’s status as a responsible and ethical tourism destination – and it’s no easy feat.

No place for mere compliance

One of the main topics at the annual Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA) conference, on 17 and 18 August, was a panel discussion titled ‘Animal interactions – how to craft a compliance process’.

But dealing with compliance only is not enough says Ian Michler, Consultant and Campaign Co-leader to Blood Lions. “This will allow many to continue with cruel and irresponsible practices under the veil of conservation or education,” Michler says.

He commends SATSA’s boldness, saying “it’s admirable that SATSA has decided to address an issue as intricate and multi-facetted as that of animal interactions, but they should go further and support the lobby to end all exploitative practices using wild animals.”

To this end, Humane Society International (HSI) Africa, along with Blood Lions and Wildlands have issued an open letter to SATSA and the Minister of Tourism Tokozile Xasa, urging them “to take a strong stance against animal interactions, such as the use of captive-bred predators in cub petting, lion walks and the voluntourism sector.”

The letter also states that by ending the breeding of wild animals to live – and be killed – in captivity, “there will be no need to deal with the compliance issues” surrounding the industry and marring SA’s natural heritage. These ‘compliance issues’ are essentially only symptoms of the main concern – the breeding of wild animals while claiming conservation credentials.

In the SATSA discussion, South African Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona says his ultimate aim was to protect Brand South Africa. He reiterated that he would work with sustainable tourism authorities to eradicate the animal interaction industry in SA.

“As South African Tourism,” Ntshona claims, “we are fully cognisant of the global anti-petting lobby and back it unreservedly.” He stated in December 2016 that “South African Tourism does not promote or endorse any interaction with wild animals such as the petting of wild cats, interacting with elephants and walking with lions”.

What will it take to end animal interaction?

Without a total ban on all animal interactions, the practice will continue due to its financial rewards. An “ethical, legal approach” is the only answer as the panel moderator, Colin Bell pointed out.

Should SA Tourism and SATSA respond to the global call to stop interactions with wild animals , they will join ninety-eight leading tour operators and safari companies from across Africa and the world, who have signed the “Born to Live Wild” pledge which works to end exploitative tourism practices and promote Africa as an authentic, wild and ethical tourism destination.

“Blood Lions and the coalition of responsible ethical operators will continue to lobby SA’s tourism bodies to live up to their marketing claims. Brand South Africa may well continue to be at risk should the international opprobrium over wild animals be ignored,” Michler warns.

#ShockWildlifeTruths: SA tourism industry urged to commit to help curb ‘exploitative wildlife practices’

Cape Town – South Africa is going to be celebrating Heritage month in September – with our wildlife being an integral part of SA’s natural heritage, it stands to reason that our tourism practices should advocate ethical, wildlife protection.

This has seen Blood Lions and Humane Society International asking the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) to join its international petition, with over 110 000 signatures and directed at the South African tourism industry, with the aim of curbing exploitative wildlife practices.

Blood Lions together with Humane Society International presented the formal request and call to action at the SATSA conference taking place in Stellenbosch on Thursday 17 August, asking its members to” help end exploitative wildlife practices and calling then to join the global Born to Live Wild Pledge”.

‘Urge the tourism industry to end lion exploitation!’

Speaking on the animal interaction panel discussion at SATSA. Blood Lions documentary filmmaker and environmental journalist, Ian Michler says “it is clear that a lot of work needs to be done in order to define ecological education and highlight the difference between it and the use of wildlife for entertainment”, especially when it comes to responsible tourism.

“Blood Lions wishes to congratulate SATSA on tackling what is clearly a thorny issue around wildlife interactions in South Africa. A special thanks must also go to the SATSA members of which a majority have signed the ‘Born to Live Wild’ pledge,” says Michler.

He has called on SATSA to “distinguish between legitimate wildlife facilities versus those that are businesses looking to justify the use of animals for financial gain.”

In the pledge HSI reiterates that unknown to tourists and volunteers, “captive-bred lion cubs they are led to believe are orphaned, pay to feed, pet and walk with are raised to be a trophy hunter’s next victim.”

“The documentary film Blood Lions reveals that between 6 000 and 8000 captive-bred lions are confined to cruel conditions on farms throughout South Africa, raised purely for profit and exploitation.

It also states that SA’s move to approve the sale and export of 800 captive-bred lion skeletons for 2017, ignoring widespread public opposition – will potentially fuel the demand in Asia where lion bones are used in tonics.”

The DEA says the export will only be from captive-bred lions as per the specific parameters approved by Convention in the Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

Lions in South Africa are listed under Appendix II which means their products can be traded internationally but only “if the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.” The numbers of African free-range lions have declined alarmingly over the last few decades with only 20 000 remaining today, down from 30 000 just two decades ago.

SA’S WOMEN WHO ARE TURNING WASTE INTO HOPE

A group of KwaZulu-Natal women are amongst many nationwide who are empowering themselves through a unique waste collection programme that is bringing hope to the poorest of the poor, conserving the environment and helping to educate their children.

Known as Waste-preneurs, the women of these impoverished communities around South Africa are literally cleaning up their streets and then trading this waste to be recycled, and for which they are paid.

It’s part of a groundbreaking community programme launched by Wildlands and which has the considerable support of Coca-Cola and The Player Foundation as well as being a main charity beneficiary of the South African leg of the global Gary Player Invitational charity golf series.

The Player Foundation was inspired by Gary Player’s own childhood poverty and has been raising funds for those less fortunate since 1983. The Player Foundation has raised more than $63 million dollars to date and aims to raise $100 million by the year 2025 for worthy causes such as Wildlands.

“Our partnership with the Gary Player Invitational and Coca-Cola is transforming the lives of thousands of community members around the country,” says Wildlands CEO Dr Andrew Venter.

“Women in South Africa and across the world face obstacles in all facets of life – social, economic, and cultural. Working with and investing in women is one of the most powerful ways to spur sustainable economic growth and development. We know that women’s income goes directly to their children’s education and other family needs. Through the Coca-Cola collaboration with Gary Player Invitational and Wildlands we are transforming lives and communities through innovative sustainability projects,” added Kelvin Balogun, President of The Coca-Cola Company’s Southern, Central and East Africa Business Unit.

Three such women whose lives have been changed are Busisiwe Agnes Mthethwa and Hlaleleni Louisa Buthelezi from Pietermaritzburg, and Lucrecia Mseleku from Cato Manor.

Mthethwa relies solely on the income she receives from the Waste-preneur programme after she fell ill and lost her job as a domestic worker. Since joining the programme in 2013, she has risen to become the top-earning Waste-preneur in her region, having earned over R7 000 in 2016. She has taken this further by petitioning her local counsellor to assign a piece of land for her recycling efforts, and has enlisted several other women to join the programme.

“This is our only source of income and we’re incredibly grateful to Wildlands for this project as we’re now of an unemployable age,” she said.

Buthelezi, who supports her six children and four grandchildren, was inspired by her neighbours to join the programme in 2016, and was recently able to use the money she makes to take her sick granddaughter to a doctor. “This money couldn’t have come at a better time for me because I was able to take my granddaughter to see a private doctor. It was like a miracle.”

Mseleku’s efforts in the programme allowed her to send her son, Wonder, to eThekwini Community College where he is now studying to become an electrical engineer. “I am very proud of my mother,” said Wonder. “She is a hardworking, strong woman and I believe it’s no mistake that God chose her to be my mother. She is an amazing example to me and my siblings.”

The success of the programme is a particular source of pride for Player, who with his wife Vivienne is actively involved with the Waste-preneurs in their own community of Colesberg.

“It’s an absolute thrill for me that The Player Foundation with Coca-Cola supports Wildlands who make it their mission to uplift rural communities through job creation while preserving the natural environments that these communities operate in,” said Player.

“It’s so touching to see the people involved in the project and the amount of work being done. I’m hoping this will be a trend that will spread throughout South Africa to help keep our beautiful country clean.”

#WorldLionDay: Awareness needed to double endangered lion numbers by 2050

Cape Town – August 10 is World Lion Day, and as the years pass, the celebration of this day becomes bittersweet as the magnificent cat species faces greater threat.

From South Africa’s proposed legalised export of 800 lion skeletons, to Cecil the Lion’s cub being killed by a trophy hunter in Zimbabwe, conservationists remain concerned about the devastating impact of humans on lions.

However, many conservation groups and organisations, such as Blood Lions, continue to work hard to raise awareness on trophy hunting, petting zoos and other factors that pose risks to lions – and these groups deserve recognition for their efforts in trying to save the species.

World Lion day says that the annual campaign aims “to raise much needed conservation awareness for the vulnerable African lion and endangered Asiatic lion”.

“The lion is an enduring symbol across the nations and has fascinated man throughout the millennia. To lose such a species would be to lose a significant part of our global heritage.”

“Join us in saving this magnificent species and unite those across the world in recognising their importance to us,” it adds.

Only 20 000 lions remain today

The numbers of African free-range lions have declined alarmingly over the last few decades with only 20 000 remaining today, down from 30 000 just two decades ago.

Panthera, a conservation group dedicated to wild cats and their landscapes, warns that a “staggering number” of lions are being killed in captivity in South Africa for “lion bone wine” and calls on government commitment to protect lions.

However, it is not only lion conservation groups who are dedicated to raising awareness on World Lion Day, as other animal protection groups – including rhinosinafrica- have joined forces to remind the public of the plight of lions

Despite the decline in lion numbers, World Lion Day on Facebook is confident that with awareness and action now, the number of lions can be doubled by 2050.

Blood Lions film screening

In celebration of this day in which we pay tribute to the “King of the jungle”, YouthForLions and Blood Lions launched a #WatchToWin campaign to raise awareness around the plight of one of the world’s most iconic species.

“This visionary community have partnered with Wildlands to return the reserve back to its historical status as a Big Five reserve,” says Blood Lions.

“Somkhanda forms part of a KZN Wildlife and WWF initiative, the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, which released a number of black rhino onto the reserve in order to promote their breeding and expand their range. In addition, the reserve hosts important populations of white rhino and critically endangered African wild dog,” says Blood Lions. Click here for more details

In addition to the campaign, Blood Lions – the full-length film – will be aired on television for the first time on World Lion Day, 10 August. Previously the edited 40-minute version of the film was aired on television.

“We have managed to curb the canned hunting industry quite heavily, yet the cub petting industry is proving to be very hard. We need more people to watch the film,” says Blood Lions.