Kruger Park e-Times 4

Krugr Park -Times

How ToFeed TheWorld in2050

New Tralsn Kruger

Kruger Natonal Park Steps UpFght Aganst Poachers

Karoo NationalPark to IntroduceLions

photo: Lynette Strauss

October / November 2009 - e4

Nwclp

kruger park times - 2 - kruger park times

The Kruger Park e-Times is published regularly to keep you updated onconservation, science, sustainable development and tourism issues inand around South Africa’s national parks, transfrontier parks and otherenvironmental hotspots. Send your comments and contributions to:krugerparktimes@vectorbb.co.za

C

onservation biologists are set-ting their minimum popula-tion size targets too low to prevent extinction.That’s according to a new study by Uni- versity of Adelaide and Macquarie Univer-sity scientists which has shown that popula-tions of endangered species are unlikely topersist in the face of global climate changeand habitat loss unless they number around5000 mature individuals or more.

The ndings have been published online

in a paper ‘Pragmatic population viabilitytargets in a rapidly changing world’ in the journal Biological Conservation.“Conservation biologists routinely under-estimate or ignore the number of animalsor plants required to prevent extinction,”says lead author Dr Lochran Traill, fromthe University of Adelaide’s EnvironmentInstitute.“Often, they aim to maintain tens orhundreds of individuals, when thousandsare actually needed. Our review found thatpopulations smaller than about 5000 hadunacceptably high extinction rates. Thissuggests that many targets for conserva-tion recoveryare simply toosmall to domuch good inthe long run.” A long-standing ideain speciesrestorationprograms isthe so-called‘50/500’ rule.This statesthat at least50 adultsare requiredto avoid thedamaging ef-fects of inbreeding, and 500 to avoid ex-tinctions due to the inability to evolve tocope with environmental change.“Our research suggests that the 50/500rule is at least an order of magnitude toosmall to effectively stave off extinction,”says Dr Traill. “This does not necessarilyimply that populations smaller than 5000are doomed. But it does highlight the chal-lenge that small populations face in adapt-ing to a rapidly changing world.”Team member Professor RichardFrankham, from Macquarie University’sDepartment of Biological Sciences, says:“Genetic diversity within populations al-lows them to evolve to cope with environ-mental change, and genetic loss equates tofragility in the face of such changes.”Conservation biologists worldwide arebattling to prevent a mass extinction eventin the face of a growing human populationand its associated impact on the planet.“The conservation management barneeds to be a lot higher,” says Dr Traill.“However, we shouldn’t necessarily giveup on critically endangered species num-bering a few hundred of individuals in thewild. Acceptance that more needs to bedone if we are to stop ‘managing for ex-tinction’ should force decision makers to bemore explicit about what they are aiming for, and whatthey arewilling totrade off,when allo-cating con-servationfunds.”Other re-searchersin the studyare Associ-ate Profes-sor CoreyBradshawand Profes-sor BarryBrook,both from the University of Adelaide’sEnvironment Institute. The paper is on-line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bio-con.2009.09.01

Photo: Ian Whyte

Conseraton Targets TooSmall to Stop Extncton

Politicians, unite…and scientists,speak up!

Writing exclusively for a special is-sue of Physics World on the “energypuzzle”, the physicist Lord Browne,former BP chief executive, assertsthat politicians need to avoid com-partmentalizing energy and climate-change issues - and to work acrossGovernment and with internationalpartners to pursue action that bindseconomic prosperity, national secu-rity and environmental integrity.If all goes to plan, political leadersat December’s United Nations Cli-mate Change Conference in Copen-hagen (COP15) will agree to a succes-sor to the Kyoto protocol and makefurther promises to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. But the issue will, asalways, be how to put those promisesinto action.

To mark the signicance of the

occasion, this issue of Physics World

looks at the scientic challenges of

the energy and climate-change prob-lem, and at the political hurdles andthe importance of communicating the right messages, at the right pitch,to much wider audiences.In addition to calling for joined-uppolitical thinking, Lord Browne alsosays we should rethink the state’s rolein energy markets. “The market is themost effective delivery system avail-able to society,” he says, “but it needsstrategic direction and a framework of rules if it is to provide the more

diversied energy structure that we

urgently need.”On the challenge of communica-tion, Joseph Romm, a physicist atthe US think tank Center for Ameri-can Progress, says that scientists, andphysicists in particular, need to domore to warn the world of the dan-gers of climate change. As he writes, “The fate of perhapsthe next 100 billion people to walk the Earth rests with scientists try-ing to communicate the dire natureof the climate problem as well asthe ability of the media, the public,opinion-makers and political leadersto understand and deal with that sci-ence.”

kruger park times - 3 - kruger park times

Lynette Strauss

W

ith the appointment of

57 new eld rangers, the

Kruger National Park (KNP) is stepping up its

crime ghting ability against the increas

-ing incidences of rhino and other animalpoaching.This according to South African NationalParks, chief executive, Dr David Mabunda,who said the new recruits will be adopting a multi-disciplinary approach and will drawon the skills and expertise of various law

enforcement agencies involved in the ght

against poaching of South Africa’s fauna

and ora.

“We as a conservation agency and thepublic at large are paying a high price withthese senseless killings of our animals, whilesome leader of a syndicate is winning theminds and hearts of ordinary and poormembers of society to be on the frontline of these evil operations.”Dr Mabunda was speaking at the recent

eld ranger training pass out parade which

took place in Skukuza in October.Mabunda warned poachers that their‘days are numbered.’“We are on their trail and closing upquickly on them.”He said the country continues to lose ani-mals through poaching.“Since the beginning of the year thecountry has lost 94 rhinos, of which 38was lost in KNP, seven in Gauteng, nine in

Limpopo, ve in Mpumalanga, 10 in North

West, four in the Eastern Cape and 21 inKwa-Zulu Natal.”To date SANParks rangers have arrested22 poachers “Our cross-border operationswhich include patrols with members of the South African Police Services, and ourcounterparts in Mozambique have yieldedhuge successes.”The Kruger National Park is divided intothree regions - Nxanatseni in the north,Nkayeni in the central area and Marula inthe south. There are 22 ranger sections.The parade was inspected by SANParkstop rangers, Dr Mabunda and high ranking

ofcials of the SAPS and SANDF border

patrol units. According to Dr Mabunda a total of

R5, 2 million has been invested in the ght

against poachers.“The funds allocated have been used toacquire amongst others motorbikes, bicy-cles, a bantam aircraft to be used in patrolsand night surveillance equipment as poach-ers often conduct their operations at night.Dr Mabunda welcomed the decision bythe South African Government to returnthe military to patrol the 450 km nationalborder on the eastern boundary of theKNP.The withdrawl of the military forces inthis area three years ago increased the bur-den of Kruger’s rangers . “Discussions withthe military are already at an advance stageand an announcement in this regard will bemade soon.

Photo: Laura Mukwevho

Kruger Natonal Park Steps Up FghtAganst Poachers

The South African National Parks,chief executive, Dr David Mabundaand lieutenant colonel Gavin Willardof South African National DefenceForce inspect the pass-out drill.