In close cooperation with interested and affected parties, including national and provincial government departments, other conservation agencies and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Southern African Wildlife College was conceptualized in 1993 and established in 1997 by the World Wide Fund For Nature, South Africa (WWF South Africa).
A grant made by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation (BMZ) via the German Development Bank (KfW) and WWF South Africa made the construction of the College possible. Built on land that was donated by Mr Hans Hoheisen to WWF South Africa, the impressive College campus was completed in record time thanks to cooperation between WWF South Africa, the international donor community, local companies and individual supporters. As association called the Bushbuckridge Builders’ Association, comprising several small contractors from local communities surrounding the College, helped build the facility.
With its vision to become the most sought after Centre of Excellence in conservation education and wildlife management training in the southern African sub-region, the College has since its inception, and with the support of the Peace Parks Foundation, trained over 5,000 people from 26 countries in Africa, but mostly from countries in the SADC region, in natural resource management. By expanding its reach and becoming involved in training ventures and projects off-site, the College has also capacity-built over 2000 previously disadvantaged South Africans.
Through conservation education, training and skills development, the Southern African Wildlife College seeks to give protected area managers the motivation and skills they need to become partners in saving our continent's natural heritage. All training comprises theory as well as practical skills and has been developed in close collaboration with conservation agencies and, where relevant, community participation. The College also works closely with various qualification authorities and other training institutions to ensure that the students have maximum flexibility of career path. As an accredited training institute, the College has aligned its curricula with the standards of the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) and the National Qualifications Framework to ensure both national and international recognition.
Unlike other training institutions the College does not employ a large permanent staff, but contracts in practicing professionals with the relevant experience to ensure that the training is as practical, relevant and as current as possible.In doing so, it empowers people to manage and conserve some of the world’s most biologically diverse areas.
The training programmes offered by the College cover the full spectrum of skills needed by field staff and managers of protected areas. The course methodology focuses on highly participatory, outcomes-based instruction, which ensures improved performance when learners implement these skills in the workplace. The College also aims to provide courses that will open up career opportunities for people who do not have the formal qualifications to pursue or to develop careers in protected area management.
The ultimate vision of the College is to play a pivotal role in equipping a new generation of conservation managers with the necessary skills to deal with key challenges facing conservation today. Closely linked to this is the role that nature-based tourism is set to play in the socio-economic development of southern Africa and which in turn allows the College to expand its relevance and reach across borders, greatly impacting on the training of conservationists in Africa.
|
|
.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
College News |
|
|
|
|
|
POSITIONING PAPER: SUPPORT FOR THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN WILDLIFE COLLEGE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CURRENT RHINO POACHING CRISIS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The days of subsistence poaching being the only type of poaching happening on South African soil are long gone, as is evidenced in the widely publicized Rhino poaching that has hit Southern Africa in a severe fashion. With the growing demand and with rhino horn fetching around US$65 000/kg, the trend is set to continue.
The biggest investment in wildlife is to have thoroughly trained staff to protect it. The value of training interventions such as this cannot therefore be underestimated. The statistics on rhino poaching in South Africa are sobering. In 2010, 333 rhinos were poached, in 2011 443 rhinos were killed for their horns and in 2012 the number increased to 668. This year – in the first two months of 2013 - the count reached 102. Despite emergency summits, a public outcry and numerous arrests, there has been no respite and this massacre continues at an increasing rate. Currently, it is estimated that one rhino is being killed in South Africa every 13 hours. Alarming considering that the numbers of rhino poached has increased exponentially since 2007 when South Africa only lost 13 rhino to poaching.
This brazen regularity and the scale of the attacks has added gravitas and a sense of outrage and urgency to the situation. Both private and government sectors have been galvanized into a range of actions. Specialized anti-poaching units have been deployed, numerous arrests have been made, assistance from the military and the police force has been sought and conferences have been arranged. In October 2010 the South African government committed itself to the “National Strategy for the Safety and Security of Rhinoceros Populations in South Africa”. The intensity, sophisticated means and total disregard of the law by poachers and other locals involved has meant that efforts continually have to be stepped up because despite all these measures the illegal wildlife trade continues. On the supply side, TRAFFIC believes that more than 90% of the global trade in horn comes from the two African species and nearly all of this goes through South Africa. Other African countries have also been targeted.
Without training, proper management laws and the implementation thereof as well as affirmation of the import of wildlife to the African economy, Africa will continue to provide a perfect template for this scourge.
A vital component of any long term solution entails a substantial education campaign that debunks the belief that rhino horn has medicinal properties. In the interim, and in order to help curb the current trend in poaching, conservation organizations need trained and experienced people on the ground as this strongly impacts their ability to secure Africa’s wildlife and its rhino populations.
What is really concerning is that the demand for rhino horn and ivory in Asian markets, such as China and Vietnam, continues unabated. If we are to have an impact on this decimation of our wildlife populations, we have to as individuals and organisations do everything we can to ensure that vital anti-poaching work and training is supported. In addition people from across the globe need to collectively take a stand against this atrocity. This is particularly relevant for those people that have some form of influence be they politicians, business people, sportsmen and women or celebrities.
THE ROLE OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN WILDLIFE COLLEGE
In response to the current rhino poaching crisis in South Africa, a joint proposal between the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) and the Game Ranger’s Association of Africa (GRAA) has given rise to the Wildlife Guardian Programme. This programme holds as its main aim the training of field rangers to compete with “military-trained” poachers so as to ensure the territorial integrity of Protected Areas and in so doing, protect its wildlife.
The field rangers are the first and often last line of defense once poachers have entered a conservation area; literally the bullet proof shield for the rhino in some cases. In order to carry out this function they require dedication, physical fitness and stamina and a high level of skills in a broad range of fields. Thorough training at all levels of protected area field staff will increase the ranger’s chances of survival in the event of an armed attack and will ensure that all available energy and resources are used to secure the area, root out corruption and protect wildlife assets. The Wildlife Guardian Programme is structured in such a way as to develop a sound conservation ethic, which will guide the field ranger through all facets of their chosen careers, and instill in them the need to remain dedicated to the protection of the natural environment and our endangered wildlife. In addition, once the basic training is in place, rangers are given the necessary skills to manage the poaching situation from monitoring and tracking through to the gathering of evidence and subsequent arrest. This in effect means that the Wildlife Guardian Programme is a multi-faced training endeavor aimed at training rangers, at different levels of competency to assist in countering the current poaching activities taking place in Africa’s game reserves. The specialized Extended Clandestine Patrols (ECP) Course is aimed at increasing the detection rate of poaching attempts and incidents, improving field intelligence gathering, denying poachers EEFIs (essential elements of friendly information) on security patrols in order to plan their attacks and acting offensively against armed suspects if required.
|
||
|
|
||||
| 2012 Graduates challenged to find solutions | ||||
|
Holding their trophies were the two top students amongst the Southern African Wildlife College 2012 certificate course graduates (left) Simba Sandram, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority – Best Student Higher Certificate in Nature Conservation Leadership and Terry Njovu, Zambian Wildlife Authority – Best Student Advanced Certificate in Trans-frontier Conservation Management.
Pictured with them are some of the SAWC’s Board Members including (from left): Dr Bartolomeu Soto - Head of the Trans-frontier Conservation Area Unit in Mozambique; Mrs Theresa Sowry - CEO SAWC; Mr Ian Goodwin - WWF-SA; Dr Bandile Mkhize - CEO Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife; Dr Glenda Raven - WWF-SA; Mr Mathew Mnisi - Welverdiend Community, Mr Werner Myburgh - CEO Peace Parks Foundation and Prof Brian Reilly - Tshwane University of Technology.
With the graduation of our 2012 certificate course students, the Southern African Wildlife College this year celebrated 15 years of developing protected area management expertise across the southern African region and beyond. Keynote speaker, Dr Bartolomeu Soto, Head of the Trans-frontier Conservation Area (TFCA) Unit in Mozambique and Board Member of the College since its inception in 1996, told the graduates that they are stepping into one of the most important professions in the world. “It is up to you to help find sustainable solutions to the threats facing not only the reserves in which you are employed but for the planet as a whole,” he said. The sixty four graduates of both the Higher and Advanced Certificates in Nature Conservation were encouraged to rise to the challenge and make a difference by making a contribution by serving protected areas, fighting poverty and supporting the development of people. “You have joined over 8000 people that have been trained by this College, 319 of them who are already making a difference in countries such as my birth country Mozambique, with several of them having taking up leadership positions in conservation, Dr Soto said. The 2012 student group represented eight different SADC countries including Namibia, Malawi Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe with one student hailing from Israel. Having presented the first certificate course in 1998, the College has to date trained students from 18 different countries across the year-long certificateprogramme. During the graduation ceremony, six students were recognised for their outstanding achievements during the 2012 year. During the graduation ceremony, six students were recognised for their outstanding achievements during the 2012 year.The Rosie Sturgis Award for the Most Improved Student went to Tomás Chibale from the Mozambique Ministry of Tourism and National Parks, the WWF South Africa Award for the Most Outstanding South African Student was awarded to, Khumoetsile Phala from North West Parks & Tourism Board, the Hans Hoheisen Award for the Best Protected Area Management Student went to Willem Ponahazo from the Wuparo Conservancy in Namibia and Kefilwe Maimane from North West Parks and Tourism Board was awarded the trophy for the Best Financial Management Student. The two top awards sponsored by Distell for the Best Student – Higher Certificate in Nature Conservation Leadership and the Advanced Certificate in Trans-frontier Conservation Management went to Simba Sandram, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Terry Njovu from the Zambian Wildlife Authority respectively. In addition and amidst much excitement, three students from the Higher Certificate were awarded scholarships made available by the Southern African Wildlife College Trust (SACET) to continue their studies at the Wildlife College. The scholarship recipients included Khumoetsile Phala, North West Parks and Tourism Board, SimbaSandram and Simon Muchatibaya both of Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
|
||||
|
|
||||
