Cross-Border Poaching KNP - Mozambique

[vinkie]

SAfrica eyes fence with Mozambique to bar poachers

Tuesday May 28, 2013 | Agence France Presse



South Africa wants to re-erect a section of a dropped border fence with Mozambique to stop rhino poachers from crossing into its flagship Kruger National Park.

"There is a need to put up that fence," said Environment Minister Edna Molewa, adding that the country's parks authority shared her view.

Poachers are using a 40-kilometre (25-mile) unfenced corridor -- removed to create a cross-border park -- to slip into Kruger and kill rhinos for their horns, which are then sold on the Asian black market.

A new fence would be electrified and fitted with a detection system to prevent attempts to breach the boundary.

"It will be electrified and linked to some technology because we want to prevent people coming through," Fundisile Mketeni, South Africa's deputy director general of biodiversity and conservation told AFP.

It was being examined as a temporary measure, he said.

Despite ramped up security measures including drone technology, Kruger has lost 242 rhinos so far this year out of a total of 350 killed in the country.

The section of fence was lowered to allow animals to move freely in what was named the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

Political discussions between Mozambique and South Africa over the fence are underway but have faced delays, said the minister.

The treaty to set up the international park was signed in 2002 by the presidents of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.


Source: http://www.newsdaily.com/africa/c80df10 ... p-poachers

[Toko]

Molewa was responding to questions at a media briefing

A formal memorandum of understanding aimed at controlling biodiversity crimes like rampant rhino poaching is ready for signing between South Africa and Mozambique.

But the signing has been delayed over the past 18 months by Mozambique, although Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said she did not believe there was any sinister motive. It was partly the result of a new minister being appointed there.

Noting that two scheduled meetings had been postponed and that she wished the signing had happened “yesterday”, she said: “It is as urgent as possible.”

Molewa said there was a “joint shared vision” within the South African government to restore the fence and that finance was available. The plan to restore the fence was not to negate the spirit of the peace park but would “really cool down and stabilise the scourge of poaching”.

However, the issue had been referred to the Presidency and would be discussed by presidents Jacob Zuma and Armando Guebuza “as soon as there is space and time”.

Is there still hope that the SA government eventually can take the time to deal with the poaching crisis

[Sharifa]

Nobody would think we have a crisis Toko - this is so sad

[General Gump]

I suppose if the government can make money out of horns legally then they would try prevent Mozambique from stealing them.

[Richprins]

Absolutely, Gump! Better than the status quo!

I still don't think fences will help much...and have horrible visions of tendercontractors camping out there for months putting up a fence "by day"...

[iNdlovu]

This won't happen overnight long drawn out tender process and that only after Moz agrees to the fence. They are obviously ducking and diving to avoid signing in a hurry.

[Toko]

Molewa moves to other side of the fence on rhinos

By Sue Blaine | BD Live


WATER and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa’s plans to re-erect a fence along the Kruger National Park border with Mozambique, mark a total U-turn — little more than a year ago she insisted it would do nothing to save the park’s rhino population.
The fence came down in 2002 in an effort to incorporate parks in three neighbouring states, eliminating a barrier commonly associated with the apartheid government’s efforts to seal its borders.
The Kruger park has borne the brunt of the explosion in rhino poaching in South Africa since 2008, and by mid-month had lost 229 of the 313 rhinos killed this year.
Many of the poachers caught in the park are Mozambicans.
Erecting a fence would cost R200m-R400m in one-off capital expenditure, and about R100m a year in maintenance, South African National Parks (SANParks) spokesman Rey Thakhuli said on Wednesday.
Ms Molewa told Parliament this week that the department had set aside R75m for SANParks’ battle against poaching.
Kruger Park spokesman Willie Mabasa said he did not know how much had already been spent on trying to curb the escalation of rhino poaching in the park.
The idea of erecting a fence appears to be one of desperation as attempts to gain Mozambique’s co-operation have come to naught. Ms Molewa said "two or three" meetings with Mozambique on the issue had been postponed, and a change of minister had contributed to the delay.
She said it was hoped President Jacob Zuma and his Mozambique counterpart Armando Guebuza would meet on the issue as "soon as they find space or time". The niceties had been completed, but signatures were now needed.
International Union for Conservation of Nature rhino specialist group chairman Mike Knight said it appeared Mozambique was "not playing ball" on poaching.
He said he still believed a fence would "not stop people", and its benefit was largely symbolic.
Earlier this month Limpopo National Park authorities reported that the area’s last rhino had been lost to poachers, who were now setting their sights on the country’s elephants, according to allAfrica.com.

With Sapa

[Richprins]

Ms Molewa told Parliament this week that the department had set aside R75m for SANParks’ battle against poaching.
Kruger Park spokesman Willie Mabasa said he did not know how much had already been spent on trying to curb the escalation of rhino poaching in the park.

This is incredibly scary, IMO...money has been pouring into Kruger both locally and internationally.


Anyway, I think there is confusion. The fence North of Letaba was taken down years ago, and is adjacent to the Moz. side of the GKTNP. Not a big rhino area on the Kruger side.

What should be requested is a fence from south of the Olifants river, more specifically from there to Komatipoort, at least in sections? Those are the hardest-hit areas!

There is meant to be a fence, but SP let it decline with the advent of a strip of lodges down the Moz. side.

[H. erectus]

Will say it once again and that I am not all that much
in favour of anti poaching donations, that because
of abuse thereof!!! All those .gov dept,.. assisting
are government sponsored and payed for!!

Hence all sponsorship and donation would be stockpiled
cash!!!

[Toko]

Rangers risk own lives to save rhinos

Submitted by Sophiebarlian on June 01st, 2013

The Kruger National Park, with a surface area of more than 2 million hectares, is guarded full time by only 339 field rangers under the command of 22 section rangers. This equates to about 15 field rangers per section of the park.

In charge of the entire anti-poaching operation is retired Maj-Gen Johan Jooste.

“Converting rangers into field rangers is a difficult task. These are men and women who went into this job because they love animals. It requires a lot of additional training. The job of a field ranger carries higher stress and risk and is compounded by the challenge of having the right resources and equipment,” Jooste said.
Anti-poaching operations are largely reactive at present.

Field rangers are also highly skilled at tracking spoor, human or otherwise, in the bush, and will often follow poachers’ footprints for days trying to track them down either before, or after they’ve struck.
Ken Maggs, head of SANParks’ criminal investigative unit, said one of the biggest problems they had was gathering intelligence.

“The more intelligence we have the more we can focus our limited resources. Environmental intelligence is critical, such as where water is, where large groupings of animals are, and in particular, where the concentration of rhino are,” Maggs said.
The job is dangerous and as Maggs says, they face the threat of death daily. “We can have up to 10 armed incursions in one day. We had three armed contacts in one afternoon the other day”

Field rangers do not operate in isolation and a joint operation involving the police, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Parks Board is under way.

Lt-Col Piet Paxton, spokesperson for the SANDF joint operations said:
“The initial mandate is borderline protection so anti-rhino operations are a spin off from Operation Corona (which is the borderline operation). For the borderline there are enough men, but for rhino poaching we definitely need more forces.

“We have a company strength deployed in the park. Every second week we deploy 30 people to the border. It will never be enough, especially looking at the problem in the Kruger National Park.
“We can only deploy what we are given and within the mandate given to us by us the presidential commission,”