Former South Coaster heads rhino war
Cedric Coetzee is in charge of Ezemvelo's anti-rhino poaching operations
A WELL-KNOWN former South Coast conservationist, Cedric Coetzee of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, has been given the challenging task of managing the future protection of the province’s rhinos.
It is a weighty baton that he will bear but he does not plan to carry it alone. Ever a team player, he believes in a unified approach to combating the scourge of rhino poaching.
Cedric, one of South Africa’s more experienced conservation managers, has served his organisation for 31 years. He joined the Natal Parks Board, which was later incorporated into Ezemvelo, in the early 1980s. After being appointed warden then conservator for the South Coast, promotion saw him moving away from this area and upwards through the Ezemvelo ranks.
According to Cedric conservation had changed enormously over the past five years or so.
“It’s really about how formal conservation engages with all affected people and organisations – private owners, NGOs and communities – in partnering with each other. That’s how I view my appointment, to further this collaborative aim and not as some sort of ‘Rhino Cop’, as some have termed me.
“Our CEO Dr Bandile Mkhize has forged this path. His constant reference to ‘African Conservation’ and his broader outreach through the establishment of the Rhino Ambassadors’ Programme and the organisation’s provincial ‘Ezemvelo Cup’ soccer tournament, send us all a clear 21st century conservation message,” he said.
While it was his responsibility to answer to the rhino poaching war we were engaged in, he believed his success lay in how he could foster a focused stakeholder approach.
He also sounded a warning. Statistics pointed to the doubling of the number of rhinos that would be poached in South Africa by the end of this year. The incidence of poaching in KwaZulu-Natal was expected to rise substantially, too.
As for solutions, these lay in all those involved in the rhino poaching war being proactive, not reactive.
“We are trying to do this with our Zap Wing Unit’s extensive aerial surveillance. We have yet to find a sustainable funding model to increase anti-poaching units. Our intelligence networks have to be given greater resources and emphasis. These reserves must be supported and resourced to give our animals a fair chance.
“Conservation has a history of being divided amongst interest groups and their particular interpretation of this discipline.
This has to be set aside. We desperately need to unite in a common approach to protecting these animals. There are many good and passionate people out there but we should be wary of ‘big fix’ solutions or costly interventions that make rhino poaching a potential money-making exercise,” he said.
However, nothing could replace loyalty, passion and doing the orthodox things correctly, he added. While poaching statistics hit the headlines, few people realised how passionate and committed to preventing poaching were the Ezemvelo’s field staff and anti-poaching units.
Statistics also didn’t tell the whole truth. Alluding to the recent discovery of seven rhino carcasses in Tembe Elephant Park, he pointed out that anti-poaching units had successfully managed to ward off 13 other incursions into the park.
“Sometimes these figures are misleading simply because one incursion can and has caused multiple deaths and little is known about how many of these poachers are being deterred,” he pointed out.
He hoped that the recent diplomatic engagements with Mozambique, for example, could be sustained on an ongoing basis where joint operations, co-operation and sharing information was critical, he concluded..
