Progress and budget in the fight against poaching of SA’s Biodiversity Mr Ishaam Abader Deputy Director General Legal Authorisations Compliance and Enforcement

Progress and budget in the fight against poaching of SA’s Biodiversity

Mr Ishaam AbaderDeputy Director General

Legal Authorisations Compliance and Enforcement

BACKGROUND• Wildlife crime is a serious threat to the security, political

stability, economy, natural resources and cultural heritage of many countries, including SA

• Rhino poaching recognised as a National Security threat• Co-ordinated through the Natjoints as a Priority Crime –

expanded to Wildlife Crime for purposes of operationalising the national strategy

• Concurrent Competence (environment and nature conservation) – national and provinces

• Focus currently on rhino from a poaching perspective – availability of resources

BACKGROUND• The illegal killing of rhinoceros escalated in 2008 when 83 animals

were illegally killed – increased to 668 killed by the end of 2012• Initially no clear indications of exact reasons for these killings,

suspected to be multifaceted requiring different approaches• DEA developed the National Strategy for the Safety and Security of

the Rhinoceros Population and this strategy - approved by Cabinet in August 2010

• August 2014 – Cabinet adopted Integrated Strategy Approach to Rhinoceros – additional measures– Management rhino populations– Compulsory Interventions – focus security/enforcement– National and International Collaborationa and Co-ordination– Long term sustainability measures

INTERVENTIONSDevelopments relating to the implementation of the Rhino poaching threat as well as various initiatives that have been implemented by DEA since 2009:–A moratorium on national trade in rhino horn and its products on 13 February 2009;–Interim National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit (NWCRU) in October 2010;– Rhino Poaching pronounced a national security threat; – Permanent National Wildlife Information Management in 2012;– SA playing an active role and contribute to international meetings and forums;– Signed MOUs with identified consumer and neighbouring countries (China, Vietnam and

Mozambique;– Engagement of the JCPS on the matter which resulted in convening of a special forum by

the chairperson for the purposes; – Co-chairs the Priority Committee on Wildlife Crime, – Joint implementation of borders through the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence

and Security– Appointment of an issue manager to facilitate stakeholder engagement on issues relating

to rhino management, safety and security as well as trade;

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Mozambique•MOU signed on 17 April 2014 in Skukuza, Kruger National Park.•Implementation plan in final stages, to be signed in June 2015People’s Republic of China•MOU signed in March 2013,•Implementation Plan signed in March 2015The Royal Kingdom of Cambodia•An MoU finalized, will be signed on May 29, 2015 in South Africa;Thailand•An MoU was drafted and presented in June 2013, not initalized due to instability within the Thai government. The draft was tabled in June 2013, but has not yet been finalised. People’s Democratic Republic of Laos •The MOU was finalised in July 2013, still awaiting signature

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Vietnam • MOU signed in December 2012• Implementation plan signed in May 2013• Official visit to South Africa for a study in March 2014.Agreed actions: • Continue with implementation of the MOU in order to assist each other to meet international

obligations.• Further interaction will be undertaken in September 2014 in Vietnam, for an assessment of the

intended establishment of Protected Areas and Transfrontier Conservation Areas in Vietnam as well as assess the implementation of an awareness strategy to influence demand

• Conduct an awareness campaign to sensitize Vietnam Citizens, particularly young school children, on the subject of illegal trade and consumption of Rhino horn and other wildlife.

• Vietnam will support South Africa in any initiative aimed at promoting sustainable use of natural resources.

Vietnamese youth to visit SA in June and July to be exposed to the importance of Conservation of Wildlife

BUDGET : DEA & SANPARKS - RHINO

Year DEA

SANPARKS

TOTAL

2008/09 0 0 0

2009/10 0 0 0

2010/11 0 0 0

2011/12 R 3 000 000 R 2 000 000 R 5 000

2012/13 R 8 000 000 R 8 000 000 R 16 000

2013/14 R 10 000 000 R 8 000 000 R 18 000

2014/15 R 10 600 000 R 33 480 000 R 44 080

2015/16 R 11 000 000 R 33 870 000 R 44 878

2016/17 R 11 550 000 R 34 665 000 R 46 215

2017/18 R 12 216 000 R 35 448 000 R 47 664

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT:NATURE CONSERVATION

• Rangers within the parks (grade 5 Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs)) – mandate only in the provincial park

• Investigators – mandate within the province (grade 1 or 2 EMIs)

• Standard Operating Procedure with SAPS – “pure environmental crime”

• Critical to engage directly from provinces/parks – understand the allocation for wildlife crime/poaching within the overall allocation

BUDGET : FREE STATE• Biodiversity Enforcement Unit• Operational budget – R1 758 000• Personnel budget – R3 500 000 (structure - 11 officials)

• Rhino guards / rangers (13) – 4 protected areas• Additional 9 guards requested• Adequate budget for compensation but not equipment

• Most rhino is on private property – private security

Personnel status - Free StateItem Approved in

the structureApproved and funded within budget

Approved and funded but vacant

Approved but unfunded

Additional required – not approved

EMIs 11 11 0 0 3 x Special Investigators

Rangers/Guards 17 13 0 4 9

Challenges:•Lack of information sharing and need for national information•SAPS do not share information but always want information•Lack of adequate Compensation budget: Not enough qualified investigators to investigate wildlife crimes and shortage of rangers•Lack of Operational budget : Equipment, vehicles and fuel to travel•Wildlife crime not recognised as a priority•Kilometer constraints only 2000km allowed per official per month (Treasury Instruction) - including investigators

Personnel Status – Mpumalanga

Item Approved in the structure

Approved and funded within budget




EMIs Enforcement and compliance

35 6(these are all

appointed as EMI’s)

4 25 0

Conservation Rangers

29 9(None of the Rangers are

appointed EMI’s)

4 16 0

Field Rangers (rhino reserves)

141 88 0 53 0

TOTAL 205 104 7 94 0

Mpumalanga - challenges• Lack of Operational budget - travelling/ equipment/

training• Lack of law enforcement and special investigation staff• Lack of adequate Compensation budget • Lack of information sharing• Enforcement & permit structure 68% vacant• Inability to pay informer rewards• No adequate information management system• Specialised training for field ranger staff/ APU

Personnel Status – Eastern Cape Department






EMIs 36 36 9 4

Rangers/Guards N/A

Challenges:•Lack of information sharing between different investigation agencies•Lack of adequate Compensation budget•Lack of Operational budget •Others - Transport limitations / Informer networks and compensation

Personnel Status – Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency






EMIs 15 Level 2105 Level 5

15105

0 0 1530


regional investigators

0 0 0 0 3

Principal field ranger investigations

0 0 0 0 1

Senior field rangers investigations

0 0 0 0 4

EASTERN CAPE PARKS

Anti-Poaching Unit (Rhino security & protection)

Description PROJECTION 2015/16

PROJECTION 2016/17

PROJECTION 2017/18

PROJECTION 2018/19

PROJECTION 2019/20

Vehicles 3 x diesel Land Cruisers with canopy, snorkel for wading, railings, high lift jack, spade, panga, bull bar, tow bar, winch (removable) 2 000 000 0 0 1 000 000 1 500 000

Motorbikes / Quad bikes 4 motorbikes ; 4 quad bikes for rapid response 850 000 250 000 0 0 550 000

Equipment (operational) weapons, tents, back packs, camping gear; cooking gear & utensils; etc. 750 000 120 000 138 000 158 700 182 505

Staffing Principal Field Ranger (1) 175 000 187 250 200 358 214 383 229 389

Field Rangers (9) 1 350 000 1 444 500 1 545 615 1 653 808 1 769 575

Surveillance systems (Twerlys)

surveillance Baviaanskloof1 000 000

Remote vehicles / drones Aerial surveillance 400 000 0 0 0 500 000

Maintenance 450 000 495 000 544 500 598 950 658 845

Training & competencies Fire Arms; unarmed combat; specialised anti-poaching & tracking; EMI, etc. 40 000 46 000 52 900 60 835 69 960

Security Security scanning equipment 1 000 000 1030 000 1 034 500 1 039 675 1 045 626

Training drone operations 60 000 69 000 79 350 91 253 104 940

Total 8 075 000 3 641 750 3 595 223 4 817 603 6 610 841

Non-Infrastructure Catalytic Projects (Anti-Poaching Unit) – Request for funding submitted

Total budget for 2015/16 for anti-poaching measures, security, etc: R 1 658 000 for 21 reserves (R 500 000 taken from elsewhere for two rhino reserves for equipment and security measures)

Eastern Cape Parks - challenges• Lack of information sharing (SAPS, Agencies)• Lack of adequate Compensation budget• Lack of Operational budget (resourced anti

poaching teams, equipment, vehicles, skills training)

• Fleet

BUDGET : CAPENATUREBudget for Biodiversity Crime Unit – 2015/2016

Total Budget: R 1,639,501.68, which includesPersonnel budget: R1,491,271.68 (3 staff members)Operational budget: R148,230, which includesTransport: R90,000 (3 vehicles)Cellphones: R19,956 (3 contracts)Travel claims: R30,800 (3 staff members)

Personnel Status – CapeNatureItem Approved in





EMIs 20 Grade 21 Grade 317 trained

but not designated

39 0 0 ?

Rangers/Guards 97 97 4 18(R2.8 M required)

0

Challenges:•Lack of operational budget•Low incidence of poaching leading to landowners not prioritising security•CapeNature has no rhinoceros on any protected area. All rhinoceros in Western Cape occur on private property.

Personnel Status – Northern CapeItem Approved in





EMIs 8 4 1 4 N/A

Rangers 7 4 4 4 2 Senior Field and 2 Ranger posts

Guards 0 0 0 0 0

Challenges:

•Lack of adequate Compensation budget•Lack of Operational budget •Very poorly staffed

BUDGET : LIMPOPOBudget allocation Biodiversity EMI 2014/15 Investigations and inspections

ITEM BUDGET

Equipment R 20 000

Transport R 180 000

S&T R 100 000

Overtime R 45 000

Personnel Status – LimpopoItem Approved in





EMIs 15 14 3 1 25


Challenges:•Lack of information sharing•Lack of adequate Compensation budget•Lack of Operational budget (for vehicles, equipment, air support•Lack of staff and special investigation unit•Lack of equipment •Shortage / lack of security on private rhino properties (major concern) •EMI and SAPS not working as a team

BUDGET : KZNKwaZulu Natal:Funding received from Provincial Treasury (State Funding)Duration: Prescribed once-off grant allocations (No personnel allocations)

Rhino Initiatives Amount Budget Phase Funding Receipt Date

Anti-Poaching

R28 million Phase 1 2012 / 2013

AwarenessField ConservationInformer Network IntelligenceInfrastructure MaintenanceTrainingAwareness

R19 million Phase 2 Jan 2013Field ConservationInvestigationAnti-Poaching

R20 million Phase 3 Nov 2013Field ConservationInfrastructure Maintenance

BUDGET : KZNBudget Plan 2014 – 2017 Ezemvelo Wildlife Crime Intervention Programme

Year

R thousand

Three Year Budget Plan

2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 Fencing Upgrade & Maintenance (Boundary Integrity - Access Control)

R20 000 000 R10 000 000 R10 000 000

Firearms & Law Enforcement Equipment R 7 000 000 R7 000 000 R7 000 000 Field Operations Personal Costs R7 000 000 R7 000 000 R7 000 000 Rhino Monitoring & Crime Analysis R1 900 000 R1 590 000 R1 590 000 Equipment (as identified by Rhino Reserves Security Assessment)

R7 000 000 R1 200 000 R800 000

Project Management R2 500 000 R2 500 000 R2 500 000 Informer Network Maintenance R2 000 000 R2 000 000 R2 000 000 Law Enforcement Training and Facilitation R7 000 000 R7 000 000 R7 000 000 Stockpile Management, Micro chipping& Treatment of Live Animals

R2 000 000 R1 000 000 R1 000 000

Drones Security R3 000 000 R900 000 R900 000Helicopter Operations R6 900 000 R7 100 000 R7 500 000Awareness R7 000 000 R10 000 000 R5 000 000 Corridor Security R4 000 000 R4 400 000 R4 800 000 APU Infrastructure - Re-establishment & Maintenance

R22 000 000 R10 000 000 R5 000 000

Regional Joint Operations Unit R4 300 000 R3 300 000 R3 800 000 Reserve Supplementary Force (Accomm + resource/operation tools)

R14 000 000 R10 200 000 R8 100 000

Total R108 600 000 R85 190 000 R73 990 000

KZN Wildlife - challenges• Need to develop and implement a sustainable funding

model, donations and grants in erratic and dictated form assist but money could be better used. (Donor Dictates?)

• Improve bush tactical training• Need for sustainable awareness programmes. • Need for specialised and dedicated EMI detectives to focus

on syndicate levels of rhino crime (vast majority of arrests are poachers entering reserves)

Challenges:•No dedicated investigators allocated due to shortage of staff and rely on SAPS for assistance. •No intelligence. •From end May 2015 - 75% vacancy in Special Investigations Unit. •No budget allocated or to be utilised for anti-poaching

BUDGET : NORTH-WEST – BIODIVERSITY REGULATION

BUDGET ALLOCATION – 2014/15

ALLOCATIONS:Compensation of employees 23 657 000Travel and subsistence 3 1430 826Overtime 139 225Danger allowance 24 633Tel 109 468

Total 26,814,500

BUDGET : N-W PARKS

The budget is cross cutting, it covers all operations conducted by Field Rangers in general in all 15 provincial reserves, in NW

Item Budget expenses

Cell phone expenses 163 000.00

Travel costs 835 000.00

Pool vehicle running costs 1 190 000.00

Subsistence allowances 530 000.00

Wages for Field Rangers 23 760 000.00

Total 26 478 000.00

Personnel Status – North-West Parks




Approved but unfunded Additional required – not approved

EMIs 20 20 0 0 0


The EMIs excludes the Field Rangers (EMI Grade 5). We have 80 EMI Grade 5 out of our existing Field Rangers

NORTH-WEST PARKS - CHALLENGES

• Lack of information sharing• Lack of adequate Compensation budget• Lack of Operational budget – need equipment• Difficulties in recruiting informers (no funding for rewards)• Delay on back-up from Law Enforcement Agency (SAPS) when

potential threat identified

Personnel Status – North-West






EMIs (enforcement)

07 07 0 0 04 (investigate rhino related cases including combating illegal trade in other species/CITES)

Compliance 31 31 1 0 N/A

NORTH-WEST PARKS - CHALLENGES• Lack of information sharing• Non-cooperation between various law enforcement agencies and

lack of intelligence• Lack of adequate Compensation budget / Lack of capacity• Lack of Operational budget • Only a few anti-poaching teams in private properties - expensive

exercise • Few rhino owners belong to existing associations – difficult to get

cooperation from individuals farmers• Some rhino owners don't trust other farmers – suspicion in leaking

information

GENERIC PROVINCIAL CHALLENGES• Parks boards and conservation authorities which are differently

structured within provinces (eg. Gauteng vs Mpumalanga) • Unit to address anti-poaching vs investigative units• Necessary to compete for funding – within Province / Department (often

combined with Agriculture/Economic Development/Tourism)• Some provinces receive donor funding but this is not sustainable funding

(equipment needs can be addressed)• Significant amounts of donor funding possibilities – need to understand

these and correctly allocate• Funding must be applied based on priorities – focus on rhino currently

PRIORITY FOCUS AREAS• Mpumalanga – although larger structures have been approved, a

significant number of posts are unfunded / borders KNP / high levels of poaching

• Age of rangers• Northern Cape – very poorly staffed / low budget• Limpopo – high levels of poaching and additional capacity should be

viewed as a priority• Gauteng – high vacancy rate

CONCLUSION• Essential to identify funding opportunities / projects – match to the

specific needs (challenge – compensation budget)• GEF Rhino Project – some of the equipment needs / training

interventions / information sharing• Joint operations/projects/whole of government approach (provjoints) –

SAPS detective unit – Stock Theft and Endangered Species• Latest numbers related to rhinos poached as at end of April 2015 – 393

compared to 331 at the end of April 2014• Numbers poached outside of the KNP remained the similar to 2014

figures (increase within the KNP)• Increase in number of arrests compared to last year related to rhino

poaching (end April 2014: 96 vs end April 2015: 132)

Documents

Progress and budget in the fight against poaching of SA’s Biodiversity Mr Ishaam Abader Deputy Director General Legal Authorisations Compliance and Enforcement