Sharing SA with elephants: new strategy calls for rethink
The strategy redefines conservation through focusing on coexistence and long-term solutions
Daily Maverick, 28 Feb 2025By Don Pinnock
Photos: Rob Slotow
Whale populations are making a welcome comeback What do we need to do in order for elephants and people to coexist and for both to thrive? That’s the question the National Elephant Heritage Strategy proposal, issued for public discussion by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, seeks to answer. Do people value them in a way that they’re going to allow elephants to share the country in which we all live? If so, how?
The National Elephant Heritage Strategy tries to answer these questions by putting a frame around what exists and projecting forward to what our relationship with elephants should be. It’s quite consciously a heritage and not a conservation strategy.
We’re talking about advanced, complex and possibly controversial thinking. The best person to explain the proposal is Professor Rob Slotow of the University of Kwazulu-natal, who was one of the drafters and has a long history of thinking through elephant conservation and management.
Don Pinnock:
The heritage strategy is certainly generating a lot of discussion. Perhaps you could start by giving us some context. What makes this strategy different from previous approaches to elephant management in South Africa?
The way we’ve traditionally approached biodiversity management has been very biologically focused. We look at what causes increases or decreases in a species’ population, or what threatens an ecosystem. We tend to think in terms of over-harvesting or conflict. What’s missing is the broader social and political context in which biodiversity exists.
So, are you saying that previous management plans have been too narrow in their focus?
Exactly. If you look at the national biodiversity management plans for rhinos, lions or even cycads, they’re heavily focused on the biological aspects. They don’t adequately address the people context, the social issues that are crucial for biodiversity to persist in the modern age, although this is changing as they’re revised over time.
How does the heritage strategy incorporate elements such as spiritual or cultural values?
That’s a key point. We recognise that there are elements of human rights and value systems that aren’t tangible in a purely biological sense. Spiritual rights, cultural rights, the intrinsic value of nature – these are all important considerations that need to be factored into management plans.
In 2008, South Africa developed norms and standards for elephant management. How does the strategy build upon or depart from that framework?
The 2008 norms and standards were the outcome of the culling debate and a ministerial round table. They provided detailed guidance for managing elephants that covered hunting, culling, contraception and translocation. However, the challenge is that this framework operated in a vacuum, without addressing the broader socioecological system.
So, you’re suggesting that the 2008 framework, though detailed, didn’t provide a clear basis for decision-making when conflicting interests arise?
Precisely. Every situation became a battle with people wanting to do things and others telling them they can’t. There was no overarching framework to guide these decisions. Moreover, because the elephant management plans were tied to specific reserves, they failed to address the broader elephant conservation issues and the social context.
How does the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) fit into the bigger picture?
Well, elephant range states that are parties to CITES are required to have a national African Elephant Action Plan which links to the overall African Elephant Action Plan.
South Africa doesn’t have one, and the heritage strategy, combined with other elements such as the norms and standards and proposed National Elephant Meta-population framework, will cover this in a way most suited to our unique context.
Are there communities actually existing with elephants, given that almost all elephants live in fenced reserves?
The concept of community living with elephants is a broad one and would include communities outside fenced reserves. A lot of private reserves have relationships with surrounding communities, and most state reserves have formal linkages in that many state reserves with elephants – and some private reserves – have some form of claimant relationship with communities that once lived there.
Given that almost all elephants are privately, state- or province-owned and the tourism opportunities on these properties generally have been extensively used, how will communities be able to benefit from elephants?
That is true under the current models, which do not promote – one could say they prevent – access and benefit flows to surrounding communities in a meaningful way. New models can provide win-win options.
I guess what you’re looking at is similar parts of places in Botswana, Namibia and Kenya?
Of course. In many of those areas you have wild animals not in parks roaming around or using corridors over state land, community land and private land, often with a range of land uses. Free-roaming animals are not a new thing to Africa, it’s just that we’re no longer accustomed to it here.
There’s sometimes human-elephant conflict in those areas. How does the strategy address this issue?
We need to find ways for elephants and people to coexist, whether it’s through protected areas with fences or by allowing elephants to roam freely in certain areas.
In places like the Mapungubwe area or west of the northern Kruger, where elephants roam widely, we need to move beyond simply culling problem animals. We need to explore alternatives, working proactively with local communities and land owners for win-win solutions.
Fenced islands can protect key agricultural production land or community villages, and local people can be employed as elephant shepherds to guide elephants away from settlements. The heritage strategy calls for African solutions for African opportunities.
Finally, what role does engagement and consultation play in the elephant heritage strategy?
Engagement and consultation are crucial. The strategy emphasises the participation and influence of stakeholders, not only in the drafting process but also in the implementation of the strategy. It’s about ensuring that the people on the ground, the managers and local communities, have a stronger say in the decisions that affect them.
It’s also about a holistic approach that provides space and opportunity for different viewpoints and value systems to be considered and integrated into African solutions for African opportunities. It’s about both people and nature thriving.
Rob, thanks for clarifying the key principles and aims of the strategy. It certainly represents a significant shift in how South Africa approaches elephant conservation. DM
Photo credit: Thinkstock
Lis!