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Cape Town - South Africa’s proposal to transfer the Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra zebra) from Appendix I to Appendix II has been adopted at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) currently underway in Johannesburg.
The proposal was based on the remarkable recovery from just less than 100 individual animals in the 1990s to a number well over 5 000 in 2016, signifying South Africa’s success in the conservation of the subspecies.
In August 2015, the population of Cape Mountain Zebra comprised a minimum of around 4 800 individuals in no less than 75 subpopulations that are well distributed over the historical range of the subspecies.
As a result, the Cape Mountain Zebra is no longer threatened with extinction, having recently been assessed as Least Concern in accordance with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
The recovery of the Cape Mountain Zebra numbers is globally recognised as a conservation success story, where modern technology and the education of South Africa's people had contributed to the species' survival.
Speaking at CITES CoP17, SA's Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa, proposed the amendment of the species from Appendices I to II, saying that the Cape Mountain Zebra “subspecies is endemic to South Africa and no longer meets the biological criteria for an Appendix I listing.”
According to the international CITES standards, Appendix I protects species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
Hence, the Cape Mountain Zebra will still be protected under international law.
“The Cape Mountain Zebra is well protected in state-owned protected areas," Molewa says.
"The two original subpopulations in Mountain Zebra National Park and Karoo National Park have doubled since 2004. The national population has increased steadily since the early 1990s, with the annual rate of increase from 2009 to 2015 measured at just over 9%,” Molewa noted.
Recently, from 19 to 22 September, conservation management was conducted by CapeNature’s when they did they first Cape mountain zebra capture and translocation in and around the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Overberg.
This active conservation management action was done in an attempt to improve the resilience and growth of this iconic Western Cape species by activating some key meta-population management interventions within the Western Cape.
In a landmark negotiation with conservation stewardship site, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, CapeNature ensured that 28 Cape mountain zebras (12 males, 16 females) were captured and translocated from the De Hoop Nature Reserve and surrounding farms to the prestigious game reserve close to Montagu.
The capture teams from Shamwari Game Reserve, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve as well as CapeNature scientific and management staff took part in the operation, while scientists from the National Zoological Gardens took specimens, blood samples, measurements and photographs of each of the zebras to ensure that identikits can be produced for further research on the species.
Speaking at CITES, Molewa thanked the South African National Biodiversity Institute, the University of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and CapeNature for their collaboration and scientific research in ensuring that a well-informed policy decision is taken relating to the appropriate CITES listing of Cape Mountain Zebra in South Africa.
Relaxation of protection
Regardless of the success of the conservation efforts behind the now established Cape Mountain Zebra, the amendment will make it easier for the animals to be hunted and their unique hides to be sold again.
To this end, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa has already undertaken some analyses and modelling to determine conditions for adaptive management of Cape Mountain Zebra and the "setting of offtake quotas," as they describe it.
Molewa also said that "the transfer of Cape Mountain Zebra to Appendix II supports the management and conservation of this subspecies, as it opens up additional economic opportunities."
More conservation successes
The other black-and-white beauties that can be consider a conservation success of note is Giant pandas, a species typical used as the symbol for the global fight for conservation.
SEE: #ShockWildlifeTruths: Giant pandas are officially off the 'endangered' list
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report earlier in September that the panda is now classified as a "vulnerable" instead of "endangered" species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China.
It said the wild panda population jumped to 1 864 in 2014 from 1 596 in 2014, the result of work by Chinese agencies to enforce poaching bans and expand forest reserves.
Fate to be decided
The next species whose fate will be determined at CITES CoP17 is the most trafficked mammal on the globe - the pangolin.
The pangolin’s plight is indeed a global one. Of the eight species worldwide, the four Chinese and Sunda pangolins are already classified as critically endangered. The four remaining African species are rated as ‘vulnerable’.
This is due to the increase in demand, principally from Asia, for its scales and meat.
But this moniker could change with COP17. At the conference, the troglodyte creature – its origins date back over 80 million years – will occupy one of the centre stages, alongside its more visible mammalian counterparts. Conservationists have been lobbying vociferously for the status of the pangolin to be upgraded from Appendix 2 – subject to restricted trade - to Appendix 1 – a total ban on commercial trade.
Source: http://traveller24.news24.com/Explore/Green/cape-mountain-zebra-downlisted-at-cites-cop17-20160929
The proposal was based on the remarkable recovery from just less than 100 individual animals in the 1990s to a number well over 5 000 in 2016, signifying South Africa’s success in the conservation of the subspecies.
In August 2015, the population of Cape Mountain Zebra comprised a minimum of around 4 800 individuals in no less than 75 subpopulations that are well distributed over the historical range of the subspecies.
As a result, the Cape Mountain Zebra is no longer threatened with extinction, having recently been assessed as Least Concern in accordance with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
The recovery of the Cape Mountain Zebra numbers is globally recognised as a conservation success story, where modern technology and the education of South Africa's people had contributed to the species' survival.
Speaking at CITES CoP17, SA's Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa, proposed the amendment of the species from Appendices I to II, saying that the Cape Mountain Zebra “subspecies is endemic to South Africa and no longer meets the biological criteria for an Appendix I listing.”
According to the international CITES standards, Appendix I protects species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
Hence, the Cape Mountain Zebra will still be protected under international law.
“The Cape Mountain Zebra is well protected in state-owned protected areas," Molewa says.
"The two original subpopulations in Mountain Zebra National Park and Karoo National Park have doubled since 2004. The national population has increased steadily since the early 1990s, with the annual rate of increase from 2009 to 2015 measured at just over 9%,” Molewa noted.
Recently, from 19 to 22 September, conservation management was conducted by CapeNature’s when they did they first Cape mountain zebra capture and translocation in and around the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Overberg.
This active conservation management action was done in an attempt to improve the resilience and growth of this iconic Western Cape species by activating some key meta-population management interventions within the Western Cape.
In a landmark negotiation with conservation stewardship site, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, CapeNature ensured that 28 Cape mountain zebras (12 males, 16 females) were captured and translocated from the De Hoop Nature Reserve and surrounding farms to the prestigious game reserve close to Montagu.
The capture teams from Shamwari Game Reserve, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve as well as CapeNature scientific and management staff took part in the operation, while scientists from the National Zoological Gardens took specimens, blood samples, measurements and photographs of each of the zebras to ensure that identikits can be produced for further research on the species.
Speaking at CITES, Molewa thanked the South African National Biodiversity Institute, the University of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and CapeNature for their collaboration and scientific research in ensuring that a well-informed policy decision is taken relating to the appropriate CITES listing of Cape Mountain Zebra in South Africa.
Relaxation of protection
Regardless of the success of the conservation efforts behind the now established Cape Mountain Zebra, the amendment will make it easier for the animals to be hunted and their unique hides to be sold again.
To this end, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa has already undertaken some analyses and modelling to determine conditions for adaptive management of Cape Mountain Zebra and the "setting of offtake quotas," as they describe it.
Molewa also said that "the transfer of Cape Mountain Zebra to Appendix II supports the management and conservation of this subspecies, as it opens up additional economic opportunities."
More conservation successes
The other black-and-white beauties that can be consider a conservation success of note is Giant pandas, a species typical used as the symbol for the global fight for conservation.
SEE: #ShockWildlifeTruths: Giant pandas are officially off the 'endangered' list
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report earlier in September that the panda is now classified as a "vulnerable" instead of "endangered" species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China.
It said the wild panda population jumped to 1 864 in 2014 from 1 596 in 2014, the result of work by Chinese agencies to enforce poaching bans and expand forest reserves.
Fate to be decided
The next species whose fate will be determined at CITES CoP17 is the most trafficked mammal on the globe - the pangolin.
The pangolin’s plight is indeed a global one. Of the eight species worldwide, the four Chinese and Sunda pangolins are already classified as critically endangered. The four remaining African species are rated as ‘vulnerable’.
This is due to the increase in demand, principally from Asia, for its scales and meat.
But this moniker could change with COP17. At the conference, the troglodyte creature – its origins date back over 80 million years – will occupy one of the centre stages, alongside its more visible mammalian counterparts. Conservationists have been lobbying vociferously for the status of the pangolin to be upgraded from Appendix 2 – subject to restricted trade - to Appendix 1 – a total ban on commercial trade.
Source: http://traveller24.news24.com/Explore/Green/cape-mountain-zebra-downlisted-at-cites-cop17-20160929
