In light of the rapidly escalating rhino-poaching crisis, a recent meeting between several South African anti- and pro-rhino-trade lobbyists was held at the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Cape Town. After a heated debate, the lobbyists agreed to set aside the specific agendas of their respective camps and focus on working together as a united front to come up with a multi-faceted plan to conserve rhinos in the wild.

Advocate Jacques Joubert of Mediation in Motion, whose ‘Woza Mediation’ blog is well known, facilitated the discussions. In the debate, those in favour of the legalisation of the trade in rhino horn were respected economist, Dawie Roodt; and myself, rhino activist and Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa (IFAISA) Director, Braam Malherbe. Those against trade were veteran conservationist and wildlife tourism expert, Colin Bell, and Ian Michler, eco-tourism operator, writer and former stockbroker. 

All participants agreed that, in the light of likely voting patterns when CITES members next meet in Cape Town (in March 2016), it is unrealistic to expect any changes to the legislation for the trade in rhino products. Indeed, it appears that legalisation in the trade of rhino products will not happen inside the next decade, at which point, based on current poaching statistics, rhinos in the wild will likely be extinct. In fact, without a collaborative and united approach requiring a demand for a change in the status quo, all parties present agreed that the fate of the rhinos in the wild was dismal.

All participants also acknowledged that around one in seven South Africans depended on a thriving tourism industry. If rhinos become extinct, the country’s tourism industry will suffer and, by default, so will the country’s economy and its people. Finding a viable way forward would therefore be necessary for the preservation of the country’s biodiversity as well as its financial well-being. It was also noted that the incentives to prevent rhino poaching were not specific to South Africa, and that efforts to address the situation on a global scale were a necessary part of the solution.

With that consensus reached, the lobbyists turned their attention towards exploring the various measures available to conserve rhino, with all agreeing that it would be necessary to create a multi-pronged approach that allowed for different areas to be addressed and acted upon concurrently.

The following areas were found to be some of the more effective steps needed to conserve rhino that could be implemented immediately:

• Enacting an immediate cessation of hostilities between pro- and anti-trade camps, with a focus instead on rallying both camps around a common vision.

• Creating efficient, effective, focused and sustainable fund-raising campaigns for rhino security and conservation.

• Providing public education, primarily in Asia and worldwide, to reduce demand for rhino horn.

• Increasing the amount and efficiency of security and monitoring measures, including centralising the application and issuing of permits to hunt rhino, the establishment of a whistle-blowers’ fund and increased anti-poaching law enforcement.

• Securing community buy-in and co-operation in conservation of rhino, especially among those living in proximity to rhino

• Taking a more proactive stance toward poaching by targeting the middle-men and increasing the use of the latest available sophisticated technologies that can detect poachers long before the animal can be shot.

• Securing increased governmental compliance with constitutional and legal precepts in the struggle to conserve the rhino species.

In addition to attending this meeting, IFAISA has also written to the Minister of Environmental Affairs pleading for a change in the ‘rules of engagement’ that anti-poaching units are currently obliged to use when apprehending rhino poachers in the Kruger National Park. As was pointed out during the debate, under the current rules, the rangers and other law-enforcement agencies operating in the KNP who are involved in anti-poaching operations are in a situation where they are hugely frustrated because they are fighting poaching with both hands tied behind their back.

The participants agreed to revisit the debate and the current strategy on an on-going basis, and to amend the current approach if and when necessary as well as to produce a realistic and viable action plan that would be acceptable to the majority of rhino stakeholders.

The outcome of this debate is, in many respects, ground-breaking. It is possibly the first time where pro- and anti-trade lobbyists have reached consensus and agreed on a positive way forward. Roodt, Michler and Bell were in agreement that: “As long as we are fighting each other, we are aiding and abetting the poachers.”