South Africa and Mozambique had have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in a bid to combat rhino poaching within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
The Biodiversity Conservation and Management MoU was signed in the Kruger National Park in the Mpumalanga province on 17 April by Edna Molewa, South Africa’s Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, and Mozambican Minister of Tourism Carvalho Muária.
Since January, 185 rhinos have been poached in the Kruger National Park, which borders Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park to form a part of the transfrontier park. This makes Mozambique a priority for South Africa within the SADC region in the country’s fight against poaching.
Molewa said that the underlying reasons for the poaching are diverse and include trade and market dynamics, legislative and administrative gaps in government, as well as the problem of organised crime and challenges in investigating poaching.
“It has also been recognised that to address the escalating trend in poaching, there are other socioeconomic issues that require attention,” she said.
New measures
The agreement aims to strengthen relations between the two countries to improve the protection of endangered species, such as rhino, while working towards a common and co-ordinated management approach for the transfrontier park.
The development of a joint operations cross-border protocol by the park managements will be developed by the safety and security clusters of the two countries.
South Africa has committed R24.9-million to Mozambique to assist with anti-poaching efforts, from a R252-million Swedish and Dutch Postcode Lottery donation, secured by the Peace Parks Foundation.
This will assist with the implementation of counter-trafficking measures, the improvement of communication networks, the training and capacity building of field rangers, the provision of vital operational equipment, the deployment of sniffer dogs and a community awareness project. The parks’ management teams are finalising the project plans. ….
South Africa Today – South Africa News
