Kelly is well known to everyone involved with conservation in the Waterberg. She has her BSc Hons in Environmental Geography and MSc in Conservation Biology, was the co-ordinator of the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, and treasurer of the original Save the Waterberg Rhino
Save the Waterberg Rhino has been supporting the prevention of poaching and the protection of rhinos, other wildlife, and people in the Waterberg for the last decade. More than R13 million has been raised directly through STWR for security equipment and infrastructure, training, assistance to clusters, communication and collaboration facilitation and providing a unified platform for security stakeholders. Another R5 million has been facilitated into the area by STWR. “This funding has been made possible through the many amazing donors that have supported STWR such as The Waterberg Trust, Mapula, Tusk, and the hundreds of individual donors that have supported STWR over the last decade, and we thank them all.” Says Kelly
The dedicated, tirelessly working security role-players, have been critical in protecting the Waterberg and achieving the low levels of poaching for the area. This network, working collaboratively, combined with the security equipment and infrastructure has fortified the Waterberg into one of the most important rhino strongholds in Africa.
While both the Kruger and Kwa Zulu Natal rhinos have been decimated over the past few years the Waterberg has successfully combatted poaching limiting rhino losses to 13 rhinos since 2017. Further success has been reached in the arrests of more than 45 people in the area connected with rhino poaching.
Earlier this year a review of STWR by its stakeholders saw consensus to increase the scope and network of this organisation to allow focus of conservation at the landscape level (not only single species focus) as well as grow its network of stakeholders to cover more than 3.5 million ha of the Waterberg.
A new name for the organisation has also been suggested – Waterberg Landscape Alliance. This does not mean though the rhino has been abandoned. Rather the Save the Waterberg Rhino work and fundraising will continue under WLA as a focused project. In fact, the recently released Wildlife Justice
Commission 2022 Global Threat Assessment report on the illegal rhino horn trade has expressly indicated that rhino horn trafficking remains a serious problem and a new sense of urgency is needed to deal with the issue as transnational organised crime.
Therefore the protection of rhino is still an important focus but the initiatives of securing this area have outgrown just rhino, allowing for other species to be afforded protection as well as securing conservation estate at the landscape level and providing security and safety to the wildlife industry and local economy. WLA will be better positioned to promote biodiversity conservation at the Waterberg landscape level as well as bring further benefits and be more inclusiveness to communities and residents.
The Waterberg is an area of special conservation significance for many species as well as being a potential centre of endemism and containing unique vegetation types. The area’s importance is also recognised through its UNESCO biosphere status and South Africa’s largest Ramsar’s wetland site as well as Birdlife SA’s Important Bird Area. WLA will be able to contribute towards the bigger picture of conservation vision for the Waterberg and be able assist and collaborate with organisations to create an area of outstanding conservation value and significance.
In the words of EWT’s Yolan Friedmann it is perfectly normal for organic growth of any organisation to redefine itself because the world changes and so Save the Waterberg Rhino will now evolve into Waterberg Landscape Alliance.
Contact Kelly for more information:
Email:
kelly@stwr.org.za
WhatsApp:
+27(0) 60 455 9304
www.waterbergrhino.com
Gunfontein 71KR,
Vaalwater, 0530
PO BOX 441,
Vaalwater, 0530
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