Durban - Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s quest to get funding from the European Outdoor Conservation Association for the Maloti-Drakensberg vanishing vultures project was successful.
Recently, the European Outdoor Conservation Association announced that the project was one of three projects that were successful.
The association made the announcement on Friday, congratulating three winning projects that would receive funding. The other two projects that were successful were critical habitat restoration for the Long-wattled umbrellabird and coral for the climate! Coral reef expansion.
Congratulations to our 3 winning projects that will now receive their requested funding from EOCA. Critical Habitat Restoration for the Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Coral for the Climate! Coral Reef Ecosystem Expansion, Maloti-Drakensberg’s Vanishing vultures. pic.twitter.com/rt3u3HAreM
— EOCA - European Outdoor Conservation Association (@ConserveOutdoor) May 6, 2022
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s project was shortlisted for funding.
Voting ran from April 20, 2022, to May 4, 2022.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesperson Musa Mntambo thanked everybody who voted for the project.
Mntambo confirmed that the Maloti-Drakensberg’s vulture project was successful in receiving funding from the association.
The amount applied for was €29 000 (R493 143.26).
Mntambo said that the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains connecting South Africa and Lesotho, represent the last, southernmost, stronghold for the region’s Critically Endangered Bearded Vulture.
“Fewer than 100 breeding pairs are left in these mountains, which is also a vital breeding and foraging site for the Endangered Cape Vulture. In the face of climate change and global warming, this high altitude landscape and its areas of considerable altitude gradient are considered critical refugia for biodiversity such as its resident, and near-endemic vultures. The region's numerous rivers are also vital corridors for biodiversity movement, creating resilience at the landscape scale,” Mntambo said.
“The funding will go towards actively protecting these last high-altitude vulture refugia and reducing the concerning decline of vultures in the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountain range,” he said.
Mntambo said protecting the vultures would be done through innovative community-driven eco-tourism projects, namely:
- Clean-up programmes will be undertaken on local rivers currently experiencing high pollution pressure.
- Community members will make eco-bricks to construct wildlife viewing and photography hides at strategic tourism sites in the region, where we will also work with communities and local homesteads to remove key threats to vultures and establish feeding sites to sustain the region’s vulture populations. The hides will provide a valuable platform to generate awareness and a sustainable income from tourists.
- Awareness and education workshops will be held in the area, including poisoning response training and awareness, improving livestock grazing and fire regimes, and other vital conservation topics.
Last year, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife had three rehabilitated vultures that they released in August in the Pongola Nature Reserve.
The vultures were fitted with tags and tracking units at Raptor Rescue near Camperdown.
Daily News