Women take on poachers and win

Source: http://www.flauna.co.za/news/feature...achers-and-win

The 26-member Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit has had significant success. The rangers have also won awards and brought education to communities in the buffer zone around the Greater Kruger.



The war on poaching will not be won with guns and bullets but through the local communities and education. This is the belief driving the award-winning Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit at the Balule Game Reserve.

Established in 2013, the Black Mambas are unusual – 25 members of the team are women; only one is a man. They are drawn from the local communities around the game reserves along the border of the Kruger National Park. All recruits are from previously disadvantaged communities and undergo a rigorous six-week training programme before they are sent out into the field with an existing unit for work experience.

The aim is to protect the Olifants West region of the Balule Nature Reserve, creating a barrier between the Kruger, which bears the brunt of rhino poaching, and poachers.

The unit is a partnership between Transfrontier Africa and SANParks (South African National Parks) through the Department of Environmental Affair's Extended Public Works Environmental Monitor Programme, and is administered through SANPark's Kruger 2 Canyon initiative.

Through Kruger to Canyons Biosphere region, Transfrontier Africa began the implementation of its anti-poaching strategy which later became the Black Mambas, according to the Mamba's website. The Environmental Monitor Programme is a social upliftment initiative that aims to deal with unemployment and boost skills development.

Since the unit was deployed at the Balule Game Reserve, said Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, only four rhino had been poached. It had helped in the arrest of six poachers, reduced snaring by poachers of other wildlife by 76%, and removed over 1 000 snares.

The minister was speaking on 7 September 2015, to congratulate the unit on being awarded the United Nations' top accolade, the Champions of the Earth award.

"The Black Mambas are a shining example of the promise of government, the private sector and communities to eradicating rhino poaching in South Africa. I, and all South Africans, salute these young women who all come from communities close to the Balule Game Reserve and the Kruger National Park who have shown dedication and commitment to the conservation of our natural world," she said.

While anti-poaching is the main task of the unit, it is not its only aim. Education is a strong focus and the rangers spend a great deal of time and energy on teaching local people about the benefits of conservation and rhino protection.

"Our main objective is the protection of wildlife but we also strive to create a strong bond and educate the communities that live on the boundaries of Balule and the Greater Kruger Park to the benefits of saving their natural heritage," the Black Mambas say on their website.

In the three years it had been operating, according to the Black Mambas website, the unit had destroyed more than 12 poachers' camps and five bush meat kitchens, and reduced poisoning and snaring by 76% in the region. Apart from antelopes, other endangered species such as wild dogs and cheetah are also the victims of snaring.

They go out on daily patrols through the Balule reserve, and have been responsible for the early detection of poaching insurgents. They then alert the armed unit, which is then able to stop the poachers. The Black Mambas monitor the rhinos' movements daily through the use of VHF & GPS transmitters.

When not tracking wildlife and taking on poachers in the bush, the Black Mambas also participate in the Bush Babies Environmental Education Program, an environmental awareness programme run by Transfrontier Africa in primary schools around the Greater Kruger.

Its objectives are to bring knowledge to life, raise awareness of the environment, give a better understanding of conservation, lead to sustainable use of resources and install environmental problem-solving skills. The schools are visited weekly.

Awards

The Black Mambas won the Champions of the Earth Award in the Inspiration and Action Category in September 2015. In announcing the award, the United National Environment Programme (UNEP) recognised the "rapid and impressive impact the Black Mambas have made in combatting poaching and the courage required to accomplish it".

"Community-led initiatives are crucial to combatting the illegal trade in wildlife, and the Black Mambas highlight how effective local knowledge and commitment can be," said United Nations under-secretary-general and UNEP executive director Achim Steiner.

In July 2015, the unit won the Best Conservation Practitioner Category of the annual Rhino Conservation Awards, hosted by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Game Rangers Association of Africa.