ICONIC ANIMAL SPECIES: DRAFT CONSERVATION POLICY OUT FOR COMMENT

ICONIC ANIMAL SPECIES: DRAFT CONSERVATION POLICY OUT FOR COMMENT

• 19 September 2023
• Environmental Law
• SA Legal Academy

Please note: On 20 September 2023, the draft policy was withdrawn and replaced. No explanation was provided. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment has since issued a media statement among other things drawing attention to ‘three international commercial trade-related policy objectives’ explored in the document. 

Elephant, leopard, lion and rhino are the focus of a draft conservation policy gazetted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment for comment by 19 October 2023.

Also exploring the ‘sustainable use’ of these iconic animal species, the document recognises:

• prevailing policy ‘weaknesses’
• the significance of South Africa’s ‘wildlife estate’ as ‘a key driver of rural socio-economic development’
• the important contribution made by wildlife tourism to the country’s broader economy
• the importance of ‘meaningful and inclusive partnerships’ with the private sector, and
• the need for ‘strategic direction’ in promoting and facilitating ‘species-specific’ sector transformation.

The document separately outlines proposals for a policy approach to managing each of these four animal species. Its development was informed by:

• the recommendations of a committee appointed in 2015 to inquire into and report on the feasibility of legalising international trade in rhino horn (in anticipation of tabling a proposals at the 2016 CITES conference of parties)
• the 2021 high-level panel report on the management and handling of these animals, as well as breeding, hunting and trading in them
• the 2018 ‘colloquium report on captive lion breeding for hunting’, and
• the 2023 White Paper on the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa’s biodiversity.

Please click the links below for more information:

• draft policy (withdrawn and replaced on 20 September 2023)
• the 2018 colloquium report
• the 2021 high-level panel report
• the 2023 White Paper

At the time of writing, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment website was offline. As a result, it was not possible to provide a link to the document summarising the outcome of an investigation into feasibility of legalising international trade in rhino horn.

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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