Protected bird habitats in KZN among country’s most threatened
DURBAN: One-third of South Africa’s most important sanctuary areas for birds are either in imminent danger or face irreversible damage, according to a new report published yesterday by Birdlife South Africa.
Several of the threatened sites are in KwaZulu-Natal, which contains 25 percent of the national sanctuary zones described as “important bird areas”.
South Africa is home to 846 bird species – roughly 8 percent of the total bird species found across the world.
One of the most disturbing accounts by Birdlife involves the Ndumo Game Reserve, on KZN’s northern border with Mozambique. According to the assessment, at least 14 percent of the reserve was occupied illegally by subsistence farmers in 2008, with further incursions last October.
Neighbouring communities had destroyed large areas of riverine forests to establish crop gardens and graze cattle while the boundary fence had been cut down twice.
“The invasion of the eastern part of the reserve and the apparent inability of the relevant government departments to act are a concern, and leave the future of this reserve in serious jeopardy.”
Further to the south, the 1 290ha Richards Bay Game Reserve was once one of the finest wetlands for birds anywhere in the country, hosting up to 50 000 water birds during summer migrations.
Today, the reserve seldom hosts more than 10 000 water birds at a time due to the establishment of a new harbour and heavy industrial zone in 1976.
On the border with Lesotho, several bird species in the 232 000ha Maloti Drakensberg Park faced a range of threats.
One of the main concerns was the expansion of wind energy farms in Lesotho which posed major threats to bearded vultures and Cape vultures.
In southern KZN, swathes of mistbelt forest had been converted into tree plantations, creating a serious threat to the survival of blue swallows.
Tanya Abrahamse, chief executive of the SA National Biodiversity Institute, said the conservation of South Africa’s birds depended largely on effective protection of these 112 important areas.
Birdlife chief executive Mark Anderson echoed the sentiment, saying that these areas should be seen as “the last stand for bird conservation on a landscape level”.
“The deteriorating status of these areas is a high concern which requires immediate attention from the government and other stakeholders.”
For more information on the report, e-mail daniel. marnewick@birdlife.org.za