WAG News

WAG News

Report on 9th World Wilderness Congress in Mexico

The Wilderness Action Group had the pleasure of sending Members Drummond Densham and Ilan Lax to the 9th World Wilderness Congress. They have produced a report that gives an account of the activities during their visit to Mexico and to make some observations for wilderness conservation in South Africa.

Download the full report (PDF)

Executive Summary

The Wilderness Action Group (“WAG or the Group”) was well represented at the 9th World Wilderness Congress (“WILD9”) in Merida, Mexico. Ilan Lax, the Chairman, and Drummond Densham, together with Bheki Khoza, John Crowson and Sonja Krüger who represented Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (“EKZNW”) but who are also members the Group, attended the Congress.

Mexican wilderness management module
Drummond Densham accepted an invitation to present a three-day wilderness management module (Operating and overseeing wilderness conservation programmes) as part of the National Institute of Ecology’s conservation diploma programme [Diplomados en Conservación de Vida Silvestre y Ecosistemas, (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Instituto Nacional de Ecología - Unidos para la Conservación)] in the last week of October 2009. The programme was held at the Recuedobiological station in the Reserva de la Biosfera, in the Sierra de Huautla some three hours drive south of Mexico City in the State of Morelos.

The module covered the wilderness concept, (the what and why of wilderness?), wilderness stewardship (planning and management principles), the need to build supportive constituencies and public participation and the challenges and opportunities facing wilderness in Mexico and globally. The lectures were given in English and interpreted into Spanish by two very competent Mexican
Interpreters.

There were 21 students from around Mexico on the programme and they found the module interesting and useful as Mexico has made some significant progress in wilderness conservation since the designation of their first wilderness area, the El Carmen Wilderness Area, at the 8th World Wilderness Congress in Alaska in 2005.

South Africa Celebrates 50 yrs of Wilderness Conservation

Background:

Ian Player at the 50 Yrs of Wilderness in South Africa

Dr. Ian Player and others at the 50 Yrs of Wilderness in South Africa

In 1959, the then Natal Parks Board ("NPB") designated 12 150 hectares in the Umfolozi Game Reserve (now the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park) as a wilderness area. All forms of motor traffic were prohibited with rangers and visitors only permitted to traverse on foot. This decision was the result of representations by Dr Ian Player (then Warden of Umfolozi Game Reserve) after being introduced to the wilderness concept by Jim Feely in 1955. Col Jack Vincent, the NPB Director at the time, was sympathetic and despite opposition on the Board, helped in obtaining the designation. This visionary decision was the beginning of wilderness conservation as an acceptable land use management option for formal protected areas in South Africa. In time the wilderness concept spread to other Southern African countries. The St. Lucia wilderness area in the northern sector of the St Lucia Game Reserve (now the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site) soon followed making them the first two South African, and African, wilderness areas to be so designated.

In March 1959 Dr Ian Player and Magqubu Ntombela led the first wilderness trail, marking the beginning of wilderness experiential education and the opportunity for South Africans to enjoy a wilderness experience on foot in South African protected areas. Wilderness trails are extremely popular and many thousands of South Africans and foreigners have enjoyed walking on their own in the Drakensberg and the Eastern and Western Cape mountain wilderness areas and being able to visit wilderness areas where potentially dangerous wild animals roam free, accompanied by experienced trail leaders who protect them.

30th Anniversary Celebration of Wilderness Trails in Kruger NP

Drummond Densham and Bill Bainbridge were privileged to be invited to attend and give presentations at this auspicious event, held at Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park ("KNP"), on 21st and 22nd September, 2008.

This momentous occasion was attended by over fifty past and present serving trails officers, including Mike English, and Trevor Dearlove, who started the wilderness trails in the park, senior officers of SANParks, the first person to have been taken out on trail in the Kruger, invited guests such as ourselves, and representatives of the media.

30th Celebration of Wilderness Trails in Kruger National Park

WAG members at the wilderness celebration

The purpose was to celebrate the Park's contribution to wilderness conservation and to recognise the important contributions that have been made in this period by wilderness trails staff members. As indications of these achievements, six SANParks and ex-staff members received trophies for leading over 600 trails. Three staff members have assisted in more than 1000 trails and are still in the employment of SANParks wilderness trails system.

Mike English, one of the first wilderness trail rangers recounted his visit to the Gonarezhou National Park in the 1970's to see how the then Rhodesian National Parks and Wildlife conducted their walking trails. Trevor Dearlove, another early trail ranger, said that when he worked in the Umfolozi Game Reserve he witnessed the impact of the Natal Parks Board wilderness trails had on visitors and the staff. When he joined the Kruger National Park, he met Mike English and learnt about his quest to motivate for the introduction of wilderness trails in the Park. They subsequently worked together to establish wilderness trails in the park. Mr Mbongeni Tukela, the first black trails ranger to be appointed gave an indication of the importance of the wilderness trails programme and its value as a key product of the overall tourism attractions of the park. He is now the Regional Manager of Marula Region in the park.

To get the full report you can either Download It Here or visit our Resource Section of our site.

WAG Celebrates 25 years

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF WILDERNESS AWARENESS, ADVOCACY AND TRAINING

In September 1983, a small group of South African (SA) wilderness enthusiasts attended the 3^rd World Wilderness Congress (WWC3) in Scotland.

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Prior to 1983, wilderness was not recognized as a protected area category. Bill Bainbridge drew attention to this anomalous situation in a paper he presented at WWC3, in Scotland. The initial reaction of many prominent people in the audience, including Dr Edgar Wayburn, then President of the Sierra Club, a highly influential NGO in the USA supporting wilderness, was that Bill's statement was erroneous, but a check of the IUCN list showed that this was indeed the case. This led to a resolution at the Congress that wilderness should be included in the IUCN international list of protected area categories. IUCN's recognition of wilderness thus originated from the WWC3 with Bill Bainbridge playing a significant role in identifying this glaring oversight.

Events at the congress stirred the SA delegation to the WWC3 to recognise the need for a NGO dedicated to promote the interests of wilderness conservation in South and southern Africa. Thus the Wilderness Action Group was formed. In September 2008 we celebrate WAG's 25^th anniversary. It is important to reflect back on WAG's achievements over the years and honour the outstanding individuals who have worked tirelessly to secure recognition and protection of wilderness and extend the wilderness philosophy and principles to others.

To learn more you can explore the about us section f the site and or download a PDF version of the full brochure.