Hi again to all, I hope that you are well and starting to enjoy summer! It has been a fairly quiet month on our side, but things are ticking along and we will keep you in the loop as things progress. We do have some unfortunate news in that the Machabeng conservation project has been discontinued due to insufficient demand from the tourism sector. The finances that had been allocated for the project were returned and divided up to be put to good use by the other beneficiaries however. We wish the projects participants all the best for their future endeavours.

The African Wildlife's Foundation's (AWF) Leopard research project is aimed at understanding the issues effecting leopards in the Kruger National Park (KNP) as a result of bovine tuberculosis (BTb) and nearby human activities, particularly with regards to animals leaving the park into surrounding communities, especially in Mozambique. 

Camera traps

In the first study area in the N'wanetsi concession in the south central section of the KNP on the border with Mozambique, the team have successfully used camera traps (seen right) in an attempt to gather leopard numbers. The main aim of this pilot study was to assess the amount of effort it would take until no new leopards are 'trapped'. The same amount of effort would then be used as a standard to sample the rest of KNP. The team have recently been able to establish the amount of effort required allowing them to start sampling the rest of the KNP in the beginning of 2009. This will then be run again in two years to see if there have been any changes in leopard population densities. The same will be done for lions and hyenas in sister studies. In this way the team should be able to pick up trends in the leopard population dynamics, which they can relate to other carnivores. Currently they are trying to get as many cameras as possible. Ideally they need 50 cameras, but at present they are still only half way to that total.

At the same time it's necessary to obtain more detailed information about Leopard behaviour and land use patterns. This is best achieved by collaring animals. In the second week of November the team were successful in capturing and collaring a male leopard in the study area. The leopard was fitted with a GPS collar with a cell phone download. He has since started transmitting some valuable information which is helping to further the understanding of the land use patterns (and even dietary habits!)  of these magnificent cats. Given that there is only three weeks worth of data, the team have not yet established the full extent of his home range, but it seems that he tends to spend quite some time across the border in Mozambique. So it would be interesting to establish the amount of contact that he has with the community in this area. Special note is being taken of his contact with livestock and how much wildlife and livestock affect each other in terms of predation and disease transmission.

The Sodwana Bay recycling project

The Sodwana Bay recycling project is still awaiting final confirmation from the Municipality for the permanent site location, but all parties involved in the project are gearing up for a hectic tourism season and the recycling team have been hard at work getting the project's operations running smoothly (see the team in action on the right). Waste continues to remain a massive problem throughout the iSimangaliso national park and Lake St Lucia World Heritage site however, especially during the holiday season and Gavin and Francois are getting as many people affected on board to ensure a smooth festive season, and to avoid a massive build up of recyclable waste thereafter
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Their team has enlisted the help of Ezemvelo Kwa-Zulu Natal Wildlife (EKZN Wildlife) during this period to help with the removal of truckloads of waste. Judging from previous years experience there could be as much as 20 tons of tins and 100 tons of glass generated in the area during this period, which would otherwise find it's way into dumping grounds and conservation areas.While the team has done a remarkable job in the past dealing with previous years build-up of waste, particularly by making use of waste to get rid of waste (as can be seen from the home-made waste removal tractor above), the use of EKZN's hardware will prove instrumental in helping the project to achieve their waste collection goals.   

Recent price fluctuations in the returns on recyclable goods (from R2100 per ton to R300 per ton in one month!!) means that it has been extremely difficult to be able to plan ahead, and has made the seemingly simple task of waste disposal a worthy recipient of a stock brokers insight for market fluctuations. This makes our donors contributions that much more of a help in these volatile times.  

The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution project is about more than just taking some fancy, high altitude thermal photo's, the end goal of the project is to achieve the sustainability of multiple communities and villages within selected forest regions. The ideal is simple; sustain the people in order for them to sustain the environment. Of course in order to do this it's necessary to find ways of helping the local communities to earn a living from the natural resources that they are presently degrading. Creating awareness of the benefits that tourism brings plays a big part in achieving that and the project owes a great deal to Eugene Cussons (pictured right) who has been playing a huge role in creating awareness of the project with recent appearances on Animal Planet and the Ellen Degeneres show in the US.