THE AL JAZEERA DOCUMENTARY – REVELATIONS AND INSIGHTS.
BY DAVID COOK Natal Witness
The sordid revelations emerging from the Al Jazeera investigative documentary on corruption and criminality surrounding rhino poaching , trafficking in horn and ivory and – to add fuel to the fire – alleged indiscretions committed by Govt.officials in these and other activities, comes as no real surprise. (A fleeting thought - are we witnessing the capture of our natural heritage ?) Revealed to the viewer in graphic detail was the web of criminal modus operandi attending the whole racket complete with a shadowy Chinese beauty parlour owner with links to rhino horn and ivory smuggling, a peek into a seemingly insatiable Chinese curio industry and its consumer market , corruption, the use of diplomatic immunity to bypass officialdom and a scale of murky practices rivalling that of the narcotic drug trade.
If this documentary represented one end of the drama surrounding the trafficking of wildlife products, an earlier report carried by a local TV channel on the same day on the outcome of a major wildlife conference sponsored by a high profile NGO held in Kruger National Park this past week, was of equal, if not complementary, interest.This conference saw the release of information on what is actually happening on the ground in the park in a bid to thwart rhino poaching. One feels for the conservation agencies responsible for the security of wild rhino in the aftermath of the recent CITES conference where a proposal by Swaziland for a legal trade in rhino horn was roundly defeated. Left on the table were the same conventional measures which have been in place for the last 40 years all of which – in spite of repeated attempts at improved efficiency, intelligence gathering, technological innovation, appeals for public cooperation in consumer countries ( demand reduction) - have fallen well short of dealing the criminals a knock-out blow. So for the official conservation agencies – and private rhino owners alike – it’s a case of back to square one , a somewhat bleak task given what we learned from the Al Jazeera documentary.
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The stark realities of the situation in Kruger Park were revealed in a statement by the Chief Warden in the earlier TV interview. He candidly admitted that apprehending poachers ie. the Level 1 of a multi- level criminal tier of poaching , graduating through intermediaries to smuggling and retailing , was more or less futile as a final solution since level one has a long queue of aspirant recruits all ready to replace those unlucky enough to be apprehended by the anti- poaching forces. His frank conclusion was that until level 5 ( and its intermediaries), the masterminds, were eliminated the poaching would simply continue unabated – signalling a war without end.
Next up on the TV clip was General Jooste, the military commander of the anti- poaching forces in the park – a unit now bearing a very close resemblance to the SA combat forces active during those dark days in Angola many years ago. His proud assertion that under his command the rate of rhino slaughtered has been reduced to 1.8 per day from the daily 3 before he took over sounds quite impressive and must be applauded; but does he really expect the public to accept 1.8 per day as warranting a claim of “winning the war”or that this daily tally is worthy of celebration? Secondly, he conveniently failed to add in his intimation of an emerging victory over poaching that there are now an estimated 3000 fewer rhino in the park than before the poaching surged to new heights in 2007/8 – 8 years ago. From a poaching perspective rhino are thus much more difficult to locate and kill undetected hence the drop in kill rate. That reality must be factored in to any claim of success through combat results and arrests to reveal the actual extent to which anti poaching efforts are successful.
Meanwhile KZN Ezemvelo’s Zululand parks are having one of the worst years of rhino poaching activity – a clear indication of how criminals are able to shift to other softer targets to circumvent shrinking rewards elsewhere.
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Stripped of all the spin the fact is that the official agencies on the ground are now locked into a perpetual war mode applying more or less the same strategic weaponry of old against a foe ever more determined to get its hands on rhino horn. The fiercer the anti poaching effort the fiercer the poachers , the higher the price of horn – shades of the endless war against the drug trade. With the international community in strenuous denial over the desirability of an economic intervention in the form of a legal market for rhino horn as an anti- poaching tool, signs are beginning to emerge that the South African public’s psyche is being massaged into bowing to the inevitable ; the “war on poaching” - by way of its impressive militaristic profile complete with a celebrated commander and derring- do encounters between brave rangers and ruthless poachers against a background of “cloak and dagger” criminality - is just part and parcel of modern day conservation management to be played out on an indefinite time scale!
Sadly overshadowed in the whole saga is what should be the vital core objective ie. seeking an effective and sustainable, long term solution. If the current blinkered approach is what the future has in store for us then declining rhino security is not the only factor to consider ; evidence is already emerging that tourists too are becoming sick and tired of the disturbed environment – to say nothing of the dangers inherent in a chance encounter with poachers - while holidaying in what should be havens of peace and tranquillity. And on the financial front can South Africa’s economy afford a war without end ?
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How does all this relate to the Al Jazeera investigation? That the criminal underworld has the upper hand there can be no doubt. Much more important though is a glaring omission in the documentary, an omission that begs urgent attention; it is a Level 6 of the hierarchy behind poaching best described as the tragic absence, albeit abstract, of an economic intervention in the market via a legal trade in rhino horn. Here is a mechanism with the capacity to outwit the criminals, render poaching unprofitable, restore normality and save Treasury billions of rands. If only the SA Cabinet had resolved to submit a rhino horn trade proposal to the recent Conference of the Parties at the CITES convention held in JHB the future of wild rhino may well have entered a new, safer era : it chose not to.
A legal market based on legal horn would be anathema to a criminal trade intent on preserving its monopoly via poaching. Considered in relation to all the other recent revelations on failures of governance, speculation that this may somehow have influenced the decision to back down on a trade proposal at CITES is certain to spawn a string of conspiracy theories.
David Cook
Hilton
(David Cook is a former Deputy Director of the Natal Parks Board )