South Africa marks World Elephant Day with renewed conservation pledge
World Elephant Day is celebrated annually on Aug. 12. This year's commemoration, themed "Matriarchs' and Memories," coincided with the Southern African Elephant Indaba, hosted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment in KwaZulu-Natal, home to the country's second-largest elephant population.
"Our elephants are a national treasure, a keystone species, an integral part of our heritage," said Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Narend Singh in a statement.
According to the statement, South Africa is home to about 44,000 African savanna elephants, with numbers continuing to grow -- a major conservation success compared to declines seen in other countries.
Over the past four decades, elephants have expanded their range, with most living in protected areas such as Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, and Tembe Elephant Park. An additional 89 smaller, fenced reserves also host elephant populations, while about 6,000 elephants are privately or community-owned, said Singh.
However, Singh noted that success brings challenges. "As elephant numbers and ranges expand, encounters between people and elephants have increased, particularly in rural communities living near protected areas," he said. "Human-elephant conflict can result in crop losses, damage to infrastructure, and in some cases, injury or loss of human life."
The deputy minister stressed the need for innovative solutions to promote coexistence, such as improved land-use planning, early-warning systems, community-based monitoring, and benefit-sharing initiatives that recognize the costs of living alongside elephants.
He also said that conservation efforts must address threats such as habitat loss, climate change, and human-wildlife conflict through a whole systems approach that values community voices, scientific expertise, indigenous knowledge, and partnerships.
"It is therefore imperative for South Africa to harness collaboration, co-learning, and co-working so that our collective wisdom, capacity, and actions bring forth a flourishing world and thriving life," he said.
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