Abu Dhabi, 24 September2024 | The Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MOU extends its sincere congratulations to South Africa for the development and approval of the Biodiversity Management Plan for the Conservation of Seven Vulture Species in South Africa. The Plan has been developed in the framework of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004.

Paragraph 12 of the Raptors MOU requires Signatories to produce national or regional strategies or equivalent documents for the conservation of Raptors MOU Category 1[1]and, where appropriate, Category 2[2]species (as listed in Table 1 of the MOU’s Action Plan).

“This is a clear demonstration that many stakeholders concerned with vultures’ conservation are working together towards the conservation of our vulture species to ensure that all South Africans will continue to benefit from the ecosystem services provided by vultures”, said Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy. 

The BMP was developed through an extensive consultation process led by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, involving provincial conservation authorities, non-governmental organisations, traditional healers and leaders, academia and civil society, including Mr André Botha, Chair of the Technical Advisory Group to the Raptors MOU. Ms Mafumo National Focal Point for the Raptors MOU introduced South Africa’s Plan at a side-event during the Third Meeting of Signatories to the Raptors MOU (Dubai, 3-6 July 2023) and the document has now been published in the Government Gazette.

The Plan’s 2033 vision is to have healthy, growing populations of vultures in South Africa fulfilling essential ecosystem services that benefit society. The country is home to nine vulture species, seven of which have established national breeding populations and are facing different risks of extinction. The Plan focuses on these seven species, setting 13 objectives that call for the implementation of actions with measurable outcomes. 

In the Plan, South Africa outlines the threats that affect its vultures. These include poisoning, which may be unintentional (i.e., from baits set to inappropriately address human-wildlife conflict or control animal populations; the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs, NSAIDs; or from lead shots used in hunting) or intentional (when animals are intentionally poisoned so their parts can be used in traditional practices; or when animals are poisoned to avoid alerting game wardens of the presence of large poached carcasses, i.e., sentinel poisoning).

Energy infrastructure is also recognized as a source of vulture mortality in South Africa, caused by both electrocution and collision. Climate change, disturbance, habitat loss and fragmentation, diseases, as well as poor law enforcement are also threats.

 Mr Umberto Gallo-Orsi, Head of the Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MOU, noted “This is a crucial milestone for South Africa and confirms the leading role of the country in vulture conservation across the continent. The Plan prioritizes the most relevant conservation activities set out in the MOU’s Action Plan, and neatly refines them into a concerted strategy to implement the Raptors MOU at national level”.

The Plan’s implementation is coordinated by the South African National Vulture Task Force, which was originally established in 2018 to implement the CMS Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP) and which was also directly involved in the drafting of the current Plan.