The reality of environmental and wildlife crime as it affects South Africa’s natural heritage goes beyond poaching and includes illegal harvesting of maritime resource, plants and even reptiles, public representatives heard at an induction workshop.

This is according to Pam Yako, Chairperson of South African National Parks, speaking late last month at the Minister’s Induction Workshop for the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment.

She told the workshop there was “a recent drastic reduction” in rhino poaching, both on national and provincial game reserves and parks, including Kruger. On the debit side of the ledger, the iconic South African park now must deal with an increase in snaring, particularly along its western border, much of which is in Mpumalanga’s Bushbuckridge.

South Africa’s south-western parts are where plant and reptile smugglers ply their trade, according to Yako.

She further informed the workshop, attended by DFFE deputy ministers Bernice Swarts and Narend Singh with apologies from Minister Dion George, that environmental crime varies between parks and regions as each area has a unique set of drivers impacting criminal activities and park integrity.

Partnership and technology are, according to her, proving successful in the “drive against environmental crimes”. The SA Police Service (SAPS), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), local and provincial authorities as well as communities adjacent to and in the vicinity of national parks all partner with the custodian of the country’s natural heritage.