Endangered Wildlife Trust

The EWT is among South Africa’s largest and
most established national non-governmental
conservation organizations. Founded in 1973, we are a non-profit organization with an expanding footprint
throughout southern and East Africa, focusing
on conserving threatened species and ecosystems to the benefit of people. We achieve this by conducting on-the-ground research, supporting community-led conservation, training and building capacity, addressing human-wildlife conflict, monitoring threatened species, and establishing safe spaces for wildlife range expansion.

The EWT works with key partners, including
communities, businesses, landowners, academic
institutions, and governments, to create a
sustainable future for wildlife and people.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust is dedicated to
conserving threatened species and ecosystems in southern and East Africa to the benefit of all.

The EWT achieves this mission by delivering on
three strategic imperatives: Saving species,
conserving habitats, and benefiting people.
OUR STRATEGY
Our conservation programmes form the
organization’s backbone, harnessing the talent
and enthusiasm of a dynamic team of
individuals whose unique exper􀆟se and
mo􀆟va􀆟on provide them with the tools to
respond to the challenges they face in pursuit
of saving our most threatened species and
ecosystems.
The EWT is a registered Trust governed in accordance with the Trust Property Control Act No. 57 of 1988, under Master’s reference number IT 6247. The EWT is also registered in South Africa as a Non-Profit Organisation, registration number 015- 502 NPO
and Public Benefit Organisation, registration number 930 001 777

SPECIES RECOVERY
The EWT has achieved remarkable gains for many species, where downward trends in the local populations of Wattled and Grey Crowned Cranes, Piggersgill’s Frogs, the Amathole Toad, and the Riverine Rabbit have joined the Cheetah as species on a pathway to recovery. Critically Endangered
Wattled Cranes are increasing in number, now estimated at some 320 birds nationally, up 60% from their lowest numbers. The EWT has also helped reverse the decline of Endangered Grey Crowned Cranes, while Blue Crane numbers have increased from an estimated 25,500 birds nationally in 2007 to some 30,000 birds today.
SPACE FOR SPECIES
Through our range expansion work, we have secured and protected safe spaces for multiple species to thrive and we have reintroduced many threatened species back into secure and suitable landscapes. Safe space for African Wild Dogs has increased to over 1.4 million ha throughout southern Africa and their numbers and generic health have followed suit. Safe space for Cheetahs and their numbers have also increased from 217 Cheetahs on 41 reserves in South Africa in 2011, to 470 Cheetahs on 65 reserves covering over two million hectares across southern Africa.

SAFEGUARDING OUR SPECIES
To protect threatened species, we monitor them and work with partners, businesses, landowners, and communities to reduce the threats they face. We are innovating to achieve bigger impacts, as evident in our drone project’s expansion to use drones to mark power lines - reducing bird strikes safely and affordably and monitor Southern Right Whales in a way that wasn’t possible before. We continue to explore the use of eDNA to identify the presence of elusive and potentially extinct species, such as
Van Zyl’s and De Winton’s Golden Moles, so that action can be taken to save the last of their habitats.

Our pioneering Eye in the Sky carcass and wildlife poisoning detection project has already saved thousands of animals from secondary poisoning as a result of its efficient and effective success and our quick response times. The project uses the movements and behavior patterns of GPS-tracked vultures to remotely detect potential poisoning events and respond to these rapidly, alerting rangers on the ground and preventing further loss of wildlife to poisoning. We also contribute to preventing wildlife crime through the deployment of Conservation K9s to detect wildlife contraband and track poachers. These dogs help us to protect species, including rhinos, elephants, and pangolins.

Protec􀆟ng and conserving natural places is one of the most important strategies for comba􀆫ng the effects of
biodiversity loss and climate change. The EWT conserves habitats by reducing habitat loss and improving the
ecological integrity of threatened ecosystems through rehabilita􀆟on, restora􀆟on, and sustainable land
management. Many of the EWT’s programmes are involved in habitat conservation, but two are dedicated to protecting specific habitats.

COLLABORATING FOR CONSERVATION
An effective vehicle for conserving habitats is the formal protection of land through Biodiversity Stewardship. We work with private and community landowners to legally declare their land as protected or help them to manage it sustainably and without damage to sensitive species and ecosystems.
The EWT was instrumental in the development of Biodiversity Stewardship, having facilitated the workshops which led to its establishment, and subsequently, the EWT has declared 185 properties (over 139,000 ha) as protected areas in the last
ten years and is currently in the process of securing a further 130,000 hectares for threatened species conservation across South Africa. This includes proper􀆟es in one of the region’s most important centres of endemism: the Soutpansberg Mountain Range. Easily recognized for our work to safeguard charisma􀆟c species like the Wild Dog and Cheetah, the EWT also played a key role in preventing the extinction of the Brenton Blue Butterfly by establishing a dedicated reserve for this endemic insect. Other critical habitats have been protected to prevent the extinction of many smaller, lesser-known species, including rep􀆟les, amphibians, butterflies, golden moles, and threatened plants.

CARBON FOR CONSERVATION
After establishing the feasibility of carbon trading in South Africa’s grasslands and recognizing the potential benefits for farmers and grassland and wetland management, the EWT the EWT initiated the first carbon offsetting contracts with private landowners in South Africa, in the Drakensberg.
When landowners agree to conserve and manage their land to allow for the verifiable sequestration of carbon in the soil, the carbon can be converted into carbon credits. Liable ensures, usually big carbon emitters, can purchase up to 10% of their carbon as carbon credits to reduce their tax liability in South Africa. These purchases create a long-term revenue stream for farmers and conservation organizations to support conservation efforts and protect important habitats through improved land-use management.

People need nature to survive – it provides important resources we depend on. We must live in harmony
with nature to thrive in healthy ecosystems that will support us and future genera􀆟ons, our wildlife, and
maintain our rich natural and cultural heritage. Through two of its programmes, the EWT implements
innovative strategies that incorporate the needs of people and the environment to ensure that people
benefit from the more sustainable use of natural resources.
BENEFITTING PEOPLE
CAPACITY FOR CONSERVATION
Working across diverse landscapes such as wetlands,
grasslands, river catchments, savannahs, and mountains, the EWT has embraced the need to support the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people who depend on their local environment, from developing sustainable livelihoods as alternatives to environmentally destructive practices in communities from KwaZulu-Natal to Limpopo, Zambia, and as far as Uganda, to pioneering the implementation of Population, Health and Environment in communities in southern and East Africa to support sustainable communities and empower women. The EWT
promotes and implements the education of school
learners and builds capacity for conservation and
ecotourism in communities across our project areas.

BIODIVERSITY AND BUSINESS
Recognizing the importance of biodiversity to business, the EWT established the National Biodiversity and Business Network (NBBN) in 2013 to work with innovative businesses to identify and manage the risks and opportunities resulting from their interactions with the natural world. Through its Biodiversity Disclosure Project, the NBBN helps companies to understand, measure, and disclose their biodiversity impacts and policies. The NBBN introduced the world’s first standardized accounting
framework, the Biological Diversity Protocol (BDP), which measures a business’ impact on biodiversity and identifies areas of improvement over time. The EWT’s targeted conservation work has national and global impacts and our achievements contribute to multiple conservation-related frameworks. These include South Africa’s 2nd National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2015–2025), and the National Biodiversity Assessment which assess the status of, and identify the biodiversity and ecosystem
management priori􀆟es as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Arguably, the EWT’s most important global impact is our work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed by the United Nations. The SDGs are a universal set of goals, targets, and indicators that UN member states should use to frame their agendas and political policies. Ambitious by nature, they are a government-led endeavor that serves to coordinate actions by United Nations agencies, businesses, non-governmental groups, and any other entities working on specific goals. These are
the goals that the EWT contributes to.