The process followed to outline the Draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan has been described as “flawed” and “unlawful”.
The Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation (CPCC), a non-profit organisation, has written to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy, requesting they urgently intervene to “ensure constitutional principles were complied with”.
According to Lynda Silk, chair of CPCC, they have serious concerns regarding the processes followed by the Cape Peninsula Baboon Joint Task Team.
“We are of the view that the process followed by the Joint Task Team (JTT) is unlawful as well as procedurally unfair and therefore unconstitutional,” says Silk.
On Friday 3 March, JTT (consisting of SANParks, the City of Cape Town and CapeNature) invited residents, stakeholders, and interested and affected parties to attend and contribute to refining the draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan (BSMP) for the sustainable management of the Chacma Baboon population in the Cape Peninsula.
The deadline for public comment on the draft is set for Friday 31 March.
According to Silk, it is concerning that there was no transparency as proposals from stakeholders were not made public.
“We are extremely concerned that the process to date has not been transparent and that the process moving forward would continue to showcase a lack of transparency.
“The JTT has not made public the minutes of any of their 13 meetings.”
She further added that a failure to have a memorandum of agreement was also a critical oversight.
“Failure by the JTT to have a memorandum of agreement is a critical oversight in that there is no clarity amongst the three spheres of government inter alia matters involving policy, legislative issues, resources, funding and budget.”
The CPCC has requested an intervention to ensure that constitutional principles are complied with by the joint task team;
- That the joint task team makes public their memorandum of agreement (MOA) and that the MOA be signed to legitimise their actions; that the “unlawful, rushed and superficial document” presented by the Joint Task Team (JTT) for comment be voided.
- That the JTT is instructed to go back to the drawing board and first draft a strategy document in consultation with stakeholders and the public and to set new realistic timelines for the drafting of a strategy.
“The process of collaboration between government from the local level (City of Cape Town), provincial level (Cape Nature) and national level (SANParks) for the purposes of ensuring best practices in conserving biodiversity could, and perhaps should, serve as a blueprint for best managing our wild heritage and biodiversity concerns across the Cape Peninsula. The need to work together across spheres of government, and with civil society, to conserve biodiversity becomes more critical as human impact increases, climate change impacts and species of flora and fauna become extinct globally at a rapidly increasing rate.”
While the dominant voice from certain communities was “intolerant” towards baboons in urban areas, this was not the case for residents from all areas, she added.
“We found that the Da Gama baboon troop seems to have the most harmonious relationship with residents in for example Welcome Glen and yet that voice is not really being heard. The dominant voice is saying that it is not even possible.
“And we are not saying that we want baboons to be hanging out in our gardens, but it is about respecting that we do live between two reserves, an ocean reserve and a mountain reserve.”
She adds that the relationship between baboons and humans in Welcome Glen was not always harmonious.
“In the beginning, there was a strong voice of irritation which we might say was intolerance.”
Sandie MacDonald, a Welcome Glen resident and vice-chair of CPCC, said with education and support a lot had changed when it comes to interaction between baboons and humans in the area.
“In 2001, people were driving around with bullet holes and pellet holes in their vehicles and pets were caught in the crossfire.
“The baboons started coming in, initially it was at night because they were not used to urban areas, but I think they were just so desperate because there was no foraging/ food to eat and people were not expecting it. There was a lot of intolerance, but that has changed.”
Silk explained they find that people now move into the area because there are baboons.
“What we find in communities like Welcome Glen is there are a lot of people who say they moved there specifically because they knew there were baboons and wild animals around and this is their choice.
“People are seeing it as a chosen lifestyle and they are willing to make whatever accommodations necessary. The CPCC wants to engender positive interactions between humans and bio-dioversity and through that develop a more joyous relationship which inspires better custodianship.”
Dr Luthando Dziba, spokesperson of the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (JTT), says the draft plan is the result of the collective effort of the JTT and is informed by research, international best practice and operational experience.
“The JTT has been tasked to finalise a draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan for the sustainable management of the Chacma Baboon population in the Cape Peninsula, and then, to make this draft available to the public, interest groups, interested and affected parties, other stakeholders, and experts for them to submit comments and suggestions. The JTT will consider all comments received to further complement and refine the draft plan.
“We encourage the CPCC, like all other stakeholders and interest groups, to make use of this commenting period to submit their comments, and more importantly, to also make proposals and suggestions on how to improve what they feel is lacking in the current draft. We encourage and welcome detailed proposals as the JTT is very aware that we do not have all the answers and that we want as many people as possible to participate in this collaboration.”
Commenting on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Dziba added: “As for the MOA, it is anticipated that this document will be signed by all three parties before the draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan is finalised.”
