Fate of KZN’s century-old Ndumo wetland park in doubt – despite global treaty ‘protection’

Ndumo treaty. Birds image. (Photo: Rick Matthews Big Banana Films)

16 Mar 2025

‘The Ndumo Game Reserve experience serves as a warning to other similar reserves, that even well-established protected areas such as (Ndumo)... could be lost to conservation within the next decade if fundamental interventions are not implemented’ – Professor Francois Retief and colleagues writing in the latest special issue of the African Journal of Wildlife Research.

What happens when countries back-pedal on signed treaty commitments to protect globally important corners of the world for the future?

Are there sufficient mechanisms in these international treaties to compel or encourage nations to live up to their promises?

That pretty much sums up the concerns of conservation researcher Dr Simon Pooley about the future of Ndumo Game Reserve, a 10,000-hectare “globally protected” wetland sanctuary on the northern border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique.

Writing in the latest issue of the Koedoe conservation and science journal, he notes that Ndumo’s eastern boundary fence was chopped down 17 years ago by neighbouring communities who subsequently established large crop-farming plots in some of the most fertile floodplain sections of the reserve.

Since then there has been a dramatic escalation in wildlife poaching, the felling of forest vegetation for firewood and gillnetting of fish from the Phongola River.

According to the latest annual report of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife agency, more than 500 cattle were seen in the eastern part of the reserve during a recent helicopter game census, along with 151 boats that are used to access farming fields or to place illegal gillnets.

Rhinos are now extinct in Ndumo due to poaching, while the number of hippos (once the third-largest population in the country) fell to their lowest historic levels by 2019.

Ndumo Some of the extensive fields of maize, vegetables and other crops growing in the heart of the reserve. (Photo: Supplied)

In his letter, “How does Ramsar work? The case of Ndumo Game Reserve”, Pooley questions the effectiveness of the international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and appeals for clarity on the implementation of the treaty, which takes its name from the Iranian city where the convention was initiated in 1971.

The Ramsar Secretariat, based in Switzerland, describes the convention as “the single most global framework for intergovernmental cooperation on wetland issues” that aims to call public attention to the rapid rate at which wetland habitats are disappearing across the world.

Significantly, the secretariat acknowledges: “The Ramsar Convention is not a regulatory regime and has no punitive sanctions for violations of or defaulting upon treaty commitments – nevertheless, its terms do constitute a solemn treaty and are binding in international law in that sense.”

Equally significantly, the treaty also provides for technical assistance and, in some cases, financial assistance, to help ensure the conservation and wise use of threatened wetland areas.

Then: The Ndumo southeast boundary in 2015. (Source: Google Maps)

Now: Ndumo’s southeast boundary in 2024. (Source: Google Maps)

There are now roughly 2,500 Ramsar sites across the world and South Africa has designated 31 local wetlands to the Ramsar List, including De Hoop, Langebaan, Lake St Lucia and the Kosi Bay lakes.

One of the requirements of the convention (article 3.2) is that signatories have to investigate and notify the Ramsar Secretariat about any negative ecological threats to designated sites “at the earliest possible time”.

In the case of Ndumo, a report was submitted to Ramsar in 2019 detailing the land invasion and this has remained an “open” (unresolved) file since then. Ezemvelo, which is responsible for the management of the park, has also voiced concern and appealed to the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in 2021 to identify Ndumo as a “priority for a national support and intervention programme”.

Little wonder, then, that Pooley has called into question the effectiveness of the treaty and apparent inaction by South Africa.

Pooley, who grew up in the reserve and is now based at Birkbeck, University of London, states in the journal letter that he contacted Ramsar’s Africa desk in June 2021, assuming that this would be a suitable avenue to seek support for resolving the problems facing Ndumo.

“They, in turn, communicated with Ramsar South Africa, and I was asked to supply evidence for my assertions regarding the status of Ndumo, which I provided. However, nothing happened.”

Rhinos are now extinct at Ndumo due to high poaching levels. This animal was killed in a snare and dehorned close to Ndumo’s main tourist camp in 2010. (Photo: Tony Carnie)

When he contacted Ezemvelo six months later, the agency confirmed that it had appealed for national government intervention via the DFFE (the designated Ramsar administrative authority).

Pooley notes that if the ecological status of any Ramsar site is threatened, the member nation can request a Ramsar Advisory Mission (RAM), a mechanism that enables countries to apply global expertise and advice to these problems and threats.

This mechanism involves a site visit by a multinational, multidisciplinary team of experts who assess the problems, consult with stakeholders and prepare a report and recommendations.

According to Ramsar, nearly 100 such missions have been appointed to help member nations “in a positive way” to tackle a wide variety of challenges in some of the world’s most important wetlands. It also notes that RAMs bring in independent specialist expertise to help solve technical problems and that independent advice can help to break political deadlock and find consensus.

Examples include a Ramsar mission to South Africa in 1992 to give advice on the controversial dune mining plan at Lake St Lucia; a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo to examine oil exploration and illegal occupation of the Virunga National Park and a mission to Tanzania to advise on threats to a globally important flamingo population at Lake Natron.

“I followed up after a year with no comment or result,” said Pooley. “In 2022, I was informed that Ramsar South Africa had a long list of sites of concern, and Ndumo was not a priority. This was surprising… In 2023, when I followed up, I was advised that Ramsar SA had lost my report, and I resupplied an updated version, noting that the description of the site and its challenges on the Ramsar website is 28 years out of date.

A crocodile at Ndumo. (Photo: Rick Matthews / Big Banana Films)

“Most recently, in September 2024, Ramsar Africa informed me that Ramsar South Africa had ‘confirmed [Ndumo Game Reserve] as threatened’. This felt like progress, he said, until he was informed by Ramsar officials that South Africa had to submit an official request for a RAM.

His contact at Ramsar Africa had explained: “Normally in a case like this we offer support to assess the threats affecting the site with the aim of identifying mitigation actions. For this to happen, the country [South Africa] needs to make that request. However, they declined our request as there is a national entity in the country responsible for undertaking such assessments. The Secretariat has no operational mechanisms to undertake activities in a country without being invited by the country to act.”

“Therefore, we have an international convention where a signatory can confirm that a wetland is endangered and refuse to act or allow Ramsar to assess the situation or offer assistance.

“It is unclear why South Africa would not want expert advice or funding, or what the ‘national entity’ is, or what it plans to do. Or why the Ramsar Convention it is a signatory to, does not insist it provide some evidence that the relevant South African entity has undertaken its own assessment, and an intervention plan is in development.

“I urge everyone committed to wildlife conservation in South Africa to take notice of what is happening in this provincial game reserve and Ramsar site. There are implications for protected areas in the country as a whole and for the reputation of the country as a signatory of international conventions for the protection of biodiversity.”

What does the DFFE have to say on this?

Responding to queries from Daily Maverick, a department spokesperson said no official reports had been submitted to Ramsar, in terms of article 3.2.

The DFFE was “aware of the challenges facing Ndumo”, but before it could submit a report to the Ramsar Convention for intervention, local assessments had to be undertaken.

“One of these is the determination of the Class and Resource Quality Objectives (RQOs) which determine the types of interventions needed on the wetland resource,” the department said, noting that these objectives had been published for public comment in June 2024 in Government Gazette 50840.

South Africa had not requested a RAM and the potential need for such a mission to provide global advice would be determined after the RQOs had been gazetted for implementation.

Asked to respond to Pooley’s criticisms of the failure to request a mission, the department said that “South Africa did not refuse a RAM but advised that local assessments needed to be undertaken in order to advise what kind of interventions, including a possible RAM, would be needed”, further suggesting that RAMs were not cost-free.

Birds in the Ndumo reserve. (Photo: Rick Matthews / Big Banana Films)

Ramsar Secretariat spokesperson Sharize Odongo told Daily Maverick that South Africa was expected to submit an “update report” on Ndumo before 23 April.

“The Convention has the authority to request updated information from Contracting Parties on such matters. However, it has not been given a mandate to question countries on why they may not have such information.”

Invited to respond to Pooley’s criticisms. Odongo said: “One of the primary responsibilities of the Secretariat… is to provide technical advice and guidance to support Contracting Parties in implementing the Convention in fulfilling its mission.

“In this capacity, the Secretariat reviewed Dr Pooley’s journal (article) and brought the information to the attention of the Government of South Africa, offering guidance as appropriate. Any further response or clarification regarding the implementation of the Convention would be at the discretion of the Government of South Africa as the responsible Contracting Party.”

Pooley seemed somewhat flummoxed by the official responses when contacted for comment this week.

“DFFE seem to hang everything on the Class and RQOs assessment. What does it actually mean to ‘publish’ these Class and Resource Quality Objectives for public comment? That doesn’t sound like any kind of proactive step in making an assessment… This all seems like obfuscation.”

Rather, he suggests in the latest Ndumo special issue of the African Journal of Wildlife Research, there is a need for political and social engagement to resolve the crisis and to support the reserve managers and staff.

“Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife should not be responsible for policing an illegal occupation, and as an involved party, cannot manage negotiations to broker solutions. Something like a Truth and Reconciliation process may be required, facilitated through external mediation. This will require strong leadership from provincial politicians, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and community leaders.”

Ramsar member nations meet once every three years, with the next meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from July 23 to 31 2025. It remains unclear whether the Ndumo question will feature on the agenda. DM

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What does the DFFE have to say on this?