Strauss & co - WWF Art Auction

9 naked eye, Deon noted illegal long-line fishing boats trawling the seas, poaching the Patagonian toothfish. Closer to shore, the devastating impact of the long-line method of industrial fishing was taking effect as once- majestic birds were found dead, impaled with hooks in their gullets or tangled in tackle, suffocated and shredded. Over 20 000 albatrosses were wiped out during that time, and the valuable Patagonian toothfish stocks were also in devastating decline. The change in a mere couple of years was deeply disturbing. While the world watched closely as South Africa took its toddler steps as a fledging economy, those in the environmental arena knew there was a great need for similar vision in declaring protection around parts of our planet, as much as was needed for the protection of people and their human rights. In 2003, Deon Nel started working withWWF South Africa and, bar a two-year break in 2009 and 2010, has been doing so ever since. He is currently the Head of the Biodiversity Unit. Under Valli Moosa’s leadership, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs in 2004 declared five Marine Protected Areas along South Africa’s coastline. This was a great success for our country, and for WWF-SA as part of the world’s largest network of independent conservation organisations. This was a tangible demonstration of long-term commitment, and of publicly recognising our ecological heritage and its inherent connection to our future. Soon after, and a new Environmental Affairs Minister later, a statement was made around the intention to protect offshore marine areas too. With a strategic focus around ensuring biodiversity, WWF-SA worked alongside the South African government and key corporate partner Sanlam to define and fund an approach to protect the offshore Prince Edward Islands. By early 2013, two decades since Deon first walked the grassy coastline of Marion Island in the presence of abundant albatross colonies, WWF-SA very proudly supported the Environmental Ministry’s declaration of the Prince Edward Islands as a Marine Protected Area. WWF-SA took the time to acknowledge and applaud South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, by presenting her a ‘Gift to the Earth’award for the country’s foresight and commitment to securing practical legislation that will enhance the biodiversity of the Prince Edward Islands for future generations. The MPA area around the islands is about the size of the Free State and Lesotho combined and it is guided by a spatially explicit management approach which is very modern and flexible, creating a sense of policy-level readiness to manage future impacts on marine life. This includes restrictions to industrial fishing, with management structures around specific island habitats while supporting economic activities and protecting biodiversity. Having lived through the changes and walked the land, Deon is very pleased with this forward-thinking declaration as he expresses how evident and important spatially informed management is as a living model. Of course WWF’s work doesn’t stop there, and Deon is already excited about the vision of the Prince Edward Islands together with the nearby French Crozet Islands being declared high seas Marine Protected Areas. This is indicative of WWF’s approach to scaling up exponentially and building on success. A Marine Protected Area is indeed so much more than a legally protected ‘invisible’outline. It is the promise of a shift in thinking; it is the confirmation of the kind of systemic awareness that we are all truly connected, acknowledging the importance of interconnected systems being managed and monitored – and of people who care enough to preserve this beautiful planet. It’s been a few years since Deon has visited the orcas of Marion Island or walked below the albatross soaring above. As Head of Biodiversity withinWWF-SA, and with this type of first-hand field experience, it is comforting to know that this kind of tenacity and long-term vision, commitment and investment is informing the vital conservation work of WWF.