A Global Environment Facility (GEF) project has funded conservation work, including through engaging young herders, on the Southern Bald Ibis, a bird species endemic to Lesotho, the eastern parts of South Africa and the western parts of Swaziland.
15 August 2014: A Global Environment Facility (GEF) project has funded conservation work, including through engaging young herders, on the Southern Bald Ibis, a bird species endemic to Lesotho, the eastern parts of South Africa and the western parts of Swaziland.
Classified as “vulnerable” under the IUCN Red List, this species has been threatened by habitat loss, human interference at breeding colonies; and in Lesotho in particular, by the use of Bald Ibis parts for traditional medicinal and ceremonial purposes. With the support of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) Lesotho, the local Non Governmental Organization Environmental and Sustainability Education Network of Lesotho (ESENEL) implemented a project to conserve the Southern Bald Ibis by reducing threats to bird populations, educating the local community and developing eco-tourism activities. The two-year project was supported by SGP Lesotho with a grant of US$47,946 in GEF funding, and leveraged US$59,020 in co-financing from ESENEL and the local community.
ESENEL engaged herd-boys whose activities were deemed to contribute to the degradation of the Ibis population, including through harvesting of Ibis chicks, and encouraged them to eat other, resilient species of birds and abstain from having their livestock graze in already degraded wetlands. The project also launched eco-tourism and conservation initiatives, led by the newly-established local committee and village association, Thaba-Khubelu Conservation and Tours Association.
This project is one of the very few bird protection initiatives implemented in the country, contributing to the implementation of Lesotho’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, according to GEF. [GEF News]