A Lesson About Less Charismatic Species From Conservation Co. In South Africa

By Kate | Permalink | No Comments | July 8th, 2007 | Trackback

During a recent email interview with Conservation Co founders Dayne Davey and Mark Slatter, and an interesting issue came up,which I thought was worthy of a post of its own.

The Conservation Co logo is a tree frog…why? They chose the tree frog in part because until recently, funding, attention and protection was directed at large, charismatic species. The logo is an indication of their interest in focusing attention on the less well known species, who are nevertheless just as deserving of protection, as all species have a role to play in natural systems.

I think this is a great message, and is relevant to many situations outside conservation: there are plenty of good causes which may not be trendy or popular, but that doesn’t mean they are not important; in fact, the most popular causes may not be the ones that need support the most.

Along these lines, I asked Dayne of the Conservation Co. to expand on one conservation issue which they wish would be better publicized.

“The first issue that comes to mind is one that most foreigners are not aware of: Africa is a hugely diverse continent which is reflected in its biodiversity. There is a preconceived idea of grassy plains and acacia trees that brings people to Africa. In response to this, many game reserves are established to conform with the idea of ‘Out of Africa’ or the Serengeti migration scenes.

This has resulted in the mismanagement of species such as elephant, lion as well as the less charismatic species such as nyala antelope, which has been introduced into areas where it never existed before. Of course the big 5 go hand in hand with a trip to Africa, but the idea of tiny territories and overcrowded reserves is a conservation issue that is unfortunately a difficult one to fight. There is so much more diversity to Africa and its wild places, it’s these areas and species we are trying to bring into the public awareness and help support their conservation.”

For more information, you can also visit the Conservation Co website.

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