Fighting against the extinction of the African Penguin which could be as soon as 2035 if more is not done, bird conversationists and champions have taken a big step to stand up in what they call a ground-breaking litigation launch:
Global (22 March 2024) — On 19 March 2024, the Biodiversity Law Centre, representing BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), initiated landmark litigation in the Pretoria High Court in the interests of Africa’s only penguin species—the Endangered African Penguin.
Instituted against the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the challenge sought the review and setting aside of the Minister’s 4 August 2023 decision on the closures to fishing around key African Penguin breeding colonies, instead of ‘biologically meaningful closures’.
At the core of the litigation, is what the applicants’ consider a failure to implement biologically meaningful closures. Instead, “interim closures” around breeding colonies like Dassen Island, Robben Island, Stony Point and others were taken up, but these are reportedly nota sustainable enough solution, nor a big enough solution to save the species from extinction in the wild.
The interim closures are said to be incapable of meeting the purpose of closures—which is namely to reduce competition between African Penguins and fishing competitors. Parties who questioned the 2023 decision also note that certain panel recommendations were followed while others were not.
Because experts predict that the African Penguin could face extinction in the wild as soon as 2035 if more is not done to curb the current rate of population decline, their plight is is at crisis status. This is driven primarily by their lack of access to prey—which they compete with the commercial purse-sine fishery who continue to catch sardine and anchovy in the waters surrounding the six largest African Penguin breeding colonies. These six colonies are home to around 90% of South Africa’s African Penguins!
Since 2008, the African Penguin population has dropped from over 27 000 breeding pairs to just over 15 000 in 2018, and now to just under 9000.
But, bird conservationists are not backing down with what they deem an irrational and unlawful decision.
Kate Handley, the Executive Director of the Biodiversity Law Centre says:
“This is the first litigation in South Africa invoking the Minister’s constitutional obligation to prevent extinction of an endangered species.It follows her failure—since at least 2018—to implement biologically meaningful closures around African Penguin breeding areas, despite scientific evidence that such closures improve the species access to their critical sardine and anchovy food source, thereby contributing toward arresting the decline of the African Penguin.”
Dr Alistair McInnes, Seabird Conservation Manager at BirdLife South Africa weighs in:
“The African Penguin’s survival depends on the right decision being taken now. African Penguins at breeding colonies need access to food. Our challenge seeks to have the Minister take science-based decisions that are grounded on the internationally recognised and constitutionally enshrined precautionary principle. This is something that the Minister has consistently failed to do since 2018, notwithstanding having called multiple reviews.”
But, the application is a big bout of good news because it means that people are fighting for the African Penguin. For Kate, it is a “watershed” application that has the potential to set precedent.
“It stands to give content to the South African government’s obligation to protect Endangered species and, particularly in this instance, the African Penguin. It also takes a stance on the role of science-led decision-making in ensuring that future generations have their environment, and the well-being of an endangered species, protected.”
Sources: Media Release
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