A. Species
Scientific name: Gyps africanus
Common name(s): White-backed vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus)
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Mpumalanga
- Limpopo Province
Country/Region: South Africa / Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region in Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Individual Site
Name/Details of location: Mpumalanga Province, Enhlanzeni District Municipality, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality.
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2020
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Poisoning vultures to kill and extract them.
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene and Ceremony and ritual expression
Motivation of use: Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Illegal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: The study concludes that its findings indicate a level of illegal trade in vulture body parts that is ecologically unsustainable. Traditional healers said that it was very difficult to obtain vultures, and frequently there were long waiting periods before traders sold them vultures because of the challenges in acquiring the birds. The study also builds on an opening premise that in Nigeria, the widespread sale of vultures for use in traditional medicine is thought to have contributed to a local decline in the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) population. In Burkina Faso, human disturbance of Hooded Vulture nests, most likely for belief-based use, resulted in 20% of breeding attempts failing. A comprehensive study conducted in 12 countries across West and Central Africa found that offtake for the traditional medicine trade is contributing significantly to vulture declines.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The authors extrapolate that that this group of traditional healers uses 400–800 vultures a year. This far exceeds the 160 vultures previously (2016) estimated as sold each year in eastern South Africa. Their findings indicate a level of illegal trade in vulture body parts that is ecologically unsustainable.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Part of the intention of this study is to make the use of vultures (and other animals) socially sustainable through more responsible management practice and species substitutions; however it currently entails the unsustainable exploitation of vultures, even though their is an intention to foster and preserve the practice of traditional medicine in this region. Surveys with traditional healers based in Bushbuckridge, all of whom were members of the Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners Association (KTHPA, also known as the Traditional Health Practitioners of Bushbuckridge). The KTHPA was formed in 2009 with the support of UNESCO, Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region Reserve Management Committee, Natural Justice (Lawyers for Communities and the Environment) and the Bushbuckridge traditional healers. The KTHPA is a registered nonprofit organization comprising over 400 healers. The association was formed to empower the traditional healers in the region to overcome challenges such as overharvesting on communal lands by some healers and traders, difficulties accessing biodiversity-rich state-owned lands for harvesting, poor communication by researchers, and bioprospecting with no benefits to the communities. The members of the KTHPA believe that their traditional knowledge comes from their ancestors, and it is essential that this knowledge is preserved and passed down from healers to apprentices.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: vultures are being poisoned and then consumed in medicinal context resulting in secondary poisoning in addition to pathogen risk
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: vultures are being poisoned resulting in drawn-out death
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Study respondents suggested the Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) and Honey badger (Mellivora capensis) as alternatives for vultures in traditional medicine. There is a need for better law enforcement in our study area to reduce the threat that illegal killing for traditional medicine poses to the region’s vultures.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-29