Durban conservationist battles wetland destruction

DURBAN conservationist Nonkazimlo Mafa is working hard to protect endangered amphibians only found in the wetlands, like the Pickersgill reed frog and the Kloof frog. 

Mafa is the Urban Ecology Project Manager in the EWT's Threatened Endangered Species Unit. 

Her main focus is wetland habitat protection which she does by implementing biodiversity stewardship programmes in the eThekwini region. 

“What we do on a daily basis is waste management, removing invasive alien plants and working with the community to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands, and environmental education in schools.” 

Mafa has two sites in Durban; Adam’s Mission in Amanzimtoti and Widenham in Umkomazi which was recently declared a protected environment.

“The main reason I’m in this job is my love of nature, love of disadvantaged communities. I was born and raised in such a setup, realising that people do not actually appreciate the land that they have and the opportunities that it comes with. Instead, some will just opt to go to big cities looking for jobs. But you can actually make money out of the land that you have in a sustainable way. You can make money, without destroying nature.”

She says the EWT is looking into recycling initiatives in the areas where she works because illegal waste dumping in the wetlands is a major problem. The EWT has already installed containers to resolve the issue. 

“The amount of waste that we receive daily, shows that people are actually just throwing away everything. They do not have a plan of how to minimise the waste.”

Mafa says she didn't know that studying conservation was a possibility until she had completed her studies in agriculture which she describes as community development in natural sciences. She went on to do an internship with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) which leads and co-ordinates research, and monitors the state of biodiversity in South Africa. “They were looking for community development in a nature conservation space. So, that's how I actually got in.”

Mafa says the most challenging part of her job is to get the buy-in of the communities where she works, who are suspicious about her role, because of their past experiences. 

“You find fear within the communities to commit to what we're trying to bring to them, because they are afraid that we might be grabbing their land like it used to happen in the past. You need quite an extensive amount of time to get their trust first, and also to show that you respect them. You have to observe the protocols, you have to observe how the tribal authorities actually function.”

She says it’s very different from operating in a professional environment because even when you are chairing  meetings, you have to observe certain “tribal rules”.

“Sometimes you find resistance because you're a woman. So, you have to go the extra mile because in most cases, in those tribal authorities, you'll find that there are only men.”

She says the wetlands are decreasing which it's what her unit is trying to prevent because “every hectare counts”.

“I would like people to know and understand that nature conservation is not only for us. It is actually the responsibility of everyone who's living to live in harmony. To be able to co-exist with nature, we mustn't take for granted what the frogs do, you can't just kill them. We also need to expose children to nature conservation.”

Her advice to women who are considering her field; “Don't limit yourself. It is a very broad sector so you must be open-minded and willing to learn. And most importantly, just be respectful and chase opportunities. You have to be able to adjust, it requires you to be a down-to-earth person,  and be able to co-exist with different interest groups, like professionals, someone who has never been to school, and also the elderly."