management | eye on the weather
SouthAfricahasbeenburdened
withongoingdroughtconditions
overthepastfewyearsandhas
experienced,asdidmanyother
countriesintheworld,someof
thedriestandhottestyearson
record.Studieshaveshownthat
whilewildliferanchingprovides
alternativeland-useoptions,onits
ownthewildliferanchingsector
equallysuffersfromclimate
changerelatedaspects.
Figure 1: Wildlife ranching areas in South Africa (Source: Taylor, W.A., Lindsey, P.A. & Davies-
Mostert, H. 2015. An assessment of the economic, social and conservation value of the wildlife
ranching industry and its potential to support the green economy in South Africa. The Endangered
Wildlife Trust, Johannesburg.)ECONOMIC
drought
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PERSISTENT DROUGHT
CONDITIONS IN CLIMATE REGIONS WHERE WILDLIFE
RANCHING IS PREVALENT
by Andries Kruger & Cobus Olivier (seasonal forecast)
Climate section maps by Elsa de JagerPhoto © Sean Nel