2021 WESSA Annual Review

WESSA members sit on local environmental management committees by example the Coega Environmental Forum. Publications: Very often local membership insights an expertise culminate in specialised publications, an ongoing initiative is the African Wildlife and Environment (AWE) magazine, and other specialised pamphlets include the Grahamstown-Makhanda Guide Book and updating the Birds of the Magaliesberg Biosphere (3rd edition). Each branch and each region form an organising committee made up of members, who in turn elect a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Treasurer and other functionaries, and at a regional level also elect a Regional Representative as the formal liaison within the WESSA governance structure. Regional Chairs and Representatives then elect from amongst themselves two persons to serve on the WESSA Board as per WESSA’s memorandum of incorporation (MOI). Also, as per the MOI, membership is responsible for nominating and electing WESSA Board members at the WESSA AGM. As at end of May 2021, there were 788 paid-up members (vs. 850 in Dec 2020), 322 life members (vs 309 in Dec 2020) and 637 supporters (vs 616 in Dec 2020). The “supporters” category is a fairly recent initiative, that allows persons to be involved in WESSA without having to pay an annual subscription fee. Membership, as the numbers indicate, is faced with several challenges. The most immediate is the COVID-19 pandemic and its concomitant containment measures. Many branches have gone into an effective hibernation as we sit the pandemic out and self-isolate. The ban on gatherings during peak infection times, and the social-distancing measures has meant cancelling many stewardship activities and public education initiatives. But the membership numbers have been steadily decreasing from thousands a decade or two ago, to stabilizing at the 800 to 1000 mark. This while other environmental organisations, local Friends of – groups and conservancies have grown substantially over the same period. And the typical demographic of a subscribing member is white, middle-class and age 55 and above, which is very different to the more representative profile of persons volunteering at membership activities or to whom the full-time, professional WESSA delivers a service. Membership organization is also constrained by a lack of administrative capacity at a local level, in recent years the centralization of the professional structure of the organization has left local branches without offices and full-time administrative support. Volunteers contribute significant amounts of their time, energy and resources, but they can’t do so consistently, and they prefer to engage in direct action when taking time away from family and work. We are hoping that with the appointment of a new CEO, a relatively new Board, and with the WESSA strategic review currently underway, led by Prof Fabricius and his team, that these initiatives will provide some insight and new pathways for membership activities and governance involvement. One of the largely untapped potentials of membership is their level of expertise, experience and dedication in/to environmental matters.

Many members have some form of environmental or other tertiary or post-graduate qualification, and many have served in some form of environmental expertise role. And this resource stretches across South Africa - an invaluable resource for instance in the case of EIA submissions, position papers or in the localised conservation and restoration efforts of species or habitats. The coastal and inland reach of the membership footprint, its knowledge base and networks are a significant resource in people caring for the planet. The year ahead needs to shape that resource into being the best it can be and in ensuring WESSA continues being a key environmental steward into its second century of being.

WESSA has 788 paid-up members, 322 life members, and 637 supporters and Mpumalanga Highlands, Lowveld, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Eastern Cape (EC) and the Western Cape which also covers Northern Cape. Members are by definition any person who pays an annual subscription fee to WESSA and subscribes to the tenets of the organisation. But their WESSA involvement is not restricted to just volunteer stewardship activities. Members also play a key role in the governance of the WESSA organisation. They do so through the formation of local branches, some 15 in total of different shapes and sizes across the breadth of South Africa, which in turn are organised into five regions: Northern Areas that covers Gauteng, North-West Province, Free State, Limpopo

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Annual Review 2020-2021

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