African Wildlife and Environment Issue 64

EDITORIAL

Dr John Ledger

There is something special about the look, feel, and smell of a beautifully designed and produced magazine or book that you can hold in your hands, place by your bedside, pack into your bag and carry with you to places with out electricity or cell-phone reception.

WESSA members have been the readers of Environment magazine for the past six-and-a-bit years. Prior to that, the Society’s magazine, African Wildlife , had been published for members since 1946. With rising costs and duplication of effort, a meeting of minds from WESSA and EWT agreed to pool their publications into Environment magazine, for the greater good of all. So African Wildlife (WESSA) and Endangered Wildlife (Endangered Wildlife Trust) magazines were incorporated into Environment – People and Conservation in Africa . The background to these developments is given on page 7. This initiative was widely supported by many readers, who enjoyed the broad appeal of the magazine, and appreciated learning about the work of other like-minded NGOs, while remaining loyal to their favourite society or association. For several years Environment flourished and prospered, with advertising support helping to cut production costs for the benefit of all partners. Unfortunately that special journey ended after 25 memorable and value-packed editions of Environment magazine. Some of the coalition members dropped out, while the shift from print to digital advertising took away much of the revenue that had made the magazine financially viable. With one or two exceptions, most printed magazines and newspapers in South Africa (and elsewhere) have shrunk to mere skeletons, or morphed into electronic publications, while others are dead and buried. Environment is now regrettably among the latter. But here is an interesting thing: on my bookshelf I have all 25 issues of Environment magazine, in pristine condition. I can pull them out, open the pages to see the wonderful photographs, and still smell the ink that was precisely laid down on the paper years ago. Then I went onto the Internet and searched for Environment magazine. There was no way that I could find a complete set of the 25 issues of Environment magazine on the Internet! The Endangered Wildlife Trust has 16 of the 25 issues on its website as e-books that can be accessed. As far as I know, none of the other NGO partners has electronic copies available. Readers should please drop me a line if there is another source I do not know about. And while on that subject, your letters to the magazine will always be welcome, so please share you views!

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