By Lebohang Mokhele, Lucy Ngubeni & Onele Sivuka
The Citizen Science Awareness Workshops continued the inspirational work of empowering traditional health practitioners and communities in becoming active participants in the conservation and management of their aquatic environments. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in collaboration with Nature Speaks and Responds and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), has successfully conducted six workshops across Gauteng Province, with over 500 attendees.
The first and second workshops, saw the team travel to the Pretoria National Zoological Garden, and Ekurhuleni East and West where 263 participants attended the two-day workshops, with woman accounting for 68% of that figure. An impressive number considering that the workshops are still in the infant stage.
When asked about the participation in the workshops, traditional healer and CEO of Nature Speaks and Responds, Gogo Nomsa Sibeko, expressed satisfaction with the attendance of the traditional health practitioners. She stated, “The participation of traditional health practitioners is satisfactory because they are not only community leaders, but also trainers (gobela’s), and they can incorporate aquatic spaces training into their curriculum to ensure that future trainees practice this. This will ensure the continuity of the programme in their daily lives.” She further elaborated, “A lot more can still be done, and with funding, we can expand these workshops to the rest of the country and reach a larger audience.”
In the third quarter of the year, the workshops were conducted in Alexandra, Soweto, and Tembisa, with a total participation of 258 traditional health practitioners. Out of the 258 attendees, 80% were women. There continues to be a demand for the workshops. Traditional health practitioners from other townships and provinces are also requesting for the workshops to be brought to them.
Sydney Manyathela, the chairperson for the Ekurhuleni North Traditional Health Practitioners, shared his gratitude for the programme and reiterated that this workshop enabled them to understand the surrounding nature. “I am sure that our traditional health practitioners will remain cognitive in the preservation of nature and our rivers. They will take better care of the spaces they live and work.”
The next workshop is set to take place in Vosloorus in September, followed by a visit to Soshanguve/Winterveldt in October, Attridgeville in November, and concluding the year in Mamelodi in December.
Principal Specialist in the Biodiversity Information Policy and Advice directorate at SANBI, Dan’sile Cindi, congratulated her team for the amazing work they have done in getting this project up and running. She further shared that she hopes this information will contribute towards the country’s national and international target agreements, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
