WESSA | News & Events

27 Oct WESSA PRESENTS THE 2021/2022 BLUE FLAG AWARDS TO 51 BEACHES, 5 MARINAS AND 4 TOURISM BOATS

Posted at 08:45h in Media Releases

WESSA (The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa), the National Operator for Blue Flag South Africa officially launched the 2021/22 Blue Flag Season this year at Hermanus in the Western Cape. The award ceremony was held at Grotto Beach on the 27 th October 2021...

28 Sep Open letter to the Parliamentary Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Gwede Mantashe

Posted at 08:39h in Media Releases

WESSA as a partner in the Climate Justice Coalition, will be joining the mobilisation during the week of the 22nd of September 2021 in actions taking place across the country under the banner of #UprootTheDMRE. We do so because the Department of Mineral Resources and...

28 Sep Blue Flag Beach Stewards lead Inclusive Growth of Coastal Tourism

Posted at 08:34h in Media Releases

For eThekwini-based Tourism Blue Flag Beach Steward, Nomfundo Ndaba, World Tourism Day means exciting possibilities! Across the world, tourism creates millions of jobs for youth and equips them with the necessary skills needed to excel in this industry. Nomfundo pointed out that tourism creates income,...

10 Sep Welcome Andrew Baxter

Posted at 11:48h in Media Releases

WESSA welcome’s their new CEO – Dr Andrew Baxter This week, WESSA welcomed Dr Andrew Baxter as the new Chief Executive Officer. Andrew starts his journey at WESSA in September 2021 with the key priority of leading the organisation through an important strategic review and implementation...

16 May CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Posted at 11:57h in Media Releases

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS THE 2021 WESSA ANNUAL AWARDS The goals of the WESSA Awards are as follows: 1. To give appropriate, high level recognition to people, groups or institutions for advancing the cause of environmental conservation and/or education in South Africa in an exceptional and sustained...

07 May RESPONSE TO MINISTER CREECY’S RELEASE OF REPORT OF HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON THE MANAGEMENT, BREEDING, HUNTING, TRADE AND HANDLING OF ELEPHANT, LION, LEOPARD AND RHINOCEROS

Posted at 14:42h in Media Releases

7th May 2021 RESPONSE TO MINISTER CREECY’S RELEASE OF REPORT OF HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON THE MANAGEMENT, BREEDING, HUNTING, TRADE AND HANDLING OF ELEPHANT, LION, LEOPARD AND RHINOCEROS We welcome the decisive action taken by the Minister to end the captive lion breeding industry and restoring South Africa’s key...

07 May Tourism Blue Flag Project (Phase 2)

Posted at 14:38h in Media Releases

7th May 2021 Tourism Blue Flag Project (Phase 2) After successfully recruiting a full complement of 104 second year Beach Stewards, WESSA’s Tourism Blue Flag Project enjoyed a number of firsts with them over April: We enjoyed a problem-free first round of accredited tourism guiding training, over the second...

07 May Open letter to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation

Posted at 14:33h in Media Releases

7th May 2021 PRESS RELEASE Open letter to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Dear Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Rivers of Sewage Water is life, and South Africa does not have enough of it. Our water scarcity, currently acutely experienced in many parts of the country but particularly the Eastern...

19 Apr Kruger National Park Rhino population

Posted at 20:48h in Media Releases

19th April 2021 PRESS RELEASE Kruger National Park Rhino population The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) would like to express its concern about the now well-documented decline (more than 50%) of the rhino population in the Kruger National Park (KNP) over the last 10 years...

19 Feb Tourism Blue Flag Youth Graduate into the Tourism Economy

Posted at 13:54h in Media Releases

For 19th th February 2021 PRESS RELEASE At our graduation ceremony held in Simonstown on Friday, 16 previously unemployed Western Cape youth graduated from the Tourism Blue Flag Project. Funded by the National Department of Tourism (NDT), and implemented by WESSA, the TBF Project is a youth skills-training programme....