Brian Huntley
Prof. Brian Huntley was born in 1944, in Durban, Natal, where he went to school and learnt, from his parents and grandparents, much about wildlife and conservation.
Brian’s ancestors came to South Africa in the 1850s and established the first Nurseryman’s and Seedman’s business in Pietermaritzburg. His great-great grandfather was the first person to introduce trees to the Gold Diggings of the Transvaal, sending ox-wagon loads northwards from Pietermaritzburg. A century later, Brian and a group of like-minded individuals created “Trees for Africa”, a programme which continues to promote the greening of the sprawling townships of the Witwatersrand.
In 1957, a game-ranger friend introduced Brian to the term “ecology”. It seemed to him to be the career to follow. Encouraged by Ian Garland, Keith Cooper, Roddy Ward, and others, his interest grew during school-day explorations of Ngoye, Mkuzi, St Lucia and other exciting corners of Zululand. At the University of Natal, he studied with Ken Tinley who urged him to accept the position of plant ecologist on the Biological-Geological Expedition to the Prince Edward Islands (1965/66). This was the first scientific expedition to these isolated volcanic islands, a genuine naturalist’s paradise; but with one of the most inhospitable climates and terrain anywhere, it required a commitment and single-mindedness that still characterises Brian’s approach to life.
Returning to South Africa in 1965, the expedition results were written up for an M.Sc. thesis and published in the expedition monograph. In order to submit the work for an M.Sc., a B.Sc. (Hons) qualification was required. Brian obtained this last degree at the University of Pretoria in what he describes as a wasted year of Wildlife Management lectures on cotton-tail rabbits and suicidal lemmings.
After a couple of years in the then Transvaal Division of Nature Conservation, working in the bushveld of the Waterberg and beyond the Soutpansberg, Brain and his young wife, Merle, headed off to Angola, where the Portuguese government wanted an ecologist to help plan and develop the National Parks of that little-known country. With an English/Portuguese dictionary in hand, Brian and Merle arrived in the Kissama National Park in August 1971 to spend four incredibly eventful and exciting years in travels throughout the country. Few people have the opportunity to contribute to the design and establishment of a network of protected areas in a country as diverse as Angola, and despite the subsequent two decades of civil war and turmoil in that country, Brian’s detailed recommendations of the 1971/75 period still remain the primary guide to priority setting for conservation in Angola.
“My saddest moment in Angola was having to leave in a convoy of 10,000 refugees in late August 1975, while South African and Cuban troops invaded the country. As we left Bikkuari National Park, I would not have believed that I would not see Benjamin Bernardino, my brilliant field assistant, for over twenty years.”
Arriving back in Pretoria, Brian was offered the position of Scientific Coordinator for the Savanna Ecosystem Project, a large, ambitious, multi-disciplinary study of an African savanna. The success of the “Nylsvlei” project led to the development of other ecosystem projects, in Fynbos, Karoo, Forest, and Grassland; and to a rather unique era of scientific collaboration in South Africa. By the mid 1980s, the “Ecosystem Programmes” were a major force in South African biology and conservation, leading to the publication of over a dozen major text books and several hundreds of scientific papers by the dozens of participating researchers. After 14 years with the CSIR and FRD, Brian was appointed the first Chief Executive Officer of the newly established National Botanical Institute, which was formed through the amalgamation of the Botanical Research Institute and the National Botanical Gardens of South Africa.
Having started his professional career in the Botanical Research Institute as a Herbarium Assistant at Natal Herbarium during University vacations in 1962, Brian returned in 1990, after 28 years, as its new head.
“My student days at the Natal Herbarium, with a difficult but inspiring mentor in Herr Rudolf Strey, taught me the importance of herbarium collections, taxonomy, and systematics. Working with material collected by Medley-Wood, Ecklon, Zeyher, Gerrard etc., over one-hundred years before in the cradle days of Natal, was a humbling experience.”
After moving from Pretoria to Kirstenbosch in January 1990, Brian’s first trip abroad was to Maputo, Mozambique, in February, when together with delegates from a dozen African countries, the future of southern African botany was discussed. The meeting coincided with the release from prison, on 11 February, of Nelson Mandela, and the conference delegates joined the street celebrations outside the ANC headquarters. At Maputo, the urgent need for an ambitious capacity building network of southern African plant sciences was recognised—and the idea of SABONET was born.
The long walk from Maputo to GEF is to be reported elsewhere—but it was the Maputo meeting that convinced Brian that very substantial funding would be needed to address the needs of the region. In September 1993, a “Conference on the Conservation and Utilisation of Southern African Botanical Diversity” was hosted at Kirstenbosch and its proceedings formed the basis for a funding application to GEF, finally approved exactly four years later.
“If I look back over the years since deciding as a 13 year old schoolboy in 1957, to become an ecologist, I would say my most rewarding experiences have been my days alone in Ngoye forest, Zululand, 15 months on Marion Island, the adventure of four years in Angola, and the challenge of establishing SABONET. Frustrating beyond patience at many times, the challenge of beating the international bureaucrats and politicians was as stimulating as exploring unspoilt corners of Angola. More than anything, the enthusiasm of the SABONET team, students, steering committee and trainers, has been overwhelming and the new family of friends among countries and people previously at war with one another is a wonderful reward for our efforts.” What about the future? “I want to see the full benefits of the SABONET Project, and the NBI (now SANBI) programmes, reach all people in the region. Those of us who are privileged to enjoy the results of the work of Medley-Wood, Pearson, Bews, Acocks and many others must ensure that these privileges are extended more widely. Only by enjoying the benefits of our flora will future generations protect and respect it.”
“Southern African botany, like that of any corner of the globe, is fundamental to the sustainable use of our natural resources. By botany I mean a knowledge and understanding of the structure and functioning of individual plants, communities, and ecosystems, both “natural” and human-modified. Africa cannot afford the risk of considering botany merely as the pursuit of bourgeois academics or “greens” on the environmental fringe. It is the base of our well-being, now and in the long term.”
From the early days of NESAPS (Network of Southern African Plant Scientists), set up after the Maputo workshop in February 1990, Brian (current Chairman of the SABONET Steering Committee), has been the driving force behind the SABONET Project; and it is largely due to his enormous personal drive, motivation, and commitment, that SABONET is where it is today. The significance of the SABONET Project, and the role that Brian has played in its existence, can be summed up by the following extract from a letter written by Dr John Hough, UNDP-GEF Africa Coordinator for Biodiversity and International Waters, to Brian Huntley: “In the end this project (SABONET) has actually opened a new window into the GEF to deal with pure Capacity Building activities; it sets a real precedent in this regard and I hope we can show why this kind of activity is so important…. Congratulations are due to you for your persistence and patience in this—only someone as committed as you would not have walked away years ago. Congratulations.”
SABONET News 2.3: 82
