game reserve to boost community's tourism economy
1 November 2007
History was made today when black rhinos were released onto Somkhanda Game
Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Somkhanda is the first community-owned land
to become a partner in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) or Ezemvelo
KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. A total of eleven
black rhinos will be released.
Somkhanda Game Reserve is owned by the Gumbi Community which successfully
claimed five commercial game farms under the Land Restitution process. Rather
than turn the whole area into settlement and farming, the community leaders
decided to zone their land for economic sustainability. The zones include areas
for conservation, development and commercial cattle farming.
"Empowering black communities to become stakeholders is a priority in
conservation, and Somkhanda is an example where it is really starting to
happen," said WWF's Dr Jacques Flamand, leader of the Black Rhino Range
Expansion Project.
INkosi Zebelon Gumbi, head of the Gumbi royal family, explains: "When the
land was gone, there were no opportunities. Now there are opportunities. There
is work in security protecting animals from poachers. And there is work at the
lodges. We have set aside some land for farming and settlement, and some for
development projects which will boost the Gumbi economy. We are asking our
people to think like businesspeople. We are living in modern times. It is not
just building a place and relying on cattle any more. Now we ask people to work
and get money."
But conservation always involves the heart as well as the head. Nathi Gumbi,
Director of Somkhanda Game Reserve, says: "When the Gumbis were moved from
their land, we had no choice. But thank God the white people who took our land
also loved it. So our land is still beautiful. Now we have the land back and we
shall also love it and look after it as our ancestors loved it."
The way the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project works is that the founder
population of black rhino, the 11 that are being released now, belong to
Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife. When the population grows, then ownership of
the offspring is shared 50/50 between the Gumbi Community and Ezemvelo
KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.
"But the reality is that these animals belong to all of us, to
KwaZulu-Natal, to South Africa, to Africa, to our children and our children's
children," said Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister of the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, who attended the release. "They are our
heritage, our responsibility, our privilege. The Gumbi leadership has shown the
courage and foresight to accept that opportunity and that responsibility and we
salute you for that.
It may not always be easy. There will be challenges and setbacks. It will be
hard work. But it will be worth it. As the first community to become partners
in this important project, you are pioneering a way that we hope many others
will follow," the Deputy Minister added.
The black rhino is still critically endangered, although numbers have
increased to about 3 700, from a low point of around 2 500 in the 1990s. The
Black Rhino Range Expansion Project supports ongoing protection of existing
populations, but also aims to increase land available for black rhino
conservation, thus reducing pressure on existing reserves and providing new
territory in which the animals can rapidly increase in number. This is done by
forming strategic partnerships with landowners within the historic range of the
black rhino. The first three partner sites were Mun-yawana Game Reserve,
Zululand Rhino Reserve and Pongola Game Reserve.
Partnerships, both with private and communal landowners, are essential for
the future of conservation, said Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife CEO Khulani
Mkhize. "For conservation to grow and thrive in our beautiful country, with all
its opportunities and challenges, local communities must become significant
stakeholders with a real interest in ensuring the future of conservation. This
is an example of that principle in action, and we are proud and excited to be
part of it," he said.
The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project is a partnership between WWF and
Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and is supported by the Mazda Wildlife
Fund.
The media is invited to attend and interview the Deputy Minister.
For more information, please contact:
Moses Rannditsheni
Dept of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Tel: 012 310 3898/9
Cell: 082 448 2450
E-mail: MRannditsheni@deat.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
1 November 2007
Source: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (http://www.deat.gov.za)
