Development Community (SADC) Regional Hunting Workshop
28 March 2007
Following the commitment made during the African Hunting Conference that was
held in Dar-er-Salaam, Tanzania in November 2006, the North West Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Environment hosted a successful Southern African
Development Community regional hunting workshop from 26 to 28 March 2007 at Tau
Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve.
Key stakeholders from countries with major hunting activities in the SADC
region who attended and participated at this workshop were from wildlife
conservation departments, South African wildlife colleges, professional hunting
associations, non governmental organisations (NGOs) and community
formations.
Deliberations over the two days centred on how innovative wildlife
management can be made instrumental to the development and proper management of
wildlife and land held under communal ownership. It also afforded the local
communities the opportunity to share experiences with their counterparts and
jointly strategise practically about how to integrate indigenous communities
into the mainstream of the lucrative international professional hunting
industry that thrives throughout SADC.
Owing to the past South African conservation policies that excluded local
communities and African individuals and rendered the industry a preserve for
the wealthy and the privileged, it is the current reality in the sector that
scores have been marginalised and denied opportunities to effectively
participate in and benefit from commercial hunting activities.
To begin to address this situation, the workshop's outcome have been the
development of a programme in which all stakeholders will participate, which
will implement the following:
* Building the capacity of underprivileged communities in Southern Africa
through political lobbying and Community Institutional Development by setting
up business concerns with support from qualified professionals to provide
leadership and direction in financial management and general operational
administration in commercial operations which have community ownership on
communal land throughout southern Africa's rural landscape including the North
West province.
* Implement a comprehensive economic review of the hunting industry in the SADC
Region on a country by country basis, focusing mainly on current economic
contributions, the potential for expansion and current constraints.
* Develop transformation strategies on a country by country basis, and report
back on these strategies in a meeting in Mozambique, in November 2007. The
process to develop country industry transformation strategies has to be
initiated by national governments, wildlife agencies and safari operators
jointly.
* National Hunters' Associations in all SADC countries to develop communication
strategies for public awareness and education about the hunting industry as
well as launch social investment and community conservation projects to help
improve the image of the industry. NGOs involved in the sector are to play a
monitoring impact measurement role on these initiatives.
* National legal personnel from relevant stakeholders to develop a regional
code of conduct and protocol for hunting practices and ethics.
* The establishment of a Regional Wildlife Institute with the objective of
training wildlife business skills leading to the establishment of fully fledged
hunting business enterprises by graduates in all countries in Southern
Africa.
* Expose political authorities to Community Based Natural Resource Management
(CBNRM) philosophies to obtain their support and buy-in.
* Lobby for the promulgation of enabling legislation throughout Southern Africa
by drafting, amending, and reviewing existing legislation.
* Develop a common approach to capacity building programmes in the hunting
industry in line with Community Based Natural Resource Management best
practice.
South Africa will lead the way by immediately setting to work on a pilot
project where a local community will benefit through a Communal Sustainable
Wildlife Enterprise with a R6 million development capital from the North West
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment. A farm called
Doornlaagte, near the Madikwe Game Reserve, has been identified to be expanded
into communal land adjacent to the Madikwe Reserve. Participants in this pilot
project will include the tribe, government and the private sector as partners.
Its activities will include among other consumptive tourism (professional
trophy hunting and its related activities), non-consumptive tourism
(photographic safaris, etc) and wildlife management.
For enquiries, contact:
Ms Lesego Mncwango
Tel: (018) 389 5768
Cell: 078 459 5981
E-mail: Lmncwango@nwpg.gov.za
Ms Bonolo Mohlakoana
Tel: (018) 389 5459
Cell: 083 504 3874
E-mail: bmohlakoana@nwpg.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, North
West Provincial Government
28 March 2007
