The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, launched the “Farming the Wild” Green Fund Project in the uPhongolo Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday the 23rd of August 2013.
“Farming the Wild” is a community based project supported by the Green Fund and aims to green the rural community of KwaGumbi in KwaZulu-Natal through the establishment of the Somkhanda Community Game Reserve. The programme also supports another community reserve, Usuthu Gorge, which is located within the Mathenjwa community, uMkhanyakude district. The Green Fund is a national fund, under the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and managed by the DBSA (Development Bank of South Africa), which supports South Africa’s transition to a green economy. The fund provides catalytic finance to facilitate the investment in greening initiatives such as the establishment of these two game reserves. It has the ability to unlock potential in many poor, rural communities, with particular potential in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
The Somkhanda Game Reserve application for support was successful and is funded to the value of R14 million, with a further R8 million available for the establishment of Usuthu Gorge. “The long term sustainable conservation of southern Africa’s natural heritage and conservation of the unique biodiversity cannot happen in isolation from the economic development of those communities living in these areas” said Kevin McCann, the Strategic Manager for Wildlands Conservation Trust, the partnering organisation for the project. “The support and catalytic investment of the Green Fund in the development of Somkhanda Game Reserve as a game farming product is going to move the Gumbi community and Somkhanda Game Reserve into a new era, where conservation land use will allow the community to unlock their potential and significantly improve their livelihoods through the development of a viable game farming and tourism business”. This project has the potential to be replicated across many rural areas, where the sustainable use of natural resources has the ability to transform the economies of such communities.
The land on which Somkhanda is founded has been restored to the Gumbi community through the Land Reform process in 2005. The community decided to place the majority of this land under conservation and create a game reserve that would serve as an economic engine to drive development in the area. The Gumbi community have formed partnerships with the Wildlands Conservation Trust, WWF-SA and the Wildlife ACT Fund to guide the community in establishing the Somkhanda Game Reserve. Through this partnership, various skills development projects have been introduced to members of the community. Somkhanda has been promoted as a flagship project for land restitution and transformation in South Africa as well as an example of conservation-based community development.
Some of the game to be purchased to ensure the reserve is economically viable includes buffalo, kudu, wildebeest and zebra. Revenue can be generated from hunting, live game sales, game products and ecotourism. The project therefore contributes significantly to alleviating poverty through the creation of employment opportunities, revenue generation and the establishment of supporting and secondary industries as stimulated by their ecotourism development. “A project such as this can create great spin-offs to the community, with many other businesses being needed to support the core operation” said Minister Molewa. The project will create approximately 80 jobs in the long run, with 28 permanent and 15 temporary jobs having already been created thus far.
The project will be implemented by the Wildlands Conservation Trust and is intended to strengthen community conservation, applying climate change adaptation and mitigation techniques through community game reserve development. “It is vital that these communities be mentored through the land restitution process to ensure full confidence and competence and it is through projects such as this that this is made possible” said McCann. This was confirmed on the day, with the Chairperson of the Emvokweni Community Trust, Lindiwe Gumbi and the CEO of Wildlands, Dr Andrew Venter, signing an agreement to formalise the already strong partnership.
With the support of the Green Fund, both Somkhanda and Usuthu Gorge will be able to significantly improve their ability to sustainably generate income, whilst at the same time ensuring the natural resources are protected for future generations.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)