How new landholders could prosper from wildlife

SOUTH Africa has a thriving wildlife economy ~ enterprises like trophy and meat hunting, ecotourism, live wildlife sales and game meat production.

- HAYLEY CLEMENTS, ALTA DE VOS, MATTHEW CHILD & SIVIWE SHWABABA

Over the past few decades, private (predominantly white) farmers have converted millions of hectares once reserved for livestock into game ranches. These enterprises generate profits and jobs while maintaining natural vegetation and conserving indigenous large mammals. Government policy considers the sector key to integrating conservation with rural development. The national 2024 strategy is to grow “sustainable and inclusive ecotourism-based businesses by 10%” every year. It is also projerted that the GDP contribution of game meat will increase from US$4.6 billion (2020) to US$27.6 billion by 2036. The overarching aim is to:

« grow the wildlife economy to include more black landholders and communities

« expand the amount of land that is conserved “from 20 million ha (hectares) to 34 million ha by 2040”.

In South Africa, land uses based on wildlife could address the twin land reform objectives of economic development and empowerment, while also conserving biodiversity. Land reform is central to the country’s strategy to rectify historical inequities in land access. Beneficiaries of reform include black individuals, families and communities. Yet little is known about how land reform beneficiaries - who often begin with fewer resources - might realistically participate in the wildlife economy.