Sustaining a community-owned game reserve in tough times
Farmer's Weekly|April 23, 2021
COVID-19’s disastrous impact has necessitated change and adaptability in even the most rural parts of South Africa. The management of Somkhanda Community Game Reserve spoke to Lloyd Phillips about their efforts to keep this jewel of conservation and ecotourism alive and moving forward in the face of adversity.
Lloyd Phillip
Sustaining a community-owned game reserve in tough times

1: A key drawcard for ecotourists is the fact that the Somkhanda Community Game Reserve is now a Big Five conservation area that is helping to protect endangered species.

Somkhanda Community Game Reserve (Somkhanda) maybe 12000ha in size, already 16 years old, and home to South Africa’s iconic Big Five wildlife and numerous other fauna and flora species, yet this beautiful park in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) remains a surprisingly little known destination on the country’s expansive ecotourism map.

2: From left: Meiring Prinsloo (conservation manager), Fana Gumbi (secretary of the Emvokweni Community Trust) and Patrick Gumbi (treasurer of the trust) are amongst the people working to enhance economic returns from the sustainable harvesting of the reserve‘s excess animal populations.

This story is from the April 23, 2021 edition of Farmer's Weekly.

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This story is from the April 23, 2021 edition of Farmer's Weekly.

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