National Lockdown's Grip on Game Reserves and their Staff versus Game Ranches

[Lisbeth]

By Shiraaz Mohammed• 20 May 2020

Game reserves rely on income generated by local and international tourists, but with lockdown restrictions, those funding streams are no more. Communities bordering the reserves have also found themselves in a precarious position.

When David Boshoff and his anti-poaching team found an ensnared lion at the Dinokeng Big Five Game Reserve in northern Gauteng, the reality of what could happen over the next few months hit home. “It was terrible to see that this male lion in the prime of his life had died slowly over days,” said Boshoff.

The national lockdown has affected every sector of the economy and wildlife reserves like Dinokeng, and even the Kruger National Park are no exceptions.

Game reserves rely heavily on income generated by local and international tourists, but with the lockdown, those funding streams have all but dried up, leaving reserves wondering how they will survive. Communities bordering the reserves, many of whom would normally rely on the reserves for employment, have also found themselves in a precarious position.


Members of the Dinokeng Game Reserve Anti Poaching Unit (APU), are seen on horseback patrol. Due to Covid 19 lockdown, an increase in poaching activity has occurred as hungry communities turn to ‘bush meat’ to survive. The Big 5 Game Reserve, situated in Hammanskraal, Northern Gauteng is under immense financial strain. It has had zero income since the lockdown was enforced. Management fears possible closure of the reserve should the lockdown continue for another few months. 12 May 2020. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Both are now looking at other means to survive. For hungry families, that may mean setting snares to provide “bush meat”, and for reserves, it means finding income sources to keep anti-poaching units on the ground while also paying staff salaries.


A member of the Dinokeng Game Reserve Anti Poaching Unit (APU), removes an Impala from a snare set up by poachers. Due to Covid 19 lockdown, an increase in poaching activity has occurred as hungry communities turn to ‘bush meat’ to survive. Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

“In an effort to keep costs as low as possible, we are rotating our staff by putting some of them on short leave,” said Boshoff, the general manager at Dinokeng. “We are exploring all avenues for income, we have applied to the Covid-19 relief schemes, but we will wait and see. This is a time of the year when there are normally holidays and we are fully booked.

“For now, we were lucky to receive R500,000 to help towards our salaries from the Kevin Richardson Foundation, as well as R630,000 from the Oppenheimer family, paid to our employees over 15 weeks. Although it is helping, it is still not enough to cover all our overheads,” Boshoff said.


A Ranger from the Dinokeng Nature Reserve is seen tracking wildlife with a satellite collar tracing device in the Dinokeng Game Reserve. The Big 5 Game Reserve, situated in Hammanskraal, Northern Gauteng is under immense financial strain. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Richardson, also known as “the Lion Whisperer”, used his popular YouTube channel to raise R2-million that is being used to buttress communities’ reserves and the reserves themselves.

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The video received more than 190,000 views and saw thousands of people from across the globe raising funds in an effort to do their bit during the pandemic, and also to help the South African wildlife sector.

“When I heard government was going to lock down the country, I immediately began to think of the impact that this was going to have on us,” said Richardson. “But I could not stop thinking about what was going to happen with the Dinokeng Game Reserve. Our sanctuary forms part of the reserve and I was concerned about all of the animals and the staff that takes care of them.”


Wildebeest are seen in the Dinokeng Game Reserve. The Big 5 Game Reserve, situated in Hammanskraal, Northern Gauteng is under immense financial strain. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

Richardson, through his foundation, decided to start the campaign #DoWhatYouCan to raise funds to support the staff at the reserve and help feed children who often receive their only meal at school. Partnering with the Southern Lodestar Foundation, donors can provide a nutritious and sanitised meal for just R1.30.

“I am pleased to say that we received tremendous support from our community who are using their love of wildlife for social action,” said Richardson.

“Now more than ever it is apparent that the health of humans and the natural world are interdependent. It humbles me that we were also able to send out almost a million meals in the last month and help pay reserve staff salaries. We hope to be able to continue to help, month to month until we find some reprieve from this crisis.”

Richardson’s help was a lifeline for Boshoff and the reserve, but they are by no means out of the woods.

“If the lockdown continues for a longer period, we will have serious financial problems. If there is no income, a business closes down, but what of our wildlife? If this continues for the next few months, we will be forced to close our gates as a last resort.’’

Meanwhile, the reserve’s anti-poaching units have noticed a surge in snares laid down in recent weeks.

Tim Higgs, head of Dinokeng’s anti-poaching unit, said the lockdown had forced more people to sit at home with no income.

“This means normal hardworking people are forced to look at alternative means to feed themselves and their dependents. They turn to subsistence poaching, or poaching and selling meat to other people.

“We have the normal rangers force deployed, but because of the increase in poaching activity, they are working under increased pressure. Anti-poaching unit rangers are motivated, but the financial insecurity has a negative effect on their frame of mind since they have families who are dependent on them,” said Higgs.


Members of the Dinokeng Game Reserve Anti Poaching Unit (APU), are seen on patrol. Due to Covid 19 lockdown, an increase in poaching activity has occurred as hungry communities turn to ‘bush meat’ to survive. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)

“We were all satisfied and complied with the first lockdown to flatten the curve. Now it seems ridiculous as people are losing their jobs and companies are closing their doors. How can you set regulations to protect 0.02% of the population when the rest of the population is suffering?” asked Boshoff. DM

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article ... ir%20staff

[RogerFraser]

very bad situation and for tourism there does not seem to be much light on the horizon if any .If .gov follow their plan its going to be way too long for these reserves to survive without income and .gov seems to be sticking to ridiculous decisions like they have actually though about the long term implications.

[Alf]

Think the tourism industry will be hit the hardest and i don't see many companies survive if this could carry on for another 4 months

[Lisbeth]

The economy was bad before the pandemic, afterwards it will be non-existing if they do not find a way to open up

[Richprins]

This is a good way to channel aid from the big foreign trusts!

[Lisbeth]

They have a lot to do at home, for the time being, I think

[Lisbeth]

South Africa’s wildlife ranches can offer solutions to Africa’s growing conservation challenges



Privately owned wildlife ranches play a major role in conserving South Africa’s wildlife, including iconic species such as white rhinos. (Photo: EPA / Jon Hrusa)

By Hayley Clements, Alta De Vos and Matthew Child | 27 Oct 2022

Given the huge strain on the resilience of protected areas, additional conservation models are needed. One such model is wildlife ranching, so we looked at how the Covid-19 pandemic affected them.
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Designated protected areas for wildlife – such as national parks – are the world’s principal conservation strategy. But this model to conserve wildlife in Africa is increasingly coming under pressure. Changing climates, volatile economies and political systems, conflicting sentiments around wildlife management practices (like trophy hunting) and unpredictable events, such as pandemics, are just some of the threats that undermine conservation efforts.

Many protected areas didn’t fare well during the pandemic, particularly across Africa. Ailing economies and restricted travel reduced the funding and tourism revenues on which many parks depend. As a result, half of surveyed parks across 19 African countries reported reductions in the protection of endangered species, field patrols and anti-poaching measures.

These impacts bring into question the resilience of protected areas where conservation is funded by donations, state budgets and, in some cases, ecotourism. Additional conservation models are called for.

One such model is wildlife ranching. We carried out a study which examined how wildlife ranches in South Africa responded to the impact of the pandemic. There are different types of wildlife ranches. They generate revenue from wildlife through a variety of activities including ecotourism, trophy and meat hunting, wildlife trade and meat sales. On some of these ranches, livestock shared space with wildlife.

Some specialised in one or two of these activities, others had a more diverse income portfolio. We found that, on average, wildlife ranches were more financially resilient and better able to adapt to the impact of the pandemic than protected areas. Importantly, ranches with mixed systems of wildlife and livestock coped the best.

We can learn from these wildlife ranches – and their adaptable business models – to build more resilient conservation systems in an increasingly volatile world.

Wildlife ranches as a conservation model

In several southern African countries – including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia – private landholders and communities are involved in conservation through various models which aim to benefit local people and wildlife. One of these is wildlife ranching.

In South Africa, privately owned wildlife ranches span an estimated 17% of the land, over double that of protected areas. They play a major role in conserving South Africa’s wildlife, including iconic species such as white rhinos. An estimated five to seven million herbivores occur on ranches nationally.


‘Giraffe Drinking’. Low angle shot of a giraffe drinking at a waterhole, accompanied by an oxpecker. Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa. © Jenny Zhao/TNC Photo Contest

On these ranches, wildlife is used to generate livelihoods. Conservation is an outcome rather than a primary objective.

The ranches provide 65,000 jobs, compared with 4,000 permanent jobs in South African National Parks. Wildlife ranches contribute at least $438-million annually to the economy. Tourism in South Africa’s National Parks generates $120-million annually.

The Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to understand how a major global shock affected the ranches.

Covid and wildlife ranches

To understand responses of wildlife ranches in South Africa to Covid, a cohort of graduates interviewed owners and managers of 78 wildlife ranches.

They found that wildlife ranches that specialised in ecotourism, particularly international tourism, were the worst financially affected by the pandemic. Three in every four ranches lost more than 75% of their revenues.

Ranches that specialised in trophy hunting, similarly dependent on international clientele, also commonly lost more than 75% of their revenues.

By contrast, ranches that generated revenues from a more diverse portfolio of wildlife-based activities before the crisis fared better. Only one in every four ranches lost more than 75% of their revenues. Their activities included wildlife sales, meat sales or meat hunting, often alongside international hunting or ecotourism.

Notably, wildlife ranches that also practised livestock farming suffered the least impact. Some even increased their revenues during the pandemic.

Coping during the pandemic

Unsurprisingly, many wildlife ranch owners (28%) reported reducing their operational costs to cope with diminished revenues. For instance, they decreased staff numbers and anti-poaching measures. A report estimated 18,000 ranch employees were affected by salary cuts or layoffs.

What was surprising is that cost cutting wasn’t the most common response. Far more common (40% of ranchers) was to shift strategies towards attracting local tourists or meat hunters, often by offering discounted rates.

Ranchers also commonly shifted their revenue generation to other activities, beyond hunting and ecotourism. These included packaging and selling wildlife meat, or farming livestock.

This shows us that many wildlife ranching business models are adaptable in times of crisis, allowing all interviewed ranches to stay afloat. Some business models were, however, more adaptable than others.

Scaling up activities

All ecotourism-focused ranches reported cutting costs. None shifted to livestock and very few shifted to other wildlife-based activities.

By contrast, only a third of ranches undertaking more diverse wildlife activities cut costs. The majority scaled up live wildlife sales or meat packaging and processing.

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This tells us that it is easier for a rancher to scale up an activity that they were already doing to compensate for the loss of another, than it is to start something new.

It also tells us that it is particularly challenging to start consumptive activities – like wildlife meat sales or hunting – if a ranch is focused on non-consumptive activities, like ecotourism.

Lessons in a changing world

Many wildlife ranches demonstrated the ability to adapt in the face of a major global shock. While the significant impact of the pandemic on their revenues must not be overlooked, lessons can be learned from the ways in which these enterprises coped with the crisis.

While conservation models based on international visitors (like ecotourism and trophy hunting) can be lucrative activities in normal times, building resilience requires diversifying revenue streams.

Diversification of revenue streams depends on policies that provide landholders with the right to use wildlife. These rights vary across African countries. In Namibia, for example, communities can benefit from both ecotourism and hunting on their land, while in Kenya trophy hunting is prohibited.

More conventional conservation models – such as national parks – are important for national identity, heritage and conservation. They can survive crises through an injection of state funds. However, they are often expensive for national treasuries. They’re also rigid, both institutionally and in what the public finds acceptable. For example, it is usually expected that they are “wilderness places” where revenue-generation is at best a secondary objective to conservation, and often limited to ecotourism. With diminishing state budgets, many parks are nevertheless increasingly dependent on these revenues to fund their management.

South Africa’s national parks cover almost three-quarters of their operational costs through tourism, yet lost 90% of this revenue during the 2020 lockdown. This prompted the call for more diversified income streams going forward.

While we highlight the importance of the greater adaptive capacity seen on wildlife ranches, compared with that of parks, we also recognise that not all adaptations will be good for conservation. For example, reducing anti-poaching measures to cut costs is not ideal, and the longer-term conservation implications of scaling up livestock production should be monitored. It may enhance ecosystem functioning in some contexts.

Ultimately, we need both traditional conservation tools like national parks and more pluralistic and adaptable approaches like wildlife ranches to ensure resilience of our natural heritage in times of change. Importantly, wildlife ranches should not be seen as, or measured as, protected areas. They are working lands and require different policy instruments and incentives.

Governments could create enabling environments for more diverse land uses that include wildlife-based models to thrive, such as access to land and tenure security, avoiding over-regulation, and increasing skills development programmes for managing both wildlife and livestock simultaneously. DM/OBP

Hayley Clements is a researcher at Stellenbosch University. Alta De Vos is a senior lecturer at Rhodes University. Matthew Child is a PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria.

[Richprins]

Very interesting this, and it shows how SAns can adapt!

[Lisbeth]

If the government does not spoil it all