3600 Hectares

Gauteng

Core Operations

• Other - Environmental education and recreation

Activities

• Volunteering of Alien invasive plant removal/5 reserve sector projects
• Environmental education programmes > 300 learners per annum
• Cycling and walking around heritage and natural attractions - 500 per annum
• Monthly awareness events (Walks & Talks) 2 
• Monitoring of Eco-crime - prevention volunteers in poaching, snaring, stripping of indigenous resources - regular snare walks, security company co-operation

Core operations

• Land/veld management 
• Wetland management 
• Rehabilitation/restoration 
• Invasive alien plant clearing and harvesting
• Other - Environmental projects by voluntary teams

Activities

• Alien Invasive plant removal projects, infestation monitoring, staff training (20/yr)
• Wetland rehabilitation (outside services - Working for Wetlands)
• Fire management, fire protection (fire breaks)  - CRR Fire Protection Association
• Environmental Crime (prevention, awareness, support of contracted security company)

The Crocodile River Reserve (CRR) has been proclaimed as a Protected Area according to the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act of 2004.  By conserving biodiversity, CRR not only ensures that surroundings are richer and more diverse, but also secures the resources that will continue to provide improvements in the quality of human life. The Reserve boasts a variety of eco-systems and habitats within which there are many special species, some of them threatened and vulnerable. The Crocodile River Reserve’s programmes offer schools, universities and environmental interest groups the opportunity to learn about and experience biodiversity. Programmes envisioned by the Reserve takes into consideration that being on an urban edge there are a myriad of opportunities in identifying and working with established community leaders and organised groups in large areas where the population is diverse and highly fragmented.

The Reserve is looking to expand its impact on the natural and human environment, by introducing better security and access control, expanding through acquisition of adjacent land, SMME development, introduction of services to prevent environmental crimes, installation of signage to increase visitor awareness and development of a comprehensive biodiversity database.

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2000 Hectares

KwaZulu-Natal

KameelKop is located close to the well-known Nambiti Big 5 Private Game Reserve near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal.  

A community of approximately 600 kraals previously lived on the site but were forcibly removed from the site 54 years ago.  The site was then run as a successful game farm/livestock ranch before being returned to the community following a formal restitution process some 15 years ago.  At this point, the community decided to retain the property as a game farm and to re-settle on other areas included in their restitution claim.  

Since then the reserve has been managed as a game farm, with hunting being the main income stream.   As such, there is an urgent need to start generating profits from the farm which have been earmarked for building a creche whilst future needs include investments in boreholes, solar panels & food gardens.

The community seeks to partner with investors in building capacity to provide high-quality service to their hunting and tourism customers. The proposed regenerative commercial livestock farming & conservation model at Kameelkop will boost throughput & complement the current game meat, droëwors and biltong processing operations.

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5554 Hectares

Northern Cape

The site is a Protected Area in terms of the Protected Areas Act and is home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world and more than 1,000 of its estimated 3,500 plant species are found nowhere else on earth. Traditional medicine may be derived from these species. Amphibians and reptiles are also well represented, along with several endemic species.

The property is strategically located within a Protected Area Expansion corridor that is planned between the Namaqua National Park and the Goegap Nature Reserve.

No economic activities are currently in operation and have not taken place since the ownership transfer was done in 2015.

Investment Opportunities include Game Ranching; Botanical Camp with Aviary and Snake Park; Essential Oils and Handicrafts; Lodge & Conference Centre and Bush Encroacher eradication.

The sustainable development of Namaqua is dependent on the land and natural ecosystem. The anchor business potential is in the wildlife economy, botanical eco-tourism and research, as well as bio-prospecting.

The San people of Rooiwal in Namaqualand, originally crop farmers, were displaced from their land with rich soils and good climate, to dry land on the mountains, where they were forced to learn how to live as livestock ranchers.

The land restitution process has restored land to the Rooiwal Community, albeit in a site far away from the cropping region from which their forefathers were originally displaced.

The land is now community-owned, with no land-related legal disputes, and is governed under clear legal structures. 

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8400 Hectares

Limpopo

Core Operations‍

• Accommodation
• Ecotourism activities
• Cultural and traditional activities

Activities‍

Magwena River Lodge is a luxury lodge with 16 beds, camping and catering services.

Selwane Game Reserve comprises 4 100 ha of land and Magwena River Lodge are located in close proximity to the popular Kruger National Park.

Selwane is a critical Biodiversity Conservation Area with vast wildlife and a temperate savanna climate with unique bird and plant life.

The Restitution of Land Rights Act which was promulgated in 1994 activated the first land claim which was lodged by the Selwane tribe during 1996 and the farms Kondowe 36 and Waterbok were successfully transferred and are now being administered by the Selwane Communal Property Association. Kondowe is currently a game farm development and Waterbok is a community irrigation development project.

After reclaiming the land, the community decided to venture into eco-tourism and approached various stakeholders to assist as the community did not have the finances and knowledge to drive it.

The community partnered with SIABIX, a private investment company with various interests in the abattoir and meat industry to develop and operate Selwane Nature Reserve and Magwena River Lodge, based on a shareholders’ agreement in terms of which the strategic partner holds 49% and the CPA owns the balance. Three of the CPA members are directors in the operating company.

In the future Selwane aims to:

• Add a conference centre to host corporate events.
• Add over 2000 ha in additional farms. This additional land would be used to develop a conservancy for rhinos and other game.
• Introduce cattle ranching as a strategic priority for the site.
• To purchase additional game to increase the attractiveness to potential tourists. The target is to acquire: 15 Buffalo, 13 Zebra, 50 Impala, 28 Springboks and 25 Elands. Elephants will not be pursued due to a lack of land.

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26000 Hectares

KwaZulu-Natal

Activities

Big 5 Game Reserve used for Game safaris and hunting activities.
Unprocessed game meat is sold at farm gate.

Activities

The Site operational 6-unit lodge facilities with 12 beds, and camping facilities.
Birding, walking trails, and hiking are available.

The site is a BIG-5 game reserve offering a wide range of wildlife species (including, elephants, rhino, lions, leopards, buffalo, eland, kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, wildebeest, impala and wild dog). Trophy and Biltong hunting are the major business activity, with the hunters also patronising accommodation and hospitality services offered through the 12-bed lodge and camping facility. Birding, walking trails, and hiking are also popular.

The Site has endangered species such as the wild dog, under a special protection program, with considerable investment being made into game stocking and fencing over the years and more game donations are still being canvassed.

At least 10% of all tourism revenue from the reserve, is transferred to the Gumbi community of approximately 20,000 people through the ECT, which allocates the funds for schools, creches,

clinics, cattle dipping programmes, and small-business opportunities.

The reserve currently employs 52 people from the community, all on short-term contracts, for such activities as alien bush clearing, are taken up by the community. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment also funds salaries of game guards through its Environmental Monitors Programme.Unprocessed game meat is currently sold at the farm-gate, at significantly lower unit prices than the retail market prices for processed and packaged game meat. Great potential for revenue growth and community development lies in the development of a through-put abattoir with distribution linkages at the retail end.

An old butchery with cold room facilities requiring upgrade and restoration exists at the site and can potentially be converted into a game meat processing plant with dual capacity to process both game meat and beef (and perhaps other commercial livestock), in order to optimise capacity utilisation.

Taxidermy, tanning and crafting of leather products are natural offshoot businesses that have been considered.

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14200 Hectares

Limpopo

Core Operations‍

• Harvesting
  
  

Activities‍

Mopani worms are harvested when in season.

Core Operations‍

• Accommodation
• Safaris

Activities‍

Ndou Safaris and Baobab Lodge are high-end luxury lodges targeting international and local hunting customers and other tourists. Klipspringer Lodge is a budget facility targeting local tourism and business visitors connected to the mining industry in the area.
A catering service is available for guests.
Camping and game drives are available to guests.

In 1998, the TSHIVHULA community embarked on a journey towards restitution of lost land - a process that has begun to yield results. To date, land in excess of 20,000 hectares has been restored to the people of Tshivhula, and is owned through a Communal Property Association. With the support of our partners, the transformation journey our people have embarked on will impact the socio-economic standing of the Tshivhula community and protect the natural resources.

A new bioprospecting industry in the northern province of Limpopo is emerging. Actors have focused on systematic modification of traditional uses of commonly available natural resources (such as Bulbine, Aloe Vera, the Marula fruit, bee products, and Mopani worms), for commercial or industrial value. Tshivhula will establish a bio-industrial facility located near the proposed Cultural Village to produce, trade and export indigenous products, such as medicines, industrial enzymes, food flavours, fragrances, cosmetics, colours, extracts and essential oils.  

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751 Hectares

Mpumalanga

Core Operations‍

• Cultivation and Harvesting
• Natural product manufacture
• Natural produce retail
  
  

Activities‍

Maize and soya bean cropping.
The community has vegetable gardens from which produce is sold to surrounding markets.

The land is owned by the Ukuthanda Ukukhanya  Communal Property Association (the CPA), representing 62 claimants and their families. Spanning 751 hectares, the land is largely grassland and carries livestock and crop farming lots that are currently outsourced to private farmers on a short term lease. It is also a wetland that provides a good habitat for creatures of different species and attracts a wide range of rare birds.

Current operations include vegetable gardens, maize and soya bean farming. The community have vegetable gardens from which produce is sold to surrounding markets. The CPA Cattle ranching has benefited from the UNDP grants programme and was able to purchase Nguni cattle.

The investment opportunities include:

• Poultry farming;
• Sustainable agriculture (maize, soya bean production & horticulture); and
• Eco-tourism (bird sanctuary).

Opportunities also exist for investment in their respective value chains. The sustainability of the biodiversity economy must be supported by investment in sustainable agriculture & eco-tourism.

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