The Department of
Environmental Affairs and stakeholder within the environmental sector are
identifying 10 million hectares of suitable land for previously disadvantaged
individuals and communities to participate as owners of sustainable
wildlife-based business ventures.
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| Support programmes such as infrastructural development will be facilitated to ensure sustainable businesses. Source: Wikiwand |
“Support programmes such as infrastructural development
(game fence, ecotourism facilities etc), game donation/loaning, skills
development and training, access to markets and funding will be facilitated to
ensure sustainable businesses,” the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs,Barbara Thomson, says.
She says that the environmental sector is ideally placed to increase the ownership percentage of black women, youth and communities in the country’s economy.
The Deputy Minister was addressing the launch of the Mayibuye
Game Reserve Wildlife Economy Pilot Project in the Umkhambathini Local Municipality.
“To give you some perspective of the enormous potential of
the South African wildlife sector, I have been informed that the sector
currently employs approximately 100 000 people across the value chain,” Deputy
Minister Thomson explains.
The sector’s value chain is centred on game and wildlife
farming/ranching activities that relate to the stocking, trading, breeding and
hunting of game, and all the services and goods required to support this value
chain.
The key drivers of this value chain include domestic
hunters, international hunters and a growing retail market demand for wildlife
products.
“It is believed that the domestic hunting market was
approximately R6.4 billion, while the international hunting market was
approximately R1.4 billion in 2013. In addition to hunting, game farmers can
generate income from the sale of game meat, wildlife products and live game,”
she adds.
The retail and export game meat market was estimated at R230
million in 2013.
The sector also has little domestic and international market
multiplier effect and the job creation characteristics of the tourism industry,
making it a sector with large economic transformation potential.
“Unfortunately, the structural inequalities characterising
our economy has placed several barriers, including insufficient access,
ownership and inefficient utilisation of land and lack of infrastructure
development support for entrepreneurs on black South Africans.
“In particular, the high capital costs for acquiring land,
fencing and game species are major barriers to entry and transformation.
Overcoming these barriers to entry or challenges requires coordinated efforts
from the government, private sector and communities,” she says.
Mayibuye Game Reserve received R10 million funding from the
Department of Environmental Affairs.
Deputy Minister Thomson says the game reserve has made
significant progress since the R10 million funding, as a 35-kilometre wildlife
fence has been erected, a gate house and offices are being built, two houses
have been refurbished, 15 field rangers have been trained and employed while a
commercial “Business for Good” site has been refurbished and wildlife
introductions (zebra and wildebeest) have been initiated.
“In terms of employment, 76 temporary Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP) jobs have been created through erection of
the fence. This has unlocked a further R100 million private investment for the
development of the eco-estate.”
The local community, the Ximba people, were awarded a land
restitution claim in terms of a settlement agreement in April 2007.
The Mayibuye
Community Trust formed by the community entered into a 99-year lease with
the developer and the strategic development partner, whereby the land would be
developed into a game reserve with a component of residential property,
commercial sites and hotels.
Source: SA news
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