In September 2016 Bergplaas Nature Reserve became a member of Indalo, a group of eleven leading private nature reserves/game reserves in the Eastern Cape that are committed to socially and environmentally responsible practices through the biodiversity stewardship programme of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Association (ECPTA).
Indalo was formed in 2002 after the Wilderness Foundation facilitated a series of meetings between the owners and general managers of key reserves in the Eastern Cape, and formalised the association, with a constitution and membership criteria. The Wilderness Foundation contributes a secretariat and advisory function for Indalo today.
The reserves include: Shamwari, Kwandwe, Amakhala, Lalibela, Pumba, Sibuya, Kariega, Oceana, Bergplaas, Hopewell Private Game Reserve and Hopewell Conservation Estate. The reserves collectively cover over 100 000 hectares, ranging from wetlands to sub-tropical thicket, fynbos and Karoo escarpment grasslands. A biodiversity assessment had been done on all the reserves, which include several critical biodiversity areas.
All the reserves are committed to achieving formal protected environment or nature reserve status through the ECPTA, and are in the process being proclaimed. Bergplaas is already a proclaimed nature reserve. Once all the reserves are proclaimed (hopefully by April 2017) Indalo will act as the management authority for all its members.
"The aim of Indalo is for likeminded reserves to discuss conservation and social issues, learn from each other and agree on standards and processes that advance Indalo's reputation as a socially conscious wildlife group that sets the standard in responsible conservation tourism and commitment to advancing our rural communities," says Dr John O'Brien, the Chairperson of Indalo and the Group Ecologist for the Shamwari Group. He has a Master's degree in terrestrial ecology and a PhD in integrated predator ecology.
"The Indalo members run their businesses separately but collaborate to market Indalo and the Eastern Cape as a magnificent, malaria-free wildlife destination. The more that Indalo and the Eastern Cape is recognised for this, the better for all of us."
Indalo reserves are non-hunting, and focus on photographic safaris, for which many tourists have a preference. Indalo has completed a conservation plan for all the member reserves, and it will be developing a responsible tourism model for conservation.
Since 2004 Indalo has commissioned four socio-economic reports undertaken by leading researchers at two Eastern Cape universities, namely the Centre for African Conservation Ecology at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, and the Department of Economics and Economic History at Rhodes University. A key focus of the reports is the employment and career advancement opportunities that member reserves contribute to their communities and to the Eastern Cape province.
The reports concur that as a land-use, eco-tourism-based game farming, as practised by the Indalo members, is an economically and ecologically desirable alternative to other land uses in their region, including mohair and dairy farming. It generates more income per unit area, and creates more jobs that are better paid.
Through the preferential recruitment and training of local people, social upliftment and poverty alleviation is achieved by raising literacy and numeracy levels, and providing skills to previously unskilled individuals. Private nature/game reserves also benefit the regional tourism sector by diversifying the tourism product in the Eastern Cape, thereby encouraging tourists from the Garden Route to stay in the area longer, to the benefit of the local economy.
"Landowners in South Africa have a very important role to play in the upliftment of the rural areas, the provinces where they are situated and ultimately the national economy," says Dr O'Brien. Indalo reserves focus on job advancement, environmental education and skills development programmes.
"One of the biggest problems in South Africa is rural unemployment. Collectively our reserves employ thousands of people, most are from the communities in our areas, and we offer skills advancement for our staff, including qualifications with the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa (FGASA). All Indalo reserves are members of FGASA."
Bergplaas has focused on environmental skills development for the past ten years through its unique Spirit of the Wild Programme and through the internships and training it provides to students from the School of Natural Resource Management at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), the South African College for Tourism and the Tracker Academy.
Bergplaas' Spirit of the Wild Programme is endorse by FGASA as a Specialist Training Provider and Certificate Programme.
The diverse range of participants includes: