CCA - The Phinda Story

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The Phinda Story

"Phinda was born out of a belief that the beauty of Maputaland was worth saving from the spiral of destruction into which it has been drawn. Its first target was to repair habitat damaged by almost a century of cattle farming, to return the wildlife which had once roamed the Maputaland plain, and to build luxury, world-class destinations for visitors without whom there would not be a viable plan. The second task was to reconnect the rural communities with the land by giving people the opportunity to participate at every level in sustainable conservation development by providing employment, training and the infrastructure for small business development."

Dave Varty, Founder of CC Africa, from "The Return - The Story of Phinda Game Reserve"

"In a single decade, the reserve on the Maputaland coastal plain had become a model of what could happen all over Africa. Once again nature had the upper hand."

Molly Buchanan author of "The Return"

BACKGROUND

The story of Phinda Private Game Reserve started almost a decade ago with the consolidation of over 17 000 hectares of prime game viewing land. The restoration fitted perfectly with CC Africa's objectives: consolidating degraded and undervalued land assets; rehabilitating and restocking the land; creating rural wealth and generating financial returns through ecotourism. The project initially involved the consolidation of 7 500 hectares of key farmland between the Mkuze Game Reserve and Sodwana State Forest Reserve, just north of Lake St Lucia. This land had been coveted by conservation bodies for incorporation within the planned Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, one of the most diverse wilderness areas in Africa. In 1991, a further 6 000 hectares was purchased by CC Africa for incorporation within Phinda, accompanied by one of the biggest game restocking exercises undertaken on private land in South Africa. Care was also taken for the landscape - for example, during the building of Phinda Forest Lodge in a rare sand forest, not a single tree was uprooted.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Protection of strategic conservation land: working towards the prospect of incorporating the Phinda area within a Greater St Lucia Reserve
Protection of ecological biodiversity: one of the most striking aspects of Phinda is its enormous range of niches for animals and plants to thrive
Ecological restoration: the ecological rehabilitation programme aimed to repair the damage caused by decades of inappropriate farming
Game restocking: over 1 500 head of game were introduced and the reserve now has the largest privately owned population of nyala in the world. Phinda was the site of the first adult elephant translocation from Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou Game Reserve. In 1994, a breeding herd of elephants was successfully translocated to Phinda from the Kruger National Park. The big cat population has also increased significantly at Phinda - the cheetah numbers have more than doubled since their reintroduction in 1991. In 1996, two Phinda cheetah were swapped with the Pilanesberg for two of their Namibian-translocated cheetah in an effort to further enhance the Phinda cat gene pool. A further 13 lions were relocated to other reserves to supplement the depleted lion stocks and introduce new genes

COMMUNITY PROJECTS

Phinda Community Development Trust Fund (PCDTF): Since its inception in 1990, the Africa Foundation's projects have raised close to R6 million through international and local grants for implementing programmes.

Mduku Clinic: The residential clinic at Mduku, in the Makhasa tribal area, offers a range of medical services, including a new six bed pre-natal facility. Projects such as AIDS counselling and the training of Peer Educators are ongoing.

Community Leaders Education Fund (CLEF): Bursaries of US$89,956 have been facilitated by the Africa Foundation for tertiary education. Successful candidates are expected to return to their communities. A further bursary scheme, specifically geared towards the hospitality industry, is presently being formulated.

School Classrooms: A total of 28 classrooms, three libraries and one laboratory have been constructed in the area. Phinda guests have donated in excess of 160 000 books to stock the libraries.

Pre-school Project: By 1995, six pre-schools had been built for 600 children. In 1997, there were ten pre-schools accommodating 1 200 children. A further two pre-schools were constructed. Providing toys and equipment is an ongoing project.

Training and Production Centres: There are currently two and a third centre is set for Mnqobokazi. Skills development and capacity building programmes will be offered at the above centres.

Global Education Fund Alliance: The Foundation is in the process of raising funds to equip schools in the region with satellite and video equipment. This forms part of an alliance with the Global Education Fund to convert curriculums into video format for long distance learning as an alternative teaching method in overcrowded schools.

Phinda Community Charcoal: In 1993, the Independent Development Trust Drought Relief programme funded a bushclearing project at Phinda - an intensive employment project producing timber and charcoal. The project's purpose was to harvest, process and recycle excess timber from the reserve for the mutual benefit of both the local communities and Phinda. Now, five local contractors head up teams of about ten people on average. Phinda Charcoal currently produces some 20 tons per month. In 1994, the Foundation received a grant from local petrol company, Engen, to expand Phinda Charcoal to a sustainable level. The production goal was 50 tons or 10 000 bags per month, creating employment and business opportunities for over 50 local people.

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