With standards set to minimise the impact on the land, &Beyond works to balance conservation with benefits to community in partnership with organisations having like minded goals By Kahini Chakraborty
Positioned as an attractive destination for families, as well as incentive groups, &Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge has its focus on the higher end of the luxury travel market. For the property, the focus has primarily revolved around the management of biodiversity with each species given equal importance. A great deal of the research is driven by their land management philosophy, which links tourism with solid conservation principles. Joss Kent, CEO, &Beyond highlights, “&Beyond works with our community development partner, Africa Foundation, an independent, tax-exempt non-profit organisation, in the communities surrounding Phinda. The projects that the Africa Foundation supports are based on two simple principles – they are grounded in community participation and are driven by local leadership.” Elaborating on some of the key projects that the company supports in the communities surrounding &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, he mentions, that the closest village to the northern border, Makhasa village (also known as Mduku), had no access to basic healthcare other than via a mobile clinic that would circulate once every two weeks. The nearest hospital was over 100 kilometres away. Identifying a solution for sustainable healthcare was a critical initiative between the reserve and Africa Foundation, with the Mduku Clinic established in 1994 to serve a community of 12,000 people, while the Khulani Special School was founded in 1998 to cater to physically and mentally disabled children. Initially established in the shade of a tree, &Beyond and Africa Foundation partnered with Nkomo School to build the school’s first classroom. Every year since, &Beyond Phinda has assisted in developing each new building phase at the school. Nkomo now caters to more than 900 students, attended to by 21 teachers.
Africa Foundation’s Community Business Linkage Programme (CBLP) runs in the communities that surround &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve. Its aim is to turn subsistence farmers into sustainable commercial farms – increasing their ability to generate an income and creating jobs in the process. “In 2007, in a pioneering move for land distribution in South Africa, &Beyond and the leaders of the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities, which surround the reserve, signed a mutually beneficial deal resulting in the restoration of 9,085 hectares (22,460 acres) of wilderness land within Phinda to those communities, its ancestral owners. In terms of this deal, &Beyond secured a commitment from the community to keep the land under wildlife rather than return it to farming. In this way, both the communities and conservation benefit. This pioneering land claim settlement has also proved that, when communities surrounding conservation areas experience the benefits of responsible tourism (in this case as landlords), they support the conservation and biodiversity of reserves for the benefit of future generations,” informs Kent, adding that, working together with the neighbouring communities who help fund the training through their community development fund, &Beyond Phinda provides on-the-job training for 14 local youngsters every six months. Employed in areas that include housekeeping, the laundry room, the lodges’ kitchens and bar, as well as the maintenance teams, the trainees are assessed every two months and receive a formal graduation certificate at the end of the six months. “Approximately 70 per cent of the trainees are employed as full-time staff by the end of their training period, while others leave having gained invaluable skills that make it far easier for them to obtain other employment in the area,” he says.
Partners in conservation
The Rhinos Without Borders project is a partnership between &Beyond and Great Plains Conservation, and, as such, is not limited to &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve. “However, as one of South Africa’s most important white rhino reserves, Phinda has played a significant role as the source of rhino stock to be moved to Botswana. In addition, the reserve has contributed significant resources in the form of highly skilled and professional staff, many of whom have extensive experience in wildlife translocation and have played a vital part in the safe movement of the rhino from South Africa to Botswana,” he adds.
Home to one of the largest rhino populations in the world, Phinda implements careful management practices that have allowed it to increase its rhino numbers to the extent where it has been able to donate rhino for translocation. Research is carried out on ways to maintain a favourable habitat and maximise the breeding rate of rhinos. “The Munyawana Conservation Fund, which is funded through &Beyond and a number of non-governmental organisations, rewards neighbouring communities for information leading to the prevention of poaching and the arrest of those involved. Working closely with the surrounding community, Phinda has been able to successfully limit incidents of rhino poaching and maintain one of the lowest poaching rates in the country,” Kent mentions.
On the measures undertaken by the reserve to keep a check on the number of wildlife habitat, Kent points out, “&Beyond subscribes to strict land management techniques to ensure that the wildlife areas that we influence remain sustainable. The reserve has a dedicated wildlife and habitat management team that consists of 24 people. The company also has a close working relationship with a number of government conservation bodies. For example, at &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, we work together with the KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife Department, South African National Parks and other bodies. Just one example of a project where we receive huge support from the government is our highly successful alien plant control project, which also contributes to job creation in the surrounding communities.”
Kent continues stating that one of the greatest effects of climate change is increased bush encroachment, further stating that, “With more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the bush grows faster and thicker. This needs to be managed in order to maintain the optimum environment for game, as well as to keep the bush open enough for game viewing. Fire is one of the tools that is used in the management strategy, with all learning and best practices shared with other conservation bodies and game reserves. The changing climate has also made &Beyond Phinda prone to prolonged periods of drought, interspersed with short but heavy rainfall. This has necessitated the implementation of a water conservation programme, as well as more stringent management of the risk of fire.”
Adventure and wildlife tourism is a constantly growing sector in Africa, and Kent concludes, saying, “We strive to provide the best possible guest experience in the face of all challenges, including climate change. For e.g. the company is investing in more energy efficient buildings with each lodge refurbishment. We are also placing a growing focus on issues such as rain water harvesting and other sustainability measures.”
The USP of &Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge
- Ideal for families – specialised children’s programme
- Seven habitats allow for much greater diversity in species and landscapes
- Combine sea and safari activities from the reserve
- Big Five safari destination
- Wildlife includes cheetah, black rhino and nyala
- Variety of adventures available
- Track black rhino on foot
- 23 000 hectare (56 800 acre) private game reserve with limited number of vehicles
- Late afternoon / evening drives continue after nightfall, allowing a glimpse into the lives of nocturnal predators
- Sensitive off-roading practices allow close-up game sightings
- Walking safaris and bush walks provide a close-up view of the African bush.