In the wildlife industry there many factors we must consider if we want to be successful. Running a wildlife farm takes a certain kind of expertise, but there are also factors critical to success that are external to the day-to-day running of the farm. In the world beyond the farm there are certain foundational principles which, I believe, everyone from individual farmers to the industry at large (and government), should be made aware of. These are necessary in order to be able to formulate and implement correct strategies for the future so that we can ensure a sustainable and prosperous industry – one that will not only contribute to our economy, but will also play a major role in transforming it in multiple ways.

We are living in times of unprecedented change, occurring at a pace not seen in recorded history. Embracing this change is not a choice – it is a responsibility. It is also an opportunity for us to re-imagine a sustainable, inclusive world, where man, plant and beast exist in harmony. This is after all the essence of our foundational values. It will not require of us to abandon tradition and core values, but it will require us to challenge conventional wisdom and imagine possibilities that we would ordinarily believe were beyond reach. Sometimes, to do this, we must first look at the past.

A Brief History of the Wildlife Industry in South Africa

As the famous saying goes, “we will not know where we are going until we know where we come from.” In that spirit, let’s have a brief look at South Africa’s wildlife conservation journey through the lens of a few major historical events and legislative developments.

As far back as 1898, Paul Kruger, then president of the Boer Transvaal Republic, proclaimed the establishment of the Sabie Game Reserve, situated between the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers. This was in response to the drastic depletion of game on the Lowveld. Shortly after, he also proclaimed the establishment of the Shingwedzi Game Reserve between the Shingwedzi and Luvuvhu Rivers.

By 1926, all 70 farms in between the two reserves had been purchased and thus came into being the legendary, majestic Kruger National Park – a national park established in the face of intense pressure from the livestock and mining industries as well as from private landowners and hunters. While a national park sustained almost entirely by tourism might be quite common today, it was a positively revolutionary model at the time.

Fast forward to 1976, and the declaration of the National Parks Act served to further entrench the commitment to conservation of our wildlife and its natural habitat.

In more recent times, the Game Theft Act of 1991 served to secure and protect private game owners’ rights to the animals on their farms. In particular, it sought to protect against theft, unlawful hunting and taking into possession of game. It also provided for related matters including sanctions for such offences.

The legislative framework nurtured and cultivated a love for nature and allowed for South Africa and South Africans to be among the international pioneers of nature conservation, and wildlife conservation in particular. That said, the focus was somewhat narrow in that it did not sufficiently address environmental degradation outside of nature conservation in the context of nature reserves, either public or private. It also completely failed to consider the intersection between social inequality, economic development, and environmental conservation.

Enter NEMA, the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998.  At the dawn of the era of constitutional democracy in South Africa, the first democratic administration sought to address these shortcomings with NEMA. This is the statutory framework intended to promote co-operative governance and ensure that the rights of people are upheld, while at the same time recognizing the importance of economic development and preserving our environment. The preamble of NEMA is instructive in its vision for sustainable development.

Two principles can be distilled from NEMA. First, that we cannot separate economic development and improvement of the lives of the less fortunate in our society from environmental conservation. To do so would be to cause further harm to our environment and to further increase the inequalities prevalent in our society. Secondly, sustainable   economic   development   requires   a   long-term, all-encompassing approach, taking into account socio-economic realities and the need to uplift our people economically in a manner that protects and conserves our natural habitat and resources.

These are aims that are espoused in our Constitution, and specifically, in the Bill of Rights. They are noble aims, by any measure, and while noble aims are often synonymous with idealism not rooted in reality, I believe that these aims are not only noble, but of vital necessity. If we do not adopt an approach that embraces these principles in our long-term strategic thinking, we will simply run out of road at some point in the future. This could happen much sooner than we imagine and will have catastrophic social, economic, political and environmental consequences.

The wildlife industry, which falls under the ambit of NEMA is uniquely poised to turn these noble aims and objectives into a reality. For this reason, we must ask ourselves as a people, as industry leaders and as government, a question of singular importance: Have we lived up to these noble aims and objectives? Regrettably, we must acknowledge that the answer is an emphatic NO.

We have made progress in parts of our industry in recent years. Much success has been reported regarding the growth of the breeding and the hunting industries, and especially the trophy-hunting industry. However, we have failed to achieve inclusive economic development, while growing and building our industry.

There can be no sustainable growth and development in an industry without inclusivity. There can be no sustainable environmental conservation without inclusivity, and there can be no viable economy either, without inclusivity. Socio-economic sustainability is synonymous with economic transformation and the inclusion of all the people of South Africa.

It is time for us to start working in accordance with principles which will allow us to achieve these vital, honourable aims.

The Major Foundational Principles

If we take a deep look at the development of the wildlife industry in South Africa, we must accept that our growth and development has not been socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. This is because, for the most part, it has left the majority of the South African people – and black people in particular – out of that economic value chain. As leaders in the wildlife industry, we need to recognize this fact and do something about it by starting to deliver on the aims and objectives enshrined in our constitution.

The vexing question, sometimes asked aloud and sometimes quietly, but always with no small amount of frustration is: How?

I cannot say that I have a quick, easy answer for you. It will require all of us – all stakeholders – to challenge conventional wisdom in order to overcome the obstacles we face today. Challenging conventional wisdom is pivotal for success in this industry.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

If I were in your shoes, I would be sceptical when I hear talk about “challenging conventional wisdom.” This is understandable because it is an oft repeated and, ironically, overused mantra. In recent times, it has become the vogue to try to adopt an unorthodox approach to business, or whatever field a person may be in. One of the buzzwords very much abused is the word “disruption.” It seems that attempting to “disrupt” has in many instances become an end in itself, as opposed to the means to an end it ought to be. It often, callously and dismissively, calls for the destruction or dismantling of traditional systems and structures without much appreciation for – or understanding of – those systems and structures, simply for the sake of “disruption.” This is NOT what I am suggesting we do.

As mentioned earlier, we must accept that we have fallen short of achieving inclusive, sustainable growth and development in our industry. I believe the reason for this lies in our approach. From the advent of the democratic dispensation, the approach to economic transformation has largely been to re-allocate wealth and opportunity, for no value, from white people to black people. Looked at this way, transformation does not serve any discernible business imperative. It is a charitable contribution at best or a grudge obligation at worst. This also makes it difficult to imagine or conceptualize economic transformation as an opportunity instead of a liability.

Opportunity vs Liability

Due to our history, the current socio-economic fault-line happens to be along racial lines. However, to frame the economic transformation debate solely along these lines is false and misleading. The fact of the matter remains, irrespective of the race of the economically marginalized in this country, that the vast majority of our population is economically marginalized, or not sufficiently economically active. What this means is that we are being inefficient in utilizing our greatest available resource – our people.

Once we start viewing economic transformation as an opportunity instead of a liability, we will no longer view our overwhelmingly young, overwhelmingly poor population as a source of cheap labour. Instead we will see that they are a potential, burgeoning middle class of consumers, or that they are potentially skilled staff through whom we can expand and grow our businesses. We will start seeing the development of a broad base of black people willing and able to invest in industries such as ours, either directly or through financial instruments. We will have rural communities invested in the growth and development of their areas of residence as opposed to being forced to join the great worldwide urban migration, only to end up as a source of cheap labour, living in the squalor of urban sprawl. In short, if approached correctly, meeting the challenge of economic transformation will make real long-term business sense.

To adopt an insular approach may seem safe and comforting in the short term, but it is also inherently limiting and requires a defensive posture which is difficult to maintain in the long run. In other words, it is not sustainable.

An Example of Seizing Opportunity – KZN Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry in KZN is a good example of markets being opened to positive effect. Most holidaymakers and beach goers in Durban Central and even further north up the coast are predominantly people of colour. The idea of a beach holiday was, not very long ago, a foreign concept in black communities. Actively catering to the black community hugely boosted the market. Changes in staffing at the different establishments has also allowed for tailored offerings to the new clientele, thus further enhancing the appeal of the product. The large, local tourism industry has spawned a plethora of black owned and managed eateries, as well as other businesses further up the supply chain. This is a wonderful example of how seizing the opportunity to meet the challenge of economic transformation can make real, long-term business sense.

Seizing Opportunity in the Wildlife Industry – Wildlife Economy Lab

The government has launched the ambitious Wildlife Economy Lab Initiative which allows for more pieces of land to become available for conservation while simultaneously making it accessible to previously disadvantaged communities. It also seeks to create designated biodiversity nodes around which a wildlife economy value chain will be nurtured that will essentially make the land and people economically active. It will provide the opportunity for skills development and training, as well as for the capacity increase of SMMEs and farmers. This provides space for the kind of sustainable economic transformation that I am referring to.

Partnering with Local Communities

In attempting to identify opportunities for sustainable economic development, we should look outside the farm, but not too far. We need to revisit the way we engage with our local communities. Traditionally, local communities were simply a source of cheap labour for farms. There is no economic value or legacy wealth creation for the labourers in this model. It goes without saying that this is unsustainable.

We need to work towards building skills and capacity among the communities so that they will have what is necessary to run and manage farming operations. We need to develop local black businesses so that they are able to supply goods and services needed by farms.

We also need to look at developing light industrial and manufacturing operations from the raw materials obtained through game farming. This can be a way to use the resources extracted from the industry more efficiently, and a way to create jobs in areas which sorely need them.

The Local Black Tourist

Enjoying and appreciating the bushveld or the wild as a leisure activity has largely been viewed as the preserve of the white community, until now. But they are not the only group who enjoy this kind of activity. Recently, affluent people of colour have become regular patrons of bush experience holidays. There are also the international tourists coming out to South Africa for a “safari.”

A largely untapped market is the black urban middle class.  I think that a significant opportunity exists to build a lasting connection between consumers in this category and the bushveld. Many middle class black South Africans live within reasonable driving distance of game reserves. This means that it would be easier for them to take a game reserve holiday than a coastal one.

This group should be targeted as a growth area. It will become a sustainable, year-long income stream for the wildlife industry and presents a huge growth opportunity.

The Local Black Investor

Currently, funding for agricultural projects or operations is derived largely from two sources: the capital of the farmers themselves, or financing from the large banks. But this needn’t be the case. The wildlife industry in its many aspects can be highly profitable. If we add the development of formalized supply chains in the biodiversity nodes, the opportunities are multifaceted. This may well attract direct investment from black investors either through crowdfunding or SMME establishment. It may also take the form of equity partnerships with farmers or local communities. There is also the possibility of developing financial instruments facilitating investment into wildlife farming and other ancillary industries which target the middle-class passive investor. This will, by default, attract a large portion of black investors.

Inclusivity

We need to challenge conventional wisdom because we cannot talk about the growth and development of the wildlife industry without talking about inclusivity. Any strategy developed without inclusivity front and centre is doomed to fail. Growth must be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and, to achieve this, we need to view transformation as an opportunity, not a liability. Remember, embracing change is not a choice – it’s a responsibility. I am ready to accept this responsibility and I hope we will all choose to move forward and seize this opportunity to build a bright future for our country.