Somkhanda is the first community-owned land

MEDIA STATEMENT
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM ON 1
November 2007.
ELEVEN (11) BLACK RHINOS RELEASED ONTO KZN COMMUNITY OWNED GAME
RESERVE TO BOOST COMMUNITY’S TOURISM ECONOMY

History was made today when black rhinos were released onto Somkhanda Game Reserve in
northern KwaZulu-Natal. Somkhanda is the first community-owned land to become a partner in the WWF/ Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. A total of eleven (11) black rhinos will be released.
Somkhanda Game Reserve is owned by the Gumbi community which successfully claimed five
commercial game farms under the Land Restitution process. Rather than turn the whole area into settlement and farming, the community leaders decided to zone their land for economic
sustainability. The zones include areas for conservation, development and commercial cattle
farming.
"Empowering black communities to become stakeholders is a priority in conservation, and
Somkhanda is an example where it is really starting to happen", said WWF’s Dr Jacques Flamand, leader of the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project.
iNkosi Zebelon Gumbi, head of the Gumbi royal family, explains: "When the land was gone, there
were no opportunities. Now there are opportunities. There is work in security protecting animals
from poachers. And there is work at the lodges. We have set aside some land for farming and
settlement, and some for development projects which will boost the Gumbi economy. We are
asking our people to think like businesspeople. We are living in modern times. It is not just building a place and relying on cattle any more. Now we ask people to work and get money."
But conservation always involves the heart as well as the head. Nathi Gumbi, Director of
Somkhanda Game Reserve, says: "When the Gumbis were moved from their land, we had no
choice. But thank God the white people who took our land also loved it. So our land is still beautiful.
Now we have the land back and we shall also love it and look after it as our ancestors loved it."
The way the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project works is that the founder population of black
rhino - the 11 that are being released now - belong to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. When the population grows, then ownership of the offspring is shared 50/50 between the Gumbi community and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
"But the reality is that these animals belong to all of us - to KwaZulu-Natal, to South Africa, to
Africa, to our children and our children’s children," said Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, who attended the release. "They are our
heritage, our responsibility, our privilege. The Gumbi leadership has shown the courage and
foresight to accept that opportunity and that responsibility and we salute you for that. It may not always be easy. There will be challenges and setbacks. It will be hard work. But it will be worth it.

As the first community to become partners in this important project, you are pioneering a way that we hope many others will follow", the Deputy Minister added.
The black rhino is still critically endangered, although numbers have increased to about 3700, from a low point of around 2500 in the 1990s. The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project supports ongoing protection of existing populations, but also aims to increase land available for black rhino conservation, thus reducing pressure on existing reserves and providing new territory in which the animals can rapidly increase in number. This is done by forming strategic partnerships with landowners within the historic range of the black rhino. The first three partner sites were Mun-ya- wana Game Reserve, Zululand Rhino Reserve and Pongola Game Reserve.
Partnerships, both with private and communal landowners, are essential for the future of
conservation, said Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife CEO Khulani Mkhize. "For conservation to grow and
thrive in our beautiful country, with all its opportunities and challenges, local communities must
become significant stakeholders with a real interest in ensuring the future of conservation. This is an example of that principle in action, and we are proud and excited to be part of it," he said.
The Black Rhino Range Expansion Project is a partnership between WWF and Ezemvelo KZN
Wildlife and is supported by the Mazda Wildlife Fund.
The media is invited to attend and interview the Deputy Minister. For more information, please
contact:
Moses Rannditsheni
Media Liaison Officer for the Deputy Minister
Dept of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Tel No. 012-310 3898/9
Mobile 082 448 2450
Email MRannditsheni@deat.gov.za
Website www.deat.gov.za
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM ON 1
November 2007.