15 - Safari hunting and conservation on communal land in southern Africa

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Safari hunting, sometimes called tourist hunting, is a form of land use that is capable of generating exceedingly high market value for wildlife resources. Well-established trade practices exist worldwide for marketing hunts to maximize the economic value of wildlife, and to satisfy tourist demand for hunting adventures and trophy quality animals. Revenues from these sales account for over US$500 million annually worldwide, and in South Africa alone, annual revenues exceed US$50 million (Van der Walt 2002). The direct revenue to the government of Tanzania from safari hunting exceeds US$10 million annually (E. Severre pers. com.).

On private land, tourist hunting has become a major factor for wildlife recovery and reintroduction in many parts of the world. Examples of these successes are in the tens of thousands and have unequivocally proven to be an important economic engine for conservation. In South Africa, for example, over 9000 private game ranches occupy 10 364 km² (Bothma 2002), and have contributed to the recovery of blesbok (Damaliscus albifrons), white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) and the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) (Flack 2002). Today, South Africa has more wildlife than it has had in the past 100 years (Bothma 2002). It is estimated that game ranches in South Africa contain 1.7 million large mammals on 13.3% of the land formerly designated for agriculture, but subsequently converted to private game ranches (Eloff 2002).