Delivering community benefits acts as insurance for the survival of small protected areas such as the Abe Bailey Nature Reserve, South Africa

Susan J Taylor,Doreen Atkinson

doi:10.4102/koedoe.v54i1.1043

Abstract

The Abe Bailey Nature Reserve (ABNR) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa is largely unknown and offers little to attract visitors. The biological integrity of the ABNR is challenged by the urban poverty in Khutsong, the reserve’s immediate neighbour. Relations between Khutsong and the nature reserve had been hostile for decades as a result of the ‘fortress’ style of conservation protection used for the ABNR. However, this situation provided the Gauteng Directorate of Nature Conservation with an opportunity to experiment with identifying and transferring benefits to the community, as well as establishing an effective buffer zone between the nature reserve and the informal settlements of Khutsong. Following an initial rapid rural appraisal and ongoing liaison through specifically appointed project managers, an outreach programme containing two natural resource-based projects was developed. As a result, better relations were established between the ABNR and its neighbouring community for the first time since the nature reserve was established in 1977. This acted as ‘insurance’ during violent public protests and vandalism in the Khutsong border demarcation dispute (2005–2007), but may not be enough to secure the nature reserve into the future. Conservation implications: Small protected areas may not be effective in ensuring their biological integrity in the long term, but working cooperatively with existing and future neighbours is an essential strategy to optimise conservation activities in small reserves such as the ABNR.

Highlights

Protected areas and sharing benefitsWhile the primary role of protected areas is the conservation of species diversity, biodiversity conservation, along with sustainable resource management, can and must result in material benefits to neighbouring communities
This paper is compiled from the personal experiences and notes of the primary author, who was one of the project initiators involved at a strategic level at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture Conservation and Environment (GDACE) from 1999 to 2006, as well as from two formal interviews held with the officer-in-charge at the ABNR in 2010 and 2011, and from interviews with two of the former project managers of this project, the late Madire Malepe and Dr Thato Shale
The rural appraisal (RRA) sessions probed general social and economic needs of the community, as well as how the community related to the ABNR, and sought to identify any ecological, spiritual or other needs that the nature reserve could provide, which would improve the working relationship between the community and the reserve

Summary

Introduction

Protected areas and sharing benefitsWhile the primary role of protected areas is the conservation of species diversity, biodiversity conservation, along with sustainable resource management, can and must result in material benefits to neighbouring communities. Conservation and poverty reduction need to be tackled together for best results and, as such, achieving local cooperation and support without jeopardising conservation goals has become a top priority for most parks around the world (Adams et al 2004; Wittmayer & Büscher 2010). This predicts an ongoing battle between the need to keep protected areas intact and the needs and impact of the people outside these areas. There is considerable complexity in ensuring that this happens in practice

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