Reflections

towards developing such an approach. Lesotho already has an institutional framework which integrates both culture and nature, however this in an exception not the rule in most countries. Such institutional framework facilitates an integrated approach however practice is not yet perfect. The Park authorities at Sehlabathebe are still putting in place mechanisms in place, such as the archaeological survey, that will allow them to effectively manage both the natural and cultural heritage.

Ezemvelo, on the other hand, does not benefit from a similar institutional framework and its core business is nature conservation, therefore, bias towards natural heritage management is understandable.

Achieving a more balanced approach will require the organisation to reconsider organisational histories and interests, as well as decision-making processes and the management instruments used to exercise authority. This can be extremely challenging, particularly if it is not clear what benefits such changes, might bring to the organisation and it might not be considered a priority, particularly when financial resources are limited.

Institutional change takes time, therefore, it is important to look for opportunities for moving towards a more integrated management approach. For instance, the revision of management plans offers such an opportunity. At present, as discussed in section 4.2, the visions, mission statements and management objectives included in planning documents (in both Lesotho and South Africa) put clear emphasis on biodiversity values compared to other important values of the property. Whilst the protection of biodiversity is fundamental, particularly given the current rates of biodiversity loss globally, it is important to remember that rock art is a finite and vulnerable resource. Thus, a more balanced consideration of all the values of property should be attempted when revising management plans and other management instruments. This is particularly important given the interconnections between the different values of the property as discussed in section 3. These different values do not exist in isolation from each other but are part of a complex ‘whole’ that is richer than the individual component parts.

Managing for that totality requires an understanding of how management actions defined with a particular set of values in mind, might have unintended consequences on other values.

The appointment of a cultural heritage specialist (or specialists) within Ezemvelo’s organizational structure should be seen as an opportunity to reinforce the organisation’s ability to ensure the sustainable and focused management of cultural heritage. This would enable the organisation to respond more effectively to calls for advice and help from Ezemvelo staff in the field with regard to general cultural heritage issues and concerns, and especially those relating to rock art. Although Amafa has enormously supported Ezemvelo’s work over the years, it has its own capacity challenges, given its limited staff and the increased focus on rock art in other parts of KwaZulu-Natal. Having in-house capacity on cultural heritage management would therefore enable Ezemvelo to not only respond more effectively to internal requests, but also engage more effectively with insights produced by external specialists, such as heritage scientists who have generated knowledge about the rock art through their own research - which would be beneficial for Ezemvelo to take into consideration into its own work – or wish to do so in the future.

5. ENGAGEMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND BENEFITS SHARING OF CONSERVATION

As mentioned in the introduction of this report, in order to support the hosting countries in their efforts towards the protection and conservation of the properties selected as case studies, IUCN and ICOMOS asked the responsible management authorities to identify a current challenge that they would be interested in exploring as part of the fieldwork. For Maloti-Drakensberg, the topic selected was the engagement of local communities and benefit sharing of conservation.

Towards this goal, field visits included several opportunities for the team to interact with representatives of local communities living within and around the World Heritage property, particularly during the first visit. Several meetings were arranged to provide the team with first-hand experiences of the successes and challenges of current community benefit projects. The community engagement approaches considered during the visits were: community financing model, community driven projects, and community capacity building initiatives. These approaches were also used to provide insights into the effectiveness of the daily interactions of the management authority with local communities.

Figure 5.1 – Group photo following meeting with representatives of local communities ãAron Mazel In this section of the report, we explore three concrete initiatives that directly (and indirectly) seek to strengthen the engagement of local communities and harness benefits for the protection of the property as well as generating economic benefits for communities. The first is the Community Levy Programme, an initiative introduced by Ezemvelo in 1998, which provides direct funding for community projects. The second is the Compact Replication Programme, based on the international project funded by the United Nations Foundation and the UNDP/Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme. The third one is the development of a Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the property aimed at promoting tourism as a means of fostering socio-economic development.

5.1. The Community Levy programme

administered through the Community Trust Fund. The amount charged varies from 1 ZAR and 5 ZAR from gate entry, camping and accommodation respectively. Depending on where the funds are generated, communities bordering those locations benefit by 90 per cent whereas communities further away benefit only 10 per cent. For example, communities bordering Royal Natal will benefit 90 per cent of the funds generated in that part of the property. Lesotho is currently in the process of establishing a community levy for its component of the World Heritage property.

Ezemvelo receives numerous requests from communities and, when faced with insufficient funds to meet all demands, it seeks support from other institutions through partnerships. The estimated expenditure to date is approximately 7,871,072 ZAR, excluding contributions from other partners.

During the visit, the team had the opportunity to visit the following projects:

a) Inqubeko Sewing Project

“Inqubeko”, meaning “progress” in Zulu, is a community driven project, operating from Municipal Ward 3 of the uKhahlamba Local Municipality in the uThukela District Municipality. The Management Authorities direct investment to the project is through the construction of sewing infrastructure (i.e.

warehouse) and purchase of sewing machinery, equipment and furniture to the value of R591 522.00.

Once fully operational, Inqubeko Sewing Project will provide supplies to local schools and institutions, as well as government establishments such as hospitals and correctional services The Department of Economic Development and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) provide training to build the capacity of individual project members for different skills, and involvement of these entities has been very valuable. Although the project was not fully operational at the time of our visit, based on the information we received from the project leaders, this appears to be a project that could potentially lead to a good return on investment.

b) Siyakhula Poultry Project

The word “siyakhula” means “we are growing” in Zulu. The Siyakhula Poultry Project is the program of a Ward 1 community, in KwaSani Local Municipality in the Harry Gwala District Municipality, an area characterized with high unemployment rates. One of the key objectives of this project was to encourage women, youth and unemployed men of the Mhlwazini community to create jobs through self-employment. The project consists of breeding one day old chicks until they reach a marketable stage and then selling them at a reasonable price to the kwa Pitela community and its nearby local traders.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife financed the infrastructure development for Siyakhula Poultry Project by constructing a fully equipped three room fowl run (3 rooms x 200 chicks in each room) and fencing of the site. The funding also provided fundamental equipment, such as 21 x 4L water fonts, 12 x chick feed trays, 21 x 10L water fonts, 4 x brooders(heaters), and 600 day old chicks, 12 x 50kg starter, 24 x 50kg finisher, 24 x 50kg post finisher, and 12 x 50 kg sawdust and vaccines to cater for operations. The total value of the project was R588 326.

Based on the information we gathered in our discussions with a representative of the community, the project is operational, however, it is facing some difficulties due to lack of sufficient involvement from certain community members. Chicks, equipment, feed and medication have been purchased and delivered, and the project beneficiaries have been trained on poultry breeding. The support, effort and energy invested by other government departments, such as Department of Agriculture, KwaSani Local Municipality and Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), which provided training to individual project members on different skills, added value to the project. This support also includes monitoring of progress and provision of business advice.

c) Langalibalele Art, Craft and Laundry

This project is located under Amahlubi Traditional Council under uThukela District Municipality. It is a functional centre, providing manufacturing of traditional art work and other crafts made of beads, as well as laundry services. Ezemvelo financed the building of the structure and installation of water and electricity for the washing machinery at a value of R1.9 million.

Figure 5.2 – Facilities of Langalibalele project, South Africa ã Letícia Leitao

In addition, Ezemvelo has committed tourism facilities in the uKhahlamba region to support the Langalibalele laundry by utilizing their services. Further support and energy invested by institutions such as Nedbank, which assisted with the purchasing of the required laundry supplies and start-up capital was evident during the visit. The Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) also supported the project with computers and mentorship for a start-up laundry business with the aim of improving its sustainability and growth by:

- Monitoring the progress of the business and providing relevant advice;

- Guiding the entrepreneur through the different stages of developing the business; and

- Transferring business experience and knowledge to accelerate the entrepreneur’s knowledge.

During our discussions with the women leading this project, we were informed that seven permanent staff (6 female and 1 male) are currently employed by the project. The business is also involved in a number of activities, such as school feeding schemes, where they have a contract with the Department of Education. The project has won a number of awards such as Igugulami Award in 2013 and the Mnyezane award for Women in Business, in 2014.

Observing the successes and challenges of some of the projects funded through the Community Levy Programme, an initiative introduced by Ezemvelo in 1998, it was apparent that the effectiveness of the community engagement approach depended both on the propensity of the organisation to work with communities on the one hand, and the community’s interest and ability to exploit given opportunities on the other.

Our overall impression from the discussions with different community groups was that the Community Levy Programme is highly appreciated. However, we noted a number of challenges. The first regards the ability to address demand. Ezemvelo receives more requests than it can fund, therefore for the moment the organization responds to those requests considered pressing and when resources are available. Thus, another challenge relates to the funding model, which for the moment seems to be based on an approach of ‘first come, first served’ rather than following a rigorous application process where projects are selected based on potential return on investment. That said, it was apparent that the success of some of the projects was sometimes dependent on the community members interest and ability to exploit given opportunities rather than the business potential of the projects themselves.

Furthermore, a more rigorous approach would require additional human resources from Ezemvelo’s part and the organization is already struggling to address the current workload that the Programme