WEBVTT 00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:12.400 Looking at those shots it's really hard to believe 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.900 that this currently thriving area in 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:18.900 South Africa was once dedicated to cattle and 00:00:18.900 --> 00:00:21.400 pineapple farms, with almost no biodiversity 00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:23.500 and wildlife. 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:28.500 Phinda was established in collaboration with the local Zulu tribal 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:31.000 community to rehabilitate the 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:34.600 ecosystem, allowing for the return of the wildlife that 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:37.700 had once flourished in this area. Phinda 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:40.200 is local Zulu word for 'return'. Animals were 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.700 brought in from other regions of southern Africa to 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:46.100 establish new populations in the conservancy. 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:50.500 There is a lot of doom-and-gloom stories 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:53.900 about biodiversity. However, this story 00:00:53.900 --> 00:00:56.300 is a hopeful one. Phinda is 00:00:56.300 --> 00:00:59.700 a modern success conservation story, so stick 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:02.100 around to learn how they managed to do it. 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:06.300 I think the key to the success for Phinda is 00:01:06.300 --> 00:01:09.200 the fact that they've used this ecotourism 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.300 model to benefit not 00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:15.500 only the reserve itself, but also the 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:17.800 locals communities surrounding them. 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:23.600 A lot of work goes into managing 30,000 hectares: 00:01:23.600 --> 00:01:26.500 making sure that animals are healthy, 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:29.600 that they are reproducing, but not inbreeding, that 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:32.400 herbivores do not overgraze the land, that 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.300 territorial animals have enough space and do 00:01:35.300 --> 00:01:38.400 not compete between each other, that invasive species of 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.600 plants are under control, that the areas will be 00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:44.400 protected by anti-poaching units and that 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.200 is all while still running lodges and operating tourism 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:50.700 and voluntourism in the area that brings 00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:53.300 much needed funding towards conservation. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.500 With the data collected here by our volunteers that 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:00.100 go out every day with one of our Ecological Monitors, the 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:03.500 data feeds live into our data systems, 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:06.600 which we can then analyse. This helps 00:02:06.600 --> 00:02:08.200 us to make our management decisions. 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.700 Animal populations in Phinda are thriving 00:02:12.700 --> 00:02:15.500 from an initial population of just 30 white 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:18.500 rhinos, Phinda now has one of the largest white 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:21.700 rhino populations in Africa and 00:02:21.700 --> 00:02:24.100 have been relocating and repopulating rhinos 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:27.500 to other reserves and countries due to 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:29.200 their success at protecting them. 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:34.000 This is also facilitated what we call 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.300 Rhinos Without Borders, so where our white 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.200 rhinos have been translocated to Botswana to start 00:02:40.200 --> 00:02:43.700 at the founding population there. Phinda is the first private game 00:02:43.700 --> 00:02:46.700 reserve ever to be a part of the Black Rhino 00:02:46.700 --> 00:02:49.300 Range Expansion Project. So this is a project 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:51.000 together with WWF. 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:56.500 The cheetah population here has grown so successfully that 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:59.200 some individuals were relocated to other 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:02.700 parts of southern Africa to establish healthy cheetah 00:03:02.700 --> 00:03:03.400 populations there. 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.200 Cheetah alone, Phinda and the MunYaWana 00:03:07.200 --> 00:03:11.700 is currently seen as one of the most important cheetah meta 00:03:11.700 --> 00:03:13.500 populations throughout southern Africa. 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:19.200 Phinda has been chosen as a release site for 00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:22.500 pangolins that have been confiscated from poachers and 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.700 saved from the illegal wildlife trade. The 00:03:25.700 --> 00:03:28.700 pangolin is arguably the most trafficked animal 00:03:28.700 --> 00:03:31.100 on earth leading to their disappearance in 00:03:31.100 --> 00:03:32.100 the world. 00:03:33.600 --> 00:03:36.400 So pangolins were reintroduced here in June 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.500 2019, before that pangolins have 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:42.600 been completely extinct from the reserve. Over 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:45.500 time, these animals have now established home 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.300 ranges, territories, and thankfully have even 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:51.100 had pups. It is also an educational ground - 00:03:51.100 --> 00:03:54.600 numerous researches occur here 00:03:54.600 --> 00:03:57.200 every year. A lot 00:03:57.200 --> 00:04:00.400 of data has been collected and that has resulted 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.600 in numerous PhDs, Master's projects, also 00:04:03.600 --> 00:04:06.700 suitable protocols being out there on what's 00:04:06.700 --> 00:04:09.900 the right way for soft-releasing lions 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:12.500 into new areas. I have been here 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.100 a few weeks volunteering with African Conservation Experience and 00:04:15.100 --> 00:04:18.600 participating on all the daily tasks needed 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:21.500 for animal management and conservation like monitoring, 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:24.100 data collection, updating ID 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:27.800 profiles of animals, tracking using 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:30.500 some of the most modern technologies, trying to 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:33.100 understand. So what is the reason 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:36.200 of this overwhelming conservation success? Is 00:04:36.200 --> 00:04:39.600 it the modern technology and their 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:42.700 ability to use camera traps, telemetry, satellites, 00:04:42.700 --> 00:04:45.800 drones, acoustic sensors, a variety of 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:47.900 apps for data collection and analysis? 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:52.600 This project is neat because our cameras are actually tools and what 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:55.900 we're doing is collecting data that's going to help us identify these 00:04:55.900 --> 00:04:58.200 individuals in the wild at a later date. 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:02.800 Is it their ability to utilise conservation tourism and 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.300 voluntourism to fund these projects? Around 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:08.500 the world, many protected areas are 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:11.200 underfunded. Allowing visitors to 00:05:11.200 --> 00:05:14.800 observe exciting and important conservation tasks provides additional 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:17.900 source of funding for necessary 00:05:17.900 --> 00:05:20.700 management activities, such as ecosystem monitoring, 00:05:20.700 --> 00:05:23.600 anti-poaching patrols, invasive species 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.200 eradication, and environmental educational programmes. 00:05:29.900 --> 00:05:32.700 Tourism potentially has a big role to 00:05:32.700 --> 00:05:35.100 play in education when it comes to conservation. One 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:38.600 of the best things is there's 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.400 so many people that care and that's just really lovely 00:05:41.400 --> 00:05:44.300 to see. Just spreading the word of, like, the sort of work that's done 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:47.600 here, trying to get more funding and letting people 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.400 know how important this is to preserve, is really important. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.700 When people connect with nature during their travels, when 00:05:56.700 --> 00:05:59.200 they see first-hand how hard it is 00:05:59.200 --> 00:06:02.300 to protect our nature and what goes into it, it can lead 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:05.400 them into being more appreciative and become 00:06:05.400 --> 00:06:07.600 more invested in protecting it. 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.400 I think the fact we don't know what we're gonna see or discover 00:06:11.400 --> 00:06:14.100 each day... it's very exciting, like every day I've done so far has been 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:17.800 really different. And I've had a really unique experience seeing 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.200 loads of animals that are endangered. So 00:06:20.200 --> 00:06:22.200 I'd say I'm pretty lucky. 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:27.800 Of course, it is all of the above and more. This project truly 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:30.600 exists due to the exceptional management and 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.300 the work of numerous passionate people that spend 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:36.300 hours and days in the bush, making sure that the 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.600 area is thriving while educating tourists and 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.800 visitors, and conducting research that helps other 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.500 organisations and reserves to obtain 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:46.700 this success as well. 00:06:50.900 --> 00:06:53.400 We mainly focus on movement data and being 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:56.200 able to correlate all of that and expand it over a few 00:06:56.200 --> 00:06:59.200 years, and see the movement of different species, how they react 00:06:59.200 --> 00:07:02.300 to different weather conditions and habitats and different influences 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:05.200 like that. Seeing their movement data, how long it's taken them 00:07:05.200 --> 00:07:08.100 to settle in this reserve, will be useful for other reserves 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:09.900 who want to do the same thing. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.100 Your time and your effort 00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:15.400 really help with things like, hands-on things, if we 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:18.100 need help lifting something or moving things, photos 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:21.100 for ID kits, like lots of 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.400 different small contributions that add up to larger contributions. 00:07:26.700 --> 00:07:29.400 I hope that this success story got you 00:07:29.400 --> 00:07:32.500 inspired and serves as a hopeful reminder. 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:35.800 When people start seeing the benefit of having tourism 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:38.100 in the area, they are more inclined 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:41.400 to wanting to keep the area wild and they also 00:07:41.400 --> 00:07:44.300 support these new ventures that are 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:45.100 being undertaken. 00:07:47.900 --> 00:07:50.500 We want to use tourism to expand, 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:53.400 you know, conservation areas and, not just 00:07:53.400 --> 00:07:56.100 expand but to ensure that it sustains itself.