UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve: Practical conservation without compromise
Colchester Zoo has always cared passionately about the world's threatened species and created its charity, Action for the Wild, to assist important projects worldwide. It provides both financial and technical assistance, and aims to raise awareness among local people in community conservation programmes, as well as support conservation research.
In 2004, Action for the Wild established the 4,500 hectare UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, to create a conservation area exclusively for the research of African flora and fauna, and as a centre for environmental education. Following extensive measures to rehabilitate the habitat and recreate much of the regions former species assemblage, UmPhafa is now home to a wide range of fauna including white rhino, giraffe, kudu, impala, common reedbuck, mountain reedbuck, zebra, blesbok, red hartebeest, wildebeest, waterbuck, nyala, warthog, aardvark and porcupine - to name only some. Leopard and spotted hyena have more recently returned to the area naturally and small to medium sized carnivores such as black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, genet, and several species of mongoose are also common.
In line with UmPhafa’s underlying conservation principles, its management is not defined by outside influences. Without the reliance upon general tourism, wildlife can be maintained at natural equilibrium for the environment rather than artificial rates of ‘popular’ species. Infrastructure in the form of lodges and roads is unnecessary allowing the development of ‘wilderness areas’, and disturbance from human activity is minimal! UmPhafa’s strategy is less to do with the management of the wildlife, but more the rehabilitation of the habitat itself to facilitate the restoration of a natural balance.
With any good conservation initiative comes a strong education programme. UmPhafa works closely with the local community to deliver an education programme alongside its work on the reserve in order to promote the values of reserve and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.
Since 2010 UmPhafa has operated an internship programme to those with a passion for the natural world. Internships provide creditable work experience in the field and shadow qualified staff members on a wide range of aspects involved in the running of a reserve and the management of wildlife.