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_Management
Practices
For the past eleven
years, management policy has been to utilize all the reserve's
natural resources on a sustainable basis and to maintain and, if
possible, increase the wide diversity of fauna and flora which
occur naturally. Currently sufficient funds must be generated to
ensure the survival of the Reserve and its biodiversity. In
order to achieve these objectives, activities have been
classified into four broad divisions.
Veld Management
Very simply this entails the protection of the soils and
vegetation to ensure that they are not degraded or eroded and
that they will continue to provide sufficient food and shelter
for all the diverse forms of life in the Reserve. Activities
associated with this are;
Controlled burning
Veld monitoring/Vegetation surveys
Prevention of bush encroachment
Prevention of and combating soil erosion
Removal of alien vegetation
Research projects
Mammal Population Management
The mammal populations, especially herbivores, and to a lesser
extent carnivores, must be maintained at levels which ensure
that available food, water and land resources are not over
utilised. This is achieved by;
Population monitoring on foot and in vehicles
Annual helicopter game count
Age and sex surveys on foot and in vehicle
Provision of water supplies
Population reduction mainly through live capture*
Research projects
Reserve Maintenance
All infrastructure, equipment and machinery require regular
maintenance to ensure that the objectives of the Reserve are
achieved. This includes the protection of the Reserve and its
wildlife from external pressures. The main tasks include the
maintenance of;
Camps
Water supplies
Fences
Roads
Firebreaks
Vehicle and equipment
And also including;
Anti-poaching patrols
Removal of snares
Firefighting
Monitoring of human activity
Repair of flood damage
Generation of income
In order to carry out these activities, sufficient funding
must be generated from the Reserve on a sustainable basis. The
Reserve is completely self financed. The main sources of income
are;
Tourism
Education
Research
Utilisation of all surplus, renewable and natural
resources
Volunteers have opportunities to become involved in all
activities. The actual involvement will depend on seasonal
factors and the priorities of management during the period of
the volunteers stay. Every effort will be made to give
volunteers as much hands on experience as possible.
Comprehensive briefings and instructions will be given to
volunteers before they embark on any activity.
*Game Capture
It is essential to maintain the correct carrying capacity of
large mammals on the reserve and due to natural population
increases it is essential to relocate live animals to other
reserve to maintain the correct balance. Every July a reputable
game capture team comes to Mankwe and volunteers will get the
unique opportunity to be involved in the capture process which
often involves hands on experience with species such as giraffe,
zebra, blesbok and kudu. |
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Mankwe Wildlife
Reserve
P.O. Box 20784
Protea Park
0305
South Africa
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