Big gains from big game

Rhinos graze at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary's protected 43-square kilometer facility. The sanctuary is managed and operated by local community councils representing four villages.

Diamonds have fueled Botswana's rapid development since the 1970s, but eco-tourism is emerging as a growth industry that can help diversify the country's economy and ensure continued prosperity in the 21st century. The nation of 1.7 million citizens welcomed more than 1.1 international visitors in 2003, and the tourism industry created hundreds of new jobs while generating US $348 million in foreign exchange earnings.

ADF is helping community-based organizations across Botswana tap into the country's expanding eco-tourism market by helping them acquire the resources, facilities and training they need to deliver world-class service to international customers. The Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust (KRST) is a community-based organization near the town of Serowe that brings together low-income residents from three rural villages to conserve endangered game species and deliver eco-tourism services to travelers. It has received an ADF grant of US $227,720 to improve and expand its facilities.

Map of Botswana showing the Khama sanctuary's location relative to major urban centers and tourist destinations in southern Africa.

KRST's animal sanctuary encompasses 43 square kilometers and is home to 30 rhinos and hundreds of other wild game and bird species. It is also situated in a prime location - at the midway point between Gaborone and Johannesburg and the vast national parks of northern Botswana that are a major destination for international safari tours. The goal of the project is to build facilities that will attract the attention of travelers and booking agencies and make KRST an ideal stopover for game enthusiasts.ADF funds will help KRST:

Build two new overnight chalets for guests;

Construct a 50-seat restaurant facility;

Acquire high-quality furniture and other amenities for its hotel and restaurant operations; and

Train KRST members in hotel and restaurant management.

It is expected that these enhancements will help KRST further expand its customer base, which has grown 15 percent per year over the past five years.

KRST serves a diverse client base that includes mobile safari operators based in South Africa, families on holiday travel and school tours from South Africa and Botswana (see graph).

About 70 percent of KRST's visitors come from South Africa. Citizens and residents of Botswana (13 percent), visitors from overseas (12 percent) and visitors from Namibia and Zimbabwe (4 percent) make up the remainder.

The magnet that attracts these groups to the sanctuary is KRST's growing rhinoceros colony. The site is currently home to 29 white rhinos and one black rhino, which comprise one-third of Botswana's total national herd.

KRST was established at the height of southern Africa's devastating drought of 1991-92, when the national herd was decimated by a shortage of open water sources in the wild and by poaching in Botswana's national parks. At that time, the sanctuary was entrusted with five of Botswana's nine remaining white rhinos. Over the past decade, the sanctuary's rhino population has grown via natural reproduction and through additional donations of animals captured in rural Botswana or purchased internationally. In 2004, the trust plans to expand its herd by acquiring several highly endangered black rhinos from donors in Zimbabwe.

The Trust's long dedication to preserving southern Africa's natural heritage is now yielding strong income-generating opportunities for the low-income Batswana who make up the trust's membership, and ADF's grant will help KRST expand its profit margin by enhancing its capacity to sell higher-priced overnight accommodation and dining services. Whereas day visitors to the site usually pay less than US $10 per visitor, KRST can earn more than US $75 per person for chalet rentals and $25 per person for meal services. The annual number of chalet guests has more than doubled since in the past four years, from 963 in 1999 to 2255, and demand for overnight bookings from safari operators is greater than the number of available beds.

KRST's expansion will allow the trust to hire and train eight new full-time employees from KRST's member villages, and the construction of the restaurant will provide local farmers, whose main source of income is small stock raising and dry-land cultivation, with opportunities to sell fresh meat and vegetables to the sanctuary. Local households will also benefit from opportunities to generate income through the development and sale of hand-crafted curios.

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