Birds bring in the bucks in KZN

TOURISM linked to bird watching has provided an alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal.

Its viability has also been recognised as a worthwhile source of income in industrialised Richard’s Bay, according to Duncan Pritchard, Rio Tinto’s programme director of the Zululand Birding Route. Pritchard said 20 guides on the birding routes in northern KwaZulu-Natal had earned around N$450 000 in the past two years.”For a rural community where people have no money and there is the incentive to chop down forests to harvest ‘muti’ to sell in Durban, this is a significant impact.”On the other end of the economic spectrum, land at Richard’s Bay, around the Thulasihleka Pan, that is attractive for development, 18 months ago was zoned as a conservation amenity area by the Umhlatuze Municipality.It is now managed by Bird Life SA.”This was a big thing for an industrial-minded municipality,” said Pritchard.Meanwhile, the Zululand Bird Route project has proved itself as a role model for other projects in avi-tourism, as birding tourism is called.- Nampa-SapaPritchard said 20 guides on the birding routes in northern KwaZulu-Natal had earned around N$450 000 in the past two years.”For a rural community where people have no money and there is the incentive to chop down forests to harvest ‘muti’ to sell in Durban, this is a significant impact.”On the other end of the economic spectrum, land at Richard’s Bay, around the Thulasihleka Pan, that is attractive for development, 18 months ago was zoned as a conservation amenity area by the Umhlatuze Municipality.It is now managed by Bird Life SA.”This was a big thing for an industrial-minded municipality,” said Pritchard.Meanwhile, the Zululand Bird Route project has proved itself as a role model for other projects in avi-tourism, as birding tourism is called.- Nampa-Sapa