 BirdLife South Africa
Mkhuze River, North East Zululand: A popular place for Pel's Fishing-owl
Zoom In |
Zululand Birding Route celebrates ten years
25-03-2007
One of Africa’s most established and celebrated ecotourism initiatives, the Zululand Birding Route (ZBR), celebrated its 10th anniversary this weekend.
“It has been a real conservation success story. To see the Zululand Birding Route reach 10 years is testament to how simple and effective the avitourism [birding ecotourism] concept has been in this case,” said Duncan Pritchard, BirdLife South Africa Avitourism Division Manager. “There have been winners all round: local economies, jobs, education and, of course, the birds.” [1]
Celebrations for the anniversary took place over three days and included guided tours of the Birding Route, a film festival, Bird Fair and a Forest Birders Camp.
The ZBR initiative has received appraisal globally for combining economic benefits to local communities (through “birder-friendly” establishments and local bird guides) with environmental benefits relating to habitat protection and bird conservation. The ZBR, along with the established Greater Limpopo Birding Route, are worth an estimated ZAR 50 million (USD 6.8million) per year in direct economic value to the South African region.
 BirdLife South Africa
St Lucia is one of the main stops on the Zululand Birding Route
Zoom In |
"To see the Zululand Birding Route reach 10 years is testament to how simple and effective the avitourism concept has been in this case.” —Duncan Pritchard, BirdLife South Africa
Conservationists have pointed out that many of the 70 top ‘birding sites’ on the ZBR have been saved by this economic incentive toward conserving sites important for birds and biodiversity.
“Our conservation efforts have certainly been strengthened by this investment. Importantly we’ve also seen an overall increase in bird appreciation from tourists and local communities themselves – this is a crucial ingredient in saving species from extinction.” commented Pritchard.
The initiative has been pioneered by BirdLife South Africa, who have provided training to local bird guides across Birding Routes, and marketed to tourists via BirdLife Travel, a specialist travel agency set up by BirdLife South Africa to plan itineraries that take in Important Bird Areas. [2,3]
“Our continued support for the Birding Route concept is founded on an appreciation that this approach demonstrates an effective integration of biodiversity conservation into sustainable development initiatives that are adaptable to a variety of locations and contexts,” said Jonathan Stacey, Rio Tinto-BirdLife International Programme Manager.
The project’s success is the result of a wide variety of stakeholder support, including corporates such as Rio Tinto and its local business, Richards Bay Minerals, as well as local government structures such as Uthungulu District Municipality.
“The ZBR is the product of partnership,” said Stacey. “Those many organisations who have supported its development can feel confident that, as it continues into the future, a working link has been created between such supporters and those communities that ultimately will uphold the conservation of birds and their habitats.”
For further details visit www.zbr.co.za or BirdLife South Africa, www.birdlife.org.za
For more information on the Zululand Birding Route, see this month’s World Birdwatch Feature, BirdLife South Africa is growing routes.
Further details:
Jules Howard, Communications Officer, BirdLife International. Tel: +44 (0)1223 279809; Mobile: +44 (0)7971069098; email: jules.howard@birdlife.org
Notes:
[1] BirdLife South Africa is the country partner of BirdLife International, a global alliance of conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries who, together, are the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting them.
[2] BirdLife’s Important Bird Areas (IBA) Programme works to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world's birds and other biodiversity. BirdLife Partners take responsibility for the IBA Programme nationally. The programme has proved a powerful way to build national institutional capacity and to set an effective conservation agenda for BirdLife Partner countries.
[3] As well as spurring growth of birding routes across South Africa, the success of the Zululand model is becoming a model for other countries globally. As IBAs continue to be identified in many countries, birding routes look to become one of the key tools in linking site conservation efforts to positive outcomes for livelihoods, people and economies.