Southern Hwange saw the last white rhino in the early 2000s following a period of intense poaching. Imvelo’s Community Rhino Conservation Initiative (CRCI) was conceived to reintroduce rhinos to Hwange – with better protection this time and to support the communities living on the south-eastern edge of the park.

 

In a world-first, CRCI reintroduced rhinos onto communal land, to benefit the local people through employment, education, human-wildlife conflict alleviation and direct revenue.  CRCI piloted the project with the first rhino sanctuary at Ngamo in May 2022.  Since then, Thuza and Kusasa have been visited by guests from around the world as well as by local school children and community members. They are protected 24/7 by trained and armed Cobras Community Wildlife Protection scouts, recruited and employed from the local villages.

 

The sanctuary is on communal land adjacent to the park and, through high-tech fencing, it serves to protect villages from problematic wildlife overspilling from the park. Part of rhino viewing fees from tourists go to the communities for them to allocate to community development projects of their choice – a part of the revenue generated from tourism fees funds the local Ngamo Clinic and keeps it operational.

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The second sanctuary at Mlevu is expecting rhino in September 2024 with a third rhino sanctuary being established shortly thereafter. Eventually, a large protected area will consolidate the community sanctuaries into a conservancy that will also include Hwange National Park land, to create a large buffer zone between the park and communal lands. This will not only minimise human-wildlife conflict but also accommodate a viable population of free roaming white and black rhino, and other wildlife, that will provide community upliftment.

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Follow and contribute to the journey! Find out more  here