GREAT KEI KUBUSI WILDERNESS PROJECT -

Conservation in South Africa

Through a shared sense of conservation and a need to readdress the imbalances of our current eco-system in Africa, damaged by human impact and the presence of non-indigenous vegetation, several land owners have come together to create the Great Kei Kubusi Wilderness project. Covering 14000 hectares of land which range in usage from farmland to game reserves, their joint aim is to conserve and regain the natural eco-system of this area of South Africa.

Remote, extremely rugged and completely undeveloped, the Kei Kubusi wilderness area encompasses the enormous Great Kei River and Kubusi canyons. Grasslands, sheer cliffs, valley bushveld and riverine subtropical forests were once home to the globes second most diverse eco-system after the Amazon basin. A collective voice, from the cattle and sheep farm owners to those with buffalo, rhino, giraffe and wildebeest is singular in their desire, through the active participation of volunteers, to grow and conserve this threatened African treasure.

This project is spearheaded by zoologist and conservationist Dennis Taylor (Diploma in Agricultural Management and a BSc, Botany & Zoology; FGASA (Field Guiding) Level 3 SKS (DA) (Special Knowledge and skills with dangerous animals), 15 years conservation management experience).

The project is suitable for interns and specific objectives for research and studies can be predefined prior to arrival of students. All volunteers are welcome, so long as you have a strong desire to learn, contribute and want to have a positive impact on a long term conservation strategy.

Kei Kubusi Mission Statement
“As conservationists, our aim is the protection and preservation of biodiversity of the Great Kei Kubusi Wilderness Area. Through environmental awareness, education and a unanimity of thought on man’s spiritual, scientific, conservational and recreational needs, we aim to bring inspiration to each and every like minded person on the wilderness area, irrespective of the length of stay, and for these individuals to continue to help attain this objective, each in his own sphere, through their influence over others the best they can.”

The project is based on the confluence of the Kei and Kubusi Rivers, 60km inland of the Wild Coast of South Africa. The area is in the Beaufort series of rock formation, and is cut through by deep valleys in a sand stone base with dolerite intrusions. It is home to 3 of the Big 5: leopard, rhino and buffalo. Twenty antelope species and 99 identified mammals have been recorded. A breeding colony of Cape Griffon vultures is found on the Kei cliffs and the raptor population includes fish eagles, martial, crowned, long crested and black eagles with a further 220 identified bird species. The rich floral kingdom is host to several thousand plant and grass species as the grassland biome merges with subtropical valley bushveld.

Conservation Project Highlights
Raptor rehabilitation centre for release
Small mammal rehabilitation for release
Wilderness camp
Informed, fun environmental and cultural interactions– including canoeing, hiking, fishing, visits to traditional healers, shebeens (rural bars), bush sleep outs, game drives, photography outings and excursions to sites of high interest.

Key Focal Conservation Areas
Fauna – from large to small, including the bird world
Flora – grasslands, riverine forest and valley bushveld
Heritage – the living Xhosa culture, the lost world of the San whose rock art abounds in the crags and caves of the area and an insight into anthropology from experts in the field.

The following tasks and activities help us develop our work in the focal areas. All conservation volunteers will actively participate in several of the tasks with the specific daily activities defined by the greater environmental plan, season, group size and profile.

Fauna:
Mammal monitoring: Assessing the condition of animals, their population dynamics and the impact on their group from predators. Monitoring the occurrence and identification of rare species like servals, aardvark and honey badgers is also a part of this ongoing initiative that will move through the entire area over the course of a year.

Raptor monitoring:
Vultures: volunteers will set up base near the breeding colony and complete adult and juvenile counts as well as monitoring the breeding pairs. Photography is a part of the recording process. An ongoing project as the information collected will indicate changes in the vultures environment; their coverage of large areas mean that they are good indicators of environmental health on a macro scale.
Eagles: Ongoing data collection of the occurrence of eagles, their identification and observance of nesting sites

Fresh water fish:
Reintroduce endemic fish species to the Kubusi waterway

General maintanance of fences and enclosures, rehabilitation centre and the animals and birds residing there.

Flora:
Biome mapping: through the guidance and knowledge of project leaders, volunteers will help to identify and map different plant communities. This task helps on a larger scale to inform management systems of the carrying capacities for both domesticated animals and wildlife.

Alien plant control: ring barking of alien vegetation ensures their demise in our indigenous systems, supporting the conservation of indigenous African trees, whilst the wood can be used for fuel; systematic weed control will also be completed with fixed point photography as a recording progress.

Erosion Control: volunteers will identify sites which need to be rehabilitated and will help to do so; fixed point photography records progress.

Geological mapping: Assessment and identification of geological formations of the area. This also assists with our general knowledge of the carrying capacities of our land.

Plant community and tree identification: volunteers help to identify and locate tree and plant species and collect specimens. To collection of data is through the preservation of these specimens, pressing and collating the data. This task is a good indicator of state of the general environment.

Indigenous tree nursery: collecting of seeds and slips, planting and propagating the trees to create an indigenous tree nursery. These trees can then eventually be used to rehabilitate eroded land sites.

Weather Station: Recording and logging relevant information on an ongoing basis. This helps us to continually assess and research the effects of global warming on our environment and develop strategies for change.

Heritage & Anthropology
Community Interactions: staff and volunteers in Kubusi are linked to the local rural farm school where they encourage environmental education and facilitate environmental outings as well as taking part in more everyday activities like arts and sport.


The project has a long term (10 year) target that is regularly broken down into smaller units with a specific weekly focus, area of interest, educational component, outing and fun activity but a great degree of flexibility is essential and volunteers will deal with current issues on each conservation placement, which may be changeable from the foreseen weekly plan.

The Great Kei Kubusi Wilderness area is a corporate member of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Field Guides Association of South Africa. It therefore adheres to the guidelines and principles of these organizations.

Why volunteer in conservation in Africa?
South Africa, for all its beauty and potential, is a complex country with innumerable social and political challenges. Conservation in Africa is too often sidelined for other necessary priorities. Custodianship of our land and its responsible usage has to therefore, in many circumstances, be taken on by individuals. Dennis Taylor and VA32, have embraced this challenge in the formidable Great Kei Kubusi eco-footprint of South Africa. However, the attainment of our conservation goals can only be achieved through ongoing support from the international volunteering community who provide the necessary enthusiasm, human resources and capital backing to encourage rehabilitation and sustainability.

Volunteer Profile
All VA32 placements are subject to a minimum age of 18 years. Tasks and working conditions will vary widely in this project. The project tasks are designed to be appropriate for a range of fitness groups; the VA32 team will work together with volunteers to ensure that they are assigned to appropriate tasks and activities.
Much of the time volunteers will be working outside and are therefore exposed to the elements; sunburn, cold and rain can all be part of the weather pattern of a single day. Volunteers will not be expected to do any high risk tasks and appropriate safety briefings will be given prior to all activities.
A keen interest in conservation and wildlife in Africa, and a willingness to get stuck into a wide range of tasks and projects is essential.

2010 Rates
2 Weeks: 11,778 ZAR
4 Weeks: 22,342 ZAR (additional weeks at 5,178 ZAR)