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History of Coutada 9 » The Way Back (2009 - 2019)

In 2009, due to circumstances and the need for greater investment into the area the shareholdings in Rio Save Safaris changed again, to the current status quo. The current shareholders of Rio Save Safaris are AVM Consultores (20%), Mokore Wildlife Investments (36,24%), Western Safaris (34,67%) and Gajogo Safarilands (9,09%). It was agreed, that to better implement the management of the core area each company/shareholder shall be responsible for the operating and development of a block of land within the core area proportional to their shareholding in Rio Save Safaris. These responsibilities include the running of anti-poaching efforts, development of water resources, roads and other required infrastructure. While having the right to sustainably utilize the wildlife resources on their respective blocks, controlled by a government issued quota.

It is since 2009 that the majority of development and investment in Coutada 9 has occurred. Previous development had been restricted to the South East of the core area, Mokore Wildlife Investment’s management block, where the largest remnant wildlife populations were to be found. This was limited to a meagre road network, an operations Head Quarters comprising a workshop and staff accommodation and several boreholes that pumped water into nearby natural pans. Anti-poaching efforts had also been concentrated in this area where the majority of wildlife occurred. Now with each shareholder company responsible for their own block, development and anti-poaching efforts would be wider spread throughout the core area.

Their combined efforts can be briefly summarized as follows. Three Anti-poaching units have been established and the poaching in the area has been significantly reduced. Over seven thousand gin traps and more than a hundred home-made muzzle loaders have been confiscated and destroyed, nearly a thousand poachers, over two thousand miners and gold panners and over a hundred loggers apprehended and handed over to the local government officials for prosecution. The requirements of the zoning agreement have been upheld by Rio Save Safaris and the local communities have received their percentage share of the trophy fee income every year, amounting to over US$250 000 in total. Rio Save Safaris has also built a clinic, school and equipped a borehole at the site chosen for the ‘historical” villagers within the core area to re-locate. Rio Save Safaris has also assisted all these “historical” villagers in moving to the new village or place of their choice, all people that remain in the coutada’s core area now, are deemed illegal having moved into the core area post 2005 and the agreement being signed.

Four safari camps and three operation bases have been established, this includes workshops, storage facilities, staff accommodation, vehicles, tools and various other equipment required.  Over 1500 km’s of roads have been opened and are maintained yearly, two airstrips have also been cleared, established and maintained. For the provision of water, thirteen dams have been built and numerous natural pans have been deepened and their catchments improved to increase their water holding capabilities also twenty-five boreholes have been drilled and equipped, troughs built and pipes laid. Wildlife bomas and paddocks have been established to facilitate re-introduction projects. These were; 10 lion in 2009, 146 waterbuck in 2013, 50 buffalo in 2015 and 200 buffalo in 2017. All of these projects have been successful in their objective of re-establishing sustainable populations of the respective species back into the coutada as well as being pioneering. The wildlife in the core area has significantly increased, especially in the herbivore species. Predators are slowly making a comeback, lion with the boost from re-introduction are the most numerous but jackal and both spotted and brown hyena have returned to the area on their own accord. 

Table 1. Population estimates for select species within Coutada 9, calculated from Arial survey and actual observations in the field. Note Buffalo, lion and waterbuck had animals introduced to boost the population.

The Coutada, finally is headed on its way to recovery, with plains game populations rapidly increasing and Buffalo, Lion and Elephant numbers slowly improving the operators are able to once again offer fantastic safaris in one of Africa’s most stunning wildernesses, even if only a limited number. However, as the wildlife numbers have built up the efficiency of poaching has also increased, the same number of traps now catch more animals in a shorter time, requiring more frequent scouting being necessary and reducing the effective area able to be covered by the anti-poaching units. There is still much work to be done, to complete the rehabilitation of Coutada 9. Development has been restricted to the areas surrounding the operational bases and this now needs to be expanded throughout the Core Conservation Area and even into the Community Conservation Area. The development and the achievements have come with large financial costs (over five million US dollars), funded almost entirely by the shareholders of Rio Save Safaris. The blue print has been proved successful, the challenge now will be to extend it to the rest of Coutada 9, while protecting the gains that have been made. This will significantly add to the resources and funds required, to meet this challenge assistance will be needed.