0:00:09.600,0:00:12.400 Looking at those shots[br]it's really hard to believe 0:00:12.400,0:00:15.900 that this currently thriving area in 0:00:15.900,0:00:18.900 South Africa was once [br]dedicated to cattle and 0:00:18.900,0:00:23.500 pineapple farms, with almost [br]no biodiversity and wildlife. 0:00:25.200,0:00:28.500 Phinda was established in collaboration [br]with the local Zulu tribal 0:00:28.500,0:00:31.600 community to rehabilitate the ecosystem, 0:00:31.600,0:00:34.600 allowing for the return[br]of the wildlife that 0:00:34.600,0:00:36.760 had once flourished in this area. 0:00:36.760,0:00:40.200 Phinda is local Zulu word for 'return'. 0:00:40.200,0:00:43.610 Animals were brought in from[br]other regions of southern Africa to 0:00:43.610,0:00:46.100 establish new populations[br]in the conservancy. 0:00:47.100,0:00:52.480 There is a lot of doom-and-gloom stories[br]about biodiversity. 0:00:52.480,0:00:55.511 However, this story is a hopeful one. 0:00:55.511,0:00:59.010 Phinda is a modern success[br]conservation story 0:00:59.010,0:01:02.300 so stick around around to learn[br]how they managed to do it. 0:01:03.700,0:01:08.099 I think the key to success for[br]Phinda is the fact that 0:01:08.099,0:01:14.715 they've used this ecotourism model[br]to benefit not only the reserve itself 0:01:14.715,0:01:17.800 but also the local communities[br]surrounding them. 0:01:20.500,0:01:24.626 A lot of work goes into[br]managing 30,000 hectares: 0:01:24.626,0:01:26.790 making sure that animals are healthy, 0:01:26.790,0:01:29.435 that they are reproducing,[br]but not inbreeding, 0:01:29.435,0:01:32.400 that herbivores do not[br]overgraze the land, 0:01:32.400,0:01:35.420 that territorial animals have[br]enough space and do not 0:01:35.420,0:01:38.260 compete between each other,[br]that invasive species 0:01:38.260,0:01:42.310 of plants are under control,[br]that the areas will be protected 0:01:42.310,0:01:45.593 by anti-poaching units,[br]and that is all while still 0:01:45.593,0:01:50.148 running lodges and operating tourism[br]and voluntourism in the area 0:01:50.148,0:01:53.300 that brings much needed funding[br]towards conservation. 0:01:54.400,0:01:57.300 With the data collected here[br]by our volunteers 0:01:57.300,0:02:00.100 that go out every day with one of our[br]Ecological Monitors 0:02:00.100,0:02:03.500 that data feeds live[br]into our data systems, 0:02:03.500,0:02:05.724 which we can then analyse. 0:02:05.724,0:02:08.200 This helps us to make[br]our management decisions. 0:02:09.800,0:02:12.700 Animal populations in Phinda are thriving 0:02:12.700,0:02:16.150 from an initial population[br]of just 30 white rhinos, 0:02:16.150,0:02:21.368 Phinda now has one of the largest[br]white rhino populations in Africa 0:02:21.368,0:02:24.948 and have been relocating[br]and repopulating rhinos 0:02:24.948,0:02:29.440 to other reserves and countries,[br]due to their success at protecting them. 0:02:31.300,0:02:35.920 This is also facilitated what we call[br]Rhinos Without Borders, 0:02:35.920,0:02:39.710 so where our white rhinos[br]have been translocated to Botswana 0:02:39.710,0:02:44.200 to start at the founding population there.[br]Phinda is the first private game reserve 0:02:44.200,0:02:48.470 ever to be a part of the[br]Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, 0:02:48.470,0:02:51.000 so this is a project together with WWF. 0:02:53.500,0:02:56.500 The cheetah population here[br]has grown so successfully 0:02:56.500,0:03:00.760 that some individuals were relocated to[br]other parts of southern Africa 0:03:00.760,0:03:03.400 to establish healthy[br]cheetah populations there. 0:03:04.500,0:03:07.200 Cheetah alone, Phinda and the MunYaWana 0:03:07.200,0:03:11.700 is currently seen as one of the most important cheetah meta 0:03:11.700,0:03:13.500 populations throughout southern Africa. 0:03:16.500,0:03:19.200 Phinda has been chosen as a release site for 0:03:19.200,0:03:22.500 pangolins that have been confiscated from poachers and 0:03:22.500,0:03:25.700 saved from the illegal wildlife trade. The 0:03:25.700,0:03:28.700 pangolin is arguably the most trafficked animal 0:03:28.700,0:03:31.100 on earth leading to their disappearance in 0:03:31.100,0:03:32.100 the world. 0:03:33.600,0:03:36.400 So pangolins were reintroduced here in June 0:03:36.400,0:03:39.500 2019, before that pangolins have 0:03:39.500,0:03:42.600 been completely extinct from the reserve. Over 0:03:42.600,0:03:45.500 time, these animals have now established home 0:03:45.500,0:03:48.300 ranges, territories, and thankfully have even 0:03:48.300,0:03:51.100 had pups. It is also an educational ground - 0:03:51.100,0:03:54.600 numerous researches occur here 0:03:54.600,0:03:57.200 every year. A lot 0:03:57.200,0:04:00.400 of data has been collected and that has resulted 0:04:00.400,0:04:03.600 in numerous PhDs, Master's projects, also 0:04:03.600,0:04:06.700 suitable protocols being out there on what's 0:04:06.700,0:04:09.900 the right way for soft-releasing lions 0:04:09.900,0:04:12.500 into new areas. I have been here 0:04:12.500,0:04:15.100 a few weeks volunteering with African Conservation Experience and 0:04:15.100,0:04:18.600 participating on all the daily tasks needed 0:04:18.600,0:04:21.500 for animal management and conservation like monitoring, 0:04:21.500,0:04:24.100 data collection, updating ID 0:04:24.100,0:04:27.800 profiles of animals, tracking using 0:04:27.800,0:04:30.500 some of the most modern technologies, trying to 0:04:30.500,0:04:33.100 understand. So what is the reason 0:04:33.600,0:04:36.200 of this overwhelming conservation success? Is 0:04:36.200,0:04:39.600 it the modern technology and their 0:04:39.600,0:04:42.700 ability to use camera traps, telemetry, satellites, 0:04:42.700,0:04:45.800 drones, acoustic sensors, a variety of 0:04:45.800,0:04:47.900 apps for data collection and analysis? 0:04:49.100,0:04:52.600 This project is neat because our cameras are actually tools and what 0:04:52.600,0:04:55.900 we're doing is collecting data that's going to help us identify these 0:04:55.900,0:04:58.200 individuals in the wild at a later date. 0:04:59.800,0:05:02.800 Is it their ability to utilise conservation tourism and 0:05:02.800,0:05:05.300 voluntourism to fund these projects? Around 0:05:05.300,0:05:08.500 the world, many protected areas are 0:05:08.500,0:05:11.200 underfunded. Allowing visitors to 0:05:11.200,0:05:14.800 observe exciting and important conservation tasks provides additional 0:05:14.800,0:05:17.900 source of funding for necessary 0:05:17.900,0:05:20.700 management activities, such as ecosystem monitoring, 0:05:20.700,0:05:23.600 anti-poaching patrols, invasive species 0:05:23.600,0:05:27.200 eradication, and environmental educational programmes. 0:05:29.900,0:05:32.700 Tourism potentially has a big role to 0:05:32.700,0:05:35.100 play in education when it comes to conservation. One 0:05:35.100,0:05:38.600 of the best things is there's 0:05:38.600,0:05:41.400 so many people that care and that's just really lovely 0:05:41.400,0:05:44.300 to see. Just spreading the word of, like, the sort of work that's done 0:05:44.300,0:05:47.600 here, trying to get more funding and letting people 0:05:47.600,0:05:50.400 know how important this is to preserve, is really important. 0:05:53.500,0:05:56.700 When people connect with nature during their travels, when 0:05:56.700,0:05:59.200 they see first-hand how hard it is 0:05:59.200,0:06:02.300 to protect our nature and what goes into it, it can lead 0:06:02.300,0:06:05.400 them into being more appreciative and become 0:06:05.400,0:06:07.600 more invested in protecting it. 0:06:08.500,0:06:11.400 I think the fact we don't know what we're gonna see or discover 0:06:11.400,0:06:14.100 each day... it's very exciting, like every day I've done so far has been 0:06:14.100,0:06:17.800 really different. And I've had a really unique experience seeing 0:06:17.800,0:06:20.200 loads of animals that are endangered. So 0:06:20.200,0:06:22.200 I'd say I'm pretty lucky. 0:06:24.200,0:06:27.800 Of course, it is all of the above and more. This project truly 0:06:27.800,0:06:30.600 exists due to the exceptional management and 0:06:30.600,0:06:33.300 the work of numerous passionate people that spend 0:06:33.300,0:06:36.300 hours and days in the bush, making sure that the 0:06:36.300,0:06:39.600 area is thriving while educating tourists and 0:06:39.600,0:06:42.800 visitors, and conducting research that helps other 0:06:42.800,0:06:45.500 organisations and reserves to obtain 0:06:45.500,0:06:46.700 this success as well. 0:06:50.900,0:06:53.400 We mainly focus on movement data and being 0:06:53.400,0:06:56.200 able to correlate all of that and expand it over a few 0:06:56.200,0:06:59.200 years, and see the movement of different species, how they react 0:06:59.200,0:07:02.300 to different weather conditions and habitats and different influences 0:07:02.300,0:07:05.200 like that. Seeing their movement data, how long it's taken them 0:07:05.200,0:07:08.100 to settle in this reserve, will be useful for other reserves 0:07:08.100,0:07:09.900 who want to do the same thing. 0:07:10.800,0:07:12.100 Your time and your effort 0:07:12.900,0:07:15.400 really help with things like, hands-on things, if we 0:07:15.400,0:07:18.100 need help lifting something or moving things, photos 0:07:18.100,0:07:21.100 for ID kits, like lots of 0:07:21.100,0:07:25.400 different small contributions that add up to larger contributions. 0:07:26.700,0:07:29.400 I hope that this success story got you 0:07:29.400,0:07:32.500 inspired and serves as a hopeful reminder. 0:07:32.500,0:07:35.800 When people start seeing the benefit of having tourism 0:07:35.800,0:07:38.100 in the area, they are more inclined 0:07:38.100,0:07:41.400 to wanting to keep the area wild and they also 0:07:41.400,0:07:44.300 support these new ventures that are 0:07:44.300,0:07:45.100 being undertaken. 0:07:47.900,0:07:50.500 We want to use tourism to expand, 0:07:50.500,0:07:53.400 you know, conservation areas and, not just 0:07:53.400,0:07:56.100 expand but to ensure that it sustains itself.