NEWCASTLE KZN: Kerotse’s passion for conservation runs deep
The global Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a massive loss of income for the Balele Game Park.
In this week’s edition of the regional Northern Natal News, we took a walk on the wild side with Utrecht’s Balele Game Park conservationist, Kerotse Mosebetsi.
While he affectionately calls himself a ‘Green Blood Conservationist’, Kerotse also highlighted his concerns about the future of the game park.
“It is not currently possible to provide educational workshops as there is limited personnel available to carry out this important activity. We hope this will become possible in the future,” admitted Kerotse.
He added that the park is facing several challenges and an uncertain future.
“A game park (protected area) within a municipality has to compete for resources with all other priorities within the municipality. This challenge is compounded when the municipality is not a large, self-sustaining municipality like Emadlangeni,” he revealed.
According to Kerotse, this results in challenges relating to continuous maintenance and perhaps standards, which are important for the park to maintain and improve, in order to keep existing customers and attract new ones.
“Resources also limit the potential of the park to expand its ecological management practices, and the park ends up doing mostly the rehabilitation aspect of the many conservation management aspects,” he explained.
Other challenges include illegal fires, which have a negative impact on the ecological management of the park, and livestock incursions, which compete with park animals for grazing and which may pass each other diseases.
Kerotse’s long-term goal for the Balele Game Park
Kerotse firmly believes the Balele Game Park has the potential to be a major tourist attraction in the area but says it needs to become a well-managed and functioning ecosystem that impacts the community of Emadlangeni.
“The future of protected areas lies in some level of devolution and breaking down the stereotypic view of a fenced area that is only enjoyed by the upper class… The community must feel they own and benefit from having this resource without any compromise on the ecological integrity of the facility,” he said.
How has the global Coronavirus pandemic affected operations and staff at the Balele Game Park?
The park has experienced a massive loss of income, as it usually hosts a number of events which generate a substantial amount of income and these had to be cancelled.
“We also lost a colleague due to the virus,” said Kerotse.
He is the first to admit the life of a conservationist does not often lend itself to having the time for hobbies and interests outside the job.
“My job is my hobby,” he chuckled, saying that most weekends he can be found driving around the park or at a picnic site within the park. When he is not doing that, he enjoy spending time visiting friends – this is the only time he is physically not in the park.
In conclusion, Kerotse’s ultimate dream is to visit the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania:
“The Wildebeest migration seems to be an incredible event that one has to witness in person,” he said with a wistful smile. For the full article, get a copy of the Newcastle Advertiser (March 19, 2021).
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Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za
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