MALILANGWE WILDLIFE RESERVE—Singita Pamushana in Zimbabwe’s Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve was recently named Global Winner in the conservation category of the sixth annual World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The award was presented at WTTC’s annual Global Travel & Tourism Summit.
One of Singita Game Reserve’s nine low-impact/high-end game lodges in Southern and East Africa, Singita Pamushana is often referred to as “one of Southern Africa’s best kept secrets.” It was selected as winner in this prestigious global competition amongst two other outstanding finalists in the Conservation category: Frégate Island Private in the Seychelles; and The Jane Goodall Institute/Budongo Ecotourism Development Project in Uganda.
Singita Pamushana Lodge was established with the core purpose of making a meaningful contribution towards the cost of conserving the 130,000-acre Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in southeastern Zimbabwe. The Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve is owned by the Malilangwe Trust, and relies on donor funding, as well as the proceeds of tourism, to accomplish its goals in conservation and community outreach programs. It is said that this confident venture into a world-class tourism product for Zimbabwe impressed the panel of international judges as a model for private tourism practice that uniquely subsists solely to generate income via high value tourism. The goal is to make a major contribution to the national goal of rehabilitating the country’s wildlife and tourism industries.
The natural habitat in the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve has now been rehabilitated to its original state, and today Singita Pamushana has the finest quality wildlife in Zimbabwe. It also boasts some of the greatest varieties of mammal and bird species on the African continent, due to the 38 different habitat and ecological zones found on the property. Seventeen previously plentiful resident wildlife species have been reintroduced successfully, totaling more than 3,000 animals. These range from the endangered Black Rhino to Roan Antelope and Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest. Under Singita Pamushana’s sensitive management, the wildlife populations have shown exhilarating growth after the carefully managed reintroduction.
Preserving for Future Generations
“It is a great honor to be recognized by an organization such as the World Travel & Tourism Council for our approach to conservation, and for the conservation-related programs that are in place at Singita Pamushana,” said Luke Bailes, CEO of Singita Game Reserves. “These create the context within which our guests can experience African wildlife at its very best. Singita Pamushana exemplifies our approach to sustainable tourism and is a paradigm of how we can contribute meaningfully to conserving vast ecological zones, in so doing preserving these areas and their wildlife for future generations.”
The diverse wildlife at Singita Pamushana includes both the “Big Five” (rhino, lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo), and the “Little Six” antelope (Klipspringer, Oribi, Grey Duiker, Steenbok, Grysbok and Suni), as well as other endangered species such as the “Painted Hunting dogs.” More than 400 bird species can be found on the property, representing 4 percent of all the species of birds in the world, including 14 types of eagle and nine different owl species. Singita Pamushana is also known for its dramatic sandstone outcrops, Mopane Forests and majestic baobab trees.
Taking conservation beyond nature and towards the preservation of local culture, Singita Pamushana is custodian of more than 80 well-preserved, 2,000-year-old rock art sites—a priceless heritage found on site in the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve.
Major community projects include Singita Pamushana’s feeding scheme for some 22,000 pre-school children living within the vicinity of the reserve; the employment of 250 mostly local Zimbabweans; and the provision of drinkable, clean borehole water to approximately 10,000 people in the area.
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