From exile to guardianship - How South Africa's Makuleke turned land restitution into a conservation model

"In the far north of Kruger National Park, the Makuleke community has transformed a land restitution victory into a global benchmark for conservation and tourism. After reclaiming their ancestral land in the 1990s, the community now co-manages the territory through the Makuleke Communal Property Association, successfully balancing environmental protection with social and economic growth. Footage captured on Thursday shows the region's rich biodiversity, where elephants, antelopes, wildebeest and rare bird species roam a landscape that attracts high-end eco-tourism. "This is a three-legged model," explained Aubrey Maluleke, the Makuleke park coordinator. "It has a social perspective, an ecological perspective and an economic perspective." It follows a historic settlement with SANParks, granting the community commercial rights while ecological oversight stays with the authority. "Giving the Makuleke community commercial rights allowed them to enter into concession agreements with the private sector [...] The proceeds from tourism activities [now] go to the community as a socio-economic benefit," Maluleke highlighted. The Makuleke were removed from their land in 1969 for Kruger National Park. After apartheid, they regained ownership but chose to keep the land as protected wilderness, using it for sustainable tourism. "The land has been returned to the Makuleke community," said Enos Mongomezulu, a local who has worked at the park since 2005. "I benefited a lot, and I really want to stay here because it feels like I work from home." Rental and tourism income fund schools, clinics and scholarships, while local hiring turns former displaced residents into 'guardians of nature.' "With the existence of this land, the community is able to provide young people with skills so they can participate and work here […] so that we can minimise the issue of unemployment," Mongomezulu noted. Today, the Makuleke region is a key component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park and is widely studied as a leading example of how empowering local communities to manage their resources can effectively protect ecosystems from poaching and encroachment."

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