National Responsible Tourism Guidelines for the …Nature-Based Tourism Case Study Report 6 4.3...

Nature-Based Tourism Case Study Report 1

National Responsible Tourism Guidelinesfor the South African Tourism Sector

APPLICATION OF THE GUIDELINES TOTHE NATURE-BASED TOURISM SECTOR

CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT OF

CORAL DIVERS, SODWANA

Anna Spenceley, Stuart Roberts and Christopher Muziwakhe Myeni

FINAL REPORT25 February 2002

Please note that the material and data within this report has been submitted for publication

within peer-reviewed journals. Copyright is reserved by the authors


1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A responsible nature-based tourism assessment was implemented for Coral Divers in Sodwana,KwaZulu Natal during February 2002. The case study was used to assess this scuba divingoperation in relation to a selection of the National Responsible Tourism Guidelines for SouthAfrica. This represented one of three case studies implemented to test the guidelines – the othertwo examined terrestrial photographic safari and hunting operations. This report describes theresults of the Coral Divers assessment and provides an evaluation of the guidelines and assessmentprocess.

The assessment determined that in general Coral Divers performs very well in relation to theeconomic, social and environmental guidelines and targets. There were areas where improvementscould be made, and also where the operation was constrained by the context of managementstrategies implemented by KZN Wildlife.

The guidelines were relatively easy to apply to the case study, although it is clear that an easy-to-use manual will greatly facilitate assessments by enterprises themselves. Up-to-date informationon best practice could negate the need for costly consultancy assessments of responsibleperformance, and would allow enterprises to assess and monitor their own performance. Theassessment implementation has also highlighted areas in which the guidelines could be modifiedand consolidated to improve the ease of implementation.

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study would not have been possible without the valuable assistance of those who contributedtowards the process. Thanks go to the people who provided constructive comments on theassessment methodology, namely Stefanie Freitag-Ronaldson, Harold Goodwin, Mike Knight, BillMaynard, Hermann Ooesthuizen, and Rod Randall. At Sodwana, many thanks to Stuart Robertsfor allowing the study to be performed at Coral Divers, and for his assistance in facilitating thestudy and analysing data. Thanks to other staff at Coral Divers who provided information andsupport, and especially to Eric and Yvette Heymans. Many thanks to Ian and Jone Porter of KZNWildlife for their time and invaluable information. Also thanks to Christopher Muziwakhe Myenifor professional implementation of the surveys with people from the Mbazwana area.


CONTENTS

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 22 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 23 Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 4

3.1 The Nature-based tourism sub-sector.............................................................................. 44 National Responsible Tourism Guidelines Selected for Assessment within the Nature-BasedTourism sector...................................................................................................................................... 5

4.1 Economic Guidelines ......................................................................................................... 54.2 Social Guidelines................................................................................................................ 54.3 Environmental Guidelines ................................................................................................ 6

5 Assessment Methodology ............................................................................................................ 66 Results .......................................................................................................................................... 7

6.1 Economic Guidelines Assessment ..................................................................................... 76.1.1 Enterprise purchasing guidelines ................................................................................. 76.1.2 Tourist purchasing guideline...................................................................................... 146.1.3 Employment guideline ............................................................................................... 186.1.4 Community benefit guideline..................................................................................... 20

6.2 Social Guidelines Assessment .......................................................................................... 216.2.1 Community projects guideline ................................................................................... 216.2.2 Human development guideline................................................................................... 236.2.3 Local guides guideline ............................................................................................... 256.2.4 Social contract guideline ............................................................................................ 26

6.3 Environmental Guideline Assessments .......................................................................... 276.3.1 Water use guideline.................................................................................................... 276.3.2 Energy use guideline .................................................................................................. 296.3.3 Renewable energy guideline ...................................................................................... 316.3.4 Waste management guideline..................................................................................... 326.3.5 Conservation investment guideline ............................................................................ 346.3.6 Reducing negative impacts guideline......................................................................... 36

7. Summary of performance against guidelines............................................................................. 407.1 Economic Guidelines ....................................................................................................... 407.2 Social Guidelines.............................................................................................................. 417.3 Environmental Guidelines .............................................................................................. 42

8 Discussion.................................................................................................................................. 449 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 4610 References .................................................................................................................................. 47


3 INTRODUCTION

3.1 The Nature-based tourism sub-sector

The nature-based tourism industry is one that relies heavily on the integrity of an attractiveenvironment to persist. By its very definition, it frequently occurs in rural rather than suburbanareas, where the majority of South Africa’s poor people reside. The responsible design andmanagement of enterprises working in this sector of the tourism industry has critical implicationsfor the growth and maintenance of economically, socially and environmentally sustainabledevelopment.

This document sets out the assessment of the draft guidelines and indicators for responsible tourismas applied to one nature-based tourism enterprise: Coral Divers . The guidelines assessed havebeen selected to address the nature-based tourism sub-sector, and are only small proportion of theagreed national responsible tourism guidelines. They have been highlighted in terms of importancefor assessment for the following reasons:

• They can be assessed during the operational rather than construction phases – with data thatshould be readily available to enterprises

• Attractiveness to consumers (tourists and tour operators) – these are issues that the tourismmarket and the tour operators want to know about

• Objectively and transparently measurable and declarable – rather than qualitative orintangible issues that are open to interpretation by assessors.

Dealing with the selected guidelines will decrease costs for business, and improve marketability ofoperation.

The assessment methodology has been designed to address the following questions:

• What baseline information is available to address the guidelines?• What objectives do the case studies have that relate to the guidelines?• What systems are there in place (or can be designed) to monitor progress towards the

guidelines?

The assessment of Coral Divers took place between 1 and 10 February 2002, and was researched bythrough reviews of relevant literature, observation, semi-structured interviews with key personnelbased on the methodology, and questionnaires distributed to staff at the lodge. Stuart Roberts ofCoral Divers sourced and supplied statistical information regarding employment, training andwages, and facilitated the field study. In the cases of casual labourers offering services to guestnear to the beach (e.g. people offering to clean diving kit; curio sellers; people offering hair-ties)Christopher Muziwakhe Myeni undertook structured interviews in Zulu and translated informationinto English. In the case of questionnaires a repeated-measures design was used.


4 NATIONAL RESPONSIBLE TOURISM GUIDELINES SELECTED FORASSESSMENT WITHIN THE NATURE-BASED TOURISM SECTOR

4.1 Economic Guidelines

1. Buy locally–made goods and use locally–provided services from locally-owned businesseswherever quality, quantity, and consistency permits. Monitor the proportion of goods and servicesthe enterprise sourced from businesses with 50 km and set 20% target for improvement over threeyears.2. Give customers the opportunity to purchase locally produced crafts and curios, set targets toincrease the proportion of sales of goods sourced within 20 km of the enterprise. Assist local craftworkers to develop new products to meet market demand as evidenced in the enterprise.3. Government and established businesses need to redress previous imbalances, and to enable thehistorically disadvantaged to engage in the tourism sector. For example they should source 15% ofservices and 15% of products, increasing by 5% per year, for 3 years, from historicallydisadvantaged groups, and/or individuals, and report on purchasing activities.4. Encourage visitors to spend more money in the local economy, and to visit local bars andrestaurants and participate in tours to local areas, bringing business to local communities. Whereappropriate treat this as part of the business of the enterprise and charge a booking fee orcommission, or sell craft and local food products through the mainstream enterprise.5. Recruit and employ staff in an equitable and transparent manner and maximise the proportion ofstaff employed from the local community. Set targets for increasing the proportion of staff and/or ofthe enterprise wage bill going to communities within 20 km of the enterprise.6. Be transparent when reporting community benefits distinguish between

• Benefits to employees• Benefits to emerging or community based entrepreneurs• Community benefits, for example leasehold payments, that go to community projects

(grinding mills or school books) or are distributed as household income in the local area.

Consider establishing targets to monitor progress in achieving objectives.

4.2 Social Guidelines

7. Consider what contributions the enterprise can make to scholarships, local youth sports teams andother community causes. Monitor and report increasing contributions with respect to the number ofprojects and level of investment8. Use tourism as a catalyst for human development, focussing on gender equality, careerdevelopment and the implementation of national labour standards. (Report on gender equality andcareer development)9. Use local guides, and encourage them to continually improve their quality, to ensure that thecommunity speaks for itself and to increase the revenues going into the local community (by higherfees for quality tours). Monitor and report this economic contribution to the community and settargets to increase it annually.10. Develop a local social contract for interactions and behaviour between the local community andtourists (including responsible bargaining), developed with the participation and contributions fromthe community, and display it prominently for visitors and publicly within the community.


4.3 Environmental Guidelines

11. Meter the quantity of water consumed and manage consumption and leakage so as to reducewater consumption by 5% per annum for 3 years, and report water consumption and performance inmonitoring.12. Measure electricity consumption and introduce energy saving measures to achieve 5% reductionin use per annum over three years. This can be done by for example dimming lights, using lowenergy appliances and light bulbs and enhancing the use of natural ventilation13. Set targets to increase the proportion of energy used from renewable resources – for examplesolar, wind, hydroelectric (increase by 10% over 3 years). Sustainable use of wood, fromindigenous and plantation forests is complex, and great care needs to be taken.14. Set percentage targets and time scales for the reduction of waste produced, levels of recyclingand reuse of waste from the enterprise. Set appropriate targets for reduction and/or recycling ofwaste produced per year for paper (5%), plastics (5%), metal (5%) and glass (5%). Report onprogress towards 15% targets over 3 years.15. Invest a percentage of profits or turnover in species conservation or habitat restoration andmanagement. Report the investment, and try to increase this by 5% per year.16. Work with conservation authorities to ensure that visitors to natural heritage areas are aware ofthe impacts that they may have on the ecology of the area and how they should behave in order tominimise those impacts.

5 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

Refer to methodology document ‘List GLtoAssesMethod3’


6 RESULTS

Coral Divers (CD) is a privately owned company located in Sodwana Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. Themain focus of CD’s operations is the provision of scuba diving trips for guests to the coral reefs thatlie within Sodwana Bay. They also offer training courses through PADI, ranging from beginner toinstructor levels. CD has 150 beds and offers a variety of types of accommodation ranging fromsafari tents, to luxury en-suite huts, and offers catered or self-catering options.

CD is one of three commercial dive operators licensed by KZN Wildlife to operate within theMaputaland Marine Reserve. Only one of these, Mseni Lodge, has accommodation facilities.Another seventeen companies operate ‘private’ boats on a non-commercial basis in the reserve, butdo not pay a license or concession fee to the conservation service to do so.

The Mbila Tribal Authority (TA) neighbours the reserve and Mbazwana is the largest town withinit. The Mbila TA consists of an estimated 20-25,000 inhabitants, but it is reportedly not a cohesivesociety. An estimated 80% of local people within the community are unemployed.

The results of the assessment are described in this section in economic, social and environmentalsections, in relation to each guideline addressed.

6.1 Economic Guidelines Assessment

6.1.1 Enterprise purchasing guidelines

1. Buy locally–made goods and use locally–provided services from locally-owned businesseswherever quality, quantity, and consistency permits. Monitor the proportion of goods and servicesthe enterprise sourced from businesses with 50 km and set 20% target for improvement over threeyears.2. Give customers the opportunity to purchase locally produced crafts and curios, set targets toincrease the proportion of sales of goods sourced within 20 km of the enterprise. Assist local craftworkers to develop new products to meet market demand as evidenced in the enterprise.3. Government and established businesses need to redress previous imbalances, and to enable thehistorically disadvantaged to engage in the tourism sector. For example they should source 15% ofservices and 15% of products, increasing by 5% per year, for 3 years, from historicallydisadvantaged groups, and/or individuals, and report on purchasing activities.

Proportion of total spend on all items made within 50 km of the enterpriseThe proportion of total expenditure on items made within 50 km of CD during 2001 wasapproximately 1.1%. Local items were mainly purchased for the construction of new buildings atthe camp, and some furnishings.

For example, all of the timber used for the cabin frames, decking and doors of new cabins weresourced from the timber sawmill at Mbazwana, 15 km away (0.5% of expenditure). Reeds used toconstruct the walls was sourced by staff driving from krall to krall between 5 and 60 km away,asking local people whether they had reeds for sale (0.3% of expenditure). In addition, all of thefurniture in the cabins is made within 100 km of the enterprise, by a family business run inHluhluwe. Around half of the plumbing facilities for the new cabins were also purchased inHluhluwe and the remainder was sought in Durban (since the prices there were significantlycheaper.)


Proportion of total spend on all items made by historically disadvantaged groups and/orindividualsThe construction and furniture items are purchased from companies with high proportions of localblack labour. Expenditure at these enterprises during 2001 constituted 0.8% of the total. Thesawmill at Mbazwana employs 120 staff, of which 79.2% are from the local area, while thecompany that furniture is purchased from, Rustic Furniture, employs 6 local people.

Proportion of total spend on all items purchased within 50 km of the enterpriseThe proportion of total spend within 20 km of CD during 2001 was 23.1%, and within 100 km was36.9%. Of this proportion, 16.4% of expenditure went to KZN Wildlife as levy payments. Itshould be noted that this payment contributes towards both products (e.g. electricity; water) andservices (e.g. land lease; waste disposal; sewage disposal). Since it has not been possible toseparate the proportional allocation by KZN Wildlife to products and services, it is only allocatedwithin this section.

The catering budget is currently 9.6% of all CD’s expenditure, and approximately 6% of this issourced within 20 km. If Hluhluwe and Mkuze are included in the scope (<100 km), then aroundhalf of the catering expenditure is spent in this region. Although it would be possible to purchasemore goods locally (e.g. from Mbazwana), there is currently a good relationship between CD and asupplier based in Vryheid1 (around 400 km away). Meat is sourced from a butcher in Hluhluwe,and other goods come from Durban.

Local food products such as bread and milk are purchased on an ad-hoc basis when CD runs out.Such goods are purchased from the Boxer Supermarket or Jock Morrisons in Mbazwana, or theSilver Sands shop next to the KZN Wildlife office within the park. Of these retail outlets, twopurchase fresh goods from the local area. Jock Morrisons purchase vegetables from local peoplewhen offered (e.g. green peppers, tomatoes, aubergines), while the Silver Sands shop purchases icefrom an outlet in Mbazwana. All of the shops approached wished to see more local produceavailable, and were especially keen to purchase local fruit and vegetables. Fresh local itemsrequired included butternut, spinach, chillis, maize, peanuts, and fish. Preference for local freshproduce was in terms of the availability, quality and cheaper price. One of the outlets reported thatsince Sodwana was such a great distance from the source of the majority of its goods (Durban), itwas sometime of poor quality by the time it arrived. Therefore, purchases of fresh produce fromthese outlets by CD may also indirectly support local agricultural producers.

Proportion of total spend on all items purchased from historically disadvantaged groupsand/or individualsThe proportion of expenditure at enterprises that are known to have high proportions of local blackemployees was 6.6% during 2001. Although few food products were reportedly purchased fromlocal stores (0.6% of the total catering budget), the companies used support a considerable numberof local people through employment. For example the Silver Sands, Jock Morrisons, MbazwanaSawmill, and Boxer employed up to 203 local people, and over 79% of the workforce in all of thesecompanies lived in the local area (average of 88.7% local labour). An assessment was not made ofthe operations used further than 20 km from CD regarding empowerment levels due to timeconstraints.

KZN Wildlife has policy on preferentially purchasing from HDIs and from local people, but oftenthese are not possible to implement because of conflicting policy. Due to the retrenchments inAugust 2001, there has been policy of no outsourcing but in order to get work implemented, localSMMEs have received contracts despite this.

1 For example, the supplier would reportedly drive for 4 hours to CD on Boxing Day, if necessary, to deliver food.


Proportion of total spend on crafts and curios made and purchased within 20 km of theenterprise, and by historically disadvantaged groups and/or individuals100% of the craft and curios that are purchased by CD are made within 20 km of the enterprise.They are purchased from the Sanlam Ubumbano Craft Market within the park, and items are madeto order as required from the crafts women. The crafts women are from the Mbila Tribal Authority,and therefore live within the local, historically disadvantaged community (See Box 1). Themajority of materials used to make the curios are grass and wood; both of which are sourced locallyfrom the Mbazwana area. However, the wood is generally indigenous hardwood that is believed tobe harvested unsustainably from the Sodwana National Park.

However, few curios are actually purchased by CD (e.g. ten baskets were purchased during 2001 foruse as lampshades on the veranda: See Plate 1) and they are not re-sold to visitors. It is assumedthat since all tourists entering the reserve and reaching CD must pass the craft market, and thereforethat they will visit on their own accord.

Box 1: The Sanlam Ubumbano Craft Market, Sodwana National Park

In 1956 the Sodwana Bay National Park was proclaimed, and an area to the north was given to Natal ConservationService2 to administer by the state in 1987. People of the Mbila TA were duly moved out of this area, and the TA hasnow lodged a land claim to reinstate their control of the land. Due to the dispute over the land, neither KZN Wildlifenor the Mbilia TA built in the area. However, local people used the area for natural resources such as firewood. Thecraft market is within the disputed area of land, but has been located there since the 1960s.

Funding for the market structure was initially loaned by KwaZulu Finance Corporation (KFC)3. However, the lendingand interest system was not properly explained to the market sellers, who refused to continue paying money afterseveral years, as they considered the loan repaid.

Five years ago a major storm hit Sodwana, and the market structure collapsed. Both KZN Wildlife and Sanlamfinanced over a third of the costs of the re-building expenses. The Land Service Club within the Department of Arts,Culture Technology and Science supplied technical expertise and labour. The market workers had also collected moneythat was utilised in the reconstruction, in addition to supplying local labour.

In association with KZN Wildlife, the craft market has now become involved in the Lubombo SDI craft initiative –where the craftspeople are taught business, marketing and product skills (e.g. quality and diversity). The initiative willfall under the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority (GSLWP) for the World Heritage Site when the SDI programceases. The NGO CROP has also been involved in taking craftspeople to visit places that sell crafts wholesale in orderto encourage this type of outlet.

It is reported that the market is not cohesive, and the local craftswomen work in competition with each other asindividual businesses. This is thought to be partially due to the presence of too many sellers (~200) in relation to thesmall number of customers. KZN Wildlife are pushing for the market to begin selling goods wholesale in Durban, butthere have been difficulties to date in encouraging people to work together, and to understand the advantages of usingremote wholesale markets.

Proportion of total spend on services sourced within 50 km of the enterpriseThe proportion of total spend on services within 50 km of CD was estimated at 1.9% during 20014.This spend was on local taxis to transport guests, vehicle maintenance, and hire of additional divingequipment. The payments to the taxi drivers represented 0.4% of expenditure in 2001, while localvehicle maintenance was 1.1%, and diving equipment hire was 0.4%.

2 Now KwaZulu Natal Wildlife3 Now Ithala Bank4 Not including services from KZN Wildlife, as explained earlier


Proportion of total spend on services sourced from historically disadvantaged groups and/orindividualsAll of the services sourced locally (100%) are from companies with strong black empowermentfocuses, and the taxi service utilised is run by HDIs. Two local taxi owners are subsidised to bringtourists (backpackers) from Hluhluwe to CD. The logistics of pick-ups are organised by CD, andvehicles were checked to ensure that they were safe to use. For every guest transported CD paysthe taxi driver R100, but only charges the tourist R80 for the service.

The company just outside the park that does maintenance for CD, Loretta Charters, employs 3 staff,of whom 2 are local (66%). They also source some of their motor spares in Mbazwana whenpossible. Sandton Scuba, from whom CD hire some diving equipment, employ 10 local people oftheir total staff complement of 12 (83%).

Strategies to increase the proportional spend on goods made within 50 km (targeted increaseby at least 20% over 3 years)There are a number of local goods which CD could feasibly increase its spend on within 50 km ofthe enterprise. Given that the current proportion of total spend on goods made within 50 km is1.1%, an increase of 20% over 3 years would bring this to just over 1.3%.

It may be feasible to reach this target at CD through regularly purchasing local fruit from the craftmarket and Mbazwana, and by continuing to purchase furniture and reeds for construction locally.However, despite the fact that management has remit to construct an additional five en-suite chaletson the site, it is unlikely to do this in the near future. Instead they plan to concentrate on upgradingexisting accommodation. This proposal has clear implications for the level of purchasing in thelocal area, since this type of capital spend on furniture and reeds is not continuous. Therefore, tomaintain the current level of spending on locally produced products (let alone to increase it by 20%over 3 years), a significant increase in the proportion of operational purchases sourced locallywould be required.

There appears to be a reluctance to reduce the regular order from Vryheid in preference for closersuppliers based on the reliability and quality of the existing service. Therefore it is likely that themost appropriate way of increasing local spend would be to purchase items required above theregular Vryheid order (e.g. as occupancy rates and demand increases). In order to obtain the type ofservice and quality and range of product required by CD, it would be useful for CD to liase directlywith local suppliers, and inform them of the type of service required. Potentially by purchasingfrom specific suppliers on a trial-period basis, local suppliers could be evaluated, and feedbackgiven.

The manager of CD notes that due to lack of industry in the area, support and development of localproducts would, in the short term, have to be focussed on what grows well in the area and practicalcrafts (e.g. baskets, mats, waste paper baskets)

Increasing proportional spend on goods purchased within 50 km (targeted increase by at least20% over 3 years)The current proportion of total spend on goods purchased within 50 km is 6.6%, an increase of 20%over 3 years would bring this to around 7.9%. Therefore if CD were to inform retail outlets inMbazwana of the types of products they required, then the shops may be able to supply them.

With the completion of a tarred road from Hluhluwe to Mbazwana in 2001 through thegovernment’s Lubombo Strategic Development Initiative, ease of access by tourists to Sodwana hasincreased dramatically. Faster travelling time to the area and improved quality of the road willmake the area more attractive to domestic tourists travelling from major centres (e.g. Johannesburg;


Pretoria; Durban; Pietermarizburg). This implies that the number of visitors that CD could attractcould also increase. The implications for local socio economic development are that the town ofMbazwana may feasibly develop into a major supplier for developing and existing operations inSodwana, especially given that it is now easier to access. Management at CD note that if, forexample, the local town were to stock more hardware products, and cheaper produce, they would bemore likely to purchase goods there.

There are development proposals to build a new shopping complex in Mbazwana, with capacity foran additional 21 shops. Development may be initiated within 3 months, and is being coordinated bya developer from Johannesburg. The facility may contain additional retail facilities that could beused by CD, including hardware shops, groceries and banks. However, it is interesting to note thatthe community has not prescribed any preferential rates for local people to have access to spacewithin the facility, and they will be required to pay the standard rate if they want to purchase space.As an example of costs, existing lease requirements of the current shopping centre areas are R40 perm2, per month.

Increasing proportional spend on crafts and curios made and purchased within 50 km(targeted increase by at least 20% over 3 years)Given that CD currently only purchases very few crafts and curios as furnishings, it would berelatively simple to increase the proportional spend. Potentially the easiest and most equitable wayin which to do this, would be to set up a craft and curio shop at Coral Divers.

This could be run by purchasing a range of craft products from different people at the craft market,and re-selling them at CD to guests. This would make it easier for divers without their owntransport to purchase local goods, as they may rely on CD shuttles from the beach and not haveaccess to the market. It would also increase the range of outlets for local crafts people, andincluding an almost captive group of potential consumers. Agreed prices could be agreed betweenCD and crafts people for items purchased, and therefore local crafts people would not need to facecontinual bargaining for their crafts with tourists. Since the women selling goods at the market doso independently of one another, and are in commercial competition with each other (see Box 1),CD could operate a purchasing system where best quality items were bought from different ladies,rather than having preferential suppliers. Items purchased that were not sold to guests could beused as furnishings at CD. Sales and display of selected items could take place either at the bar, orat reception where staff are already trained and available to sell goods. Ideally, some form ofinterpretation should be provided regarding the source of the crafts. Any reasonable mark-up onitems for sale at CD could cover additional administration costs, could become profit, or could bechannelled into a training fund for emerging crafts people.

Given the concerns of KZN Wildlife regarding the use of indigenous trees to make wooden curios(see Plate 1), it would be advisable for CD only to re-sell items made from grass (e.g. baskets, mats)that is locally harvested.

The General Manager of Coral Divers noted that, “There is good possibility to develop a craft retailoutlet at Coral where suitable crafts and curios could be sold. The profit generated when theproject gets large enough could be used to employ a local person to run it with guidance fromCoral Divers. Guests feedback and Coral’s input would ensure that new ideas are developed andquality control feedback is given to the manufacturers. The situation of curios made fromindigenous trees on an unsustainable basis could be monitored as it is a serious threat to localforests. Encouragement could be given to locals to manufacture from pine that is sustainable,available and abundant in this area.”


Plate 1: Craft Market and wares

Increasing the proportional spend on products made and purchased from historicallydisadvantaged groups and/or individualsThe generic national responsible tourism guidelines set targets to spend 15% on goods sourced fromHDIs, and to increase this by 15% over 3 years. CD currently stands at around 6.6% for localproduce, and therefore would need to double the proportion to meet the initial target. However, it


is possible that the target is already being met from HDI companies further away. Furtherinvestigation would need to be done in this regard.

Increasing proportional spend on services sourced within 50 km (targeted increase by at least20% over 3 years)Increasing the current 1.9% of expenditure on local services by 20% over three years would bringthis to just under 2.3%. In order to increase the proportional spend on services sourced locally, itmay be possible to do so by ‘increasing the size of the cake’ rather than by re-allocating currentspend. For example, there appears to be a demand for local cultural tours and ‘meet the people’from CD customers. Local guiding services could be used to satisfy this demand (see section6.1.2).

The GM of Coral Divers noted that, “Guided walks into the Ozabeni Reserve that borders Coraland Sodwana Bay could be established. Boys who have grown up in the area have a surprisingamount of knowledge of birds, trees and animals. Once they are old enough they could be trained towork as guides in this area. A presence in the area would also reduce the incidence of poaching theoccurs there.” KZN Wildlife note that there are a number of youths who have left school with theknowledge to undertake such walks, but their training would need to include information on qualitycontrol, marketing and bookings.

Assisting local craft workers developing new & improved productsIn terms of helping local craft workers to develop new products for the lodge, the staff haveapproaches workers at the Curio Market and asked them to fill orders for specific types of lodgefurnishings when required. These include grass mats and baskets: which are used to serve food, asdecorations, and as lamp-shades.

The lodge does not recommend craft workers on new or improved products to sell to guests, but thiscould be done if CD began acting as an agent to sell crafts to guests.

Improvements with the assistance of the enterpriseThere has not been any promotion of local goods to tourists in the past, and therefore no associatedimprovements in terms of quality, range, suitability for the market, or sales. However, the accessroad to CD directly passes a large and established curio market operated by local people. Theirvisitation to the stalls is on a casual basis, and is neither encouraged nor discouraged by CD.

Contribution of purchasing activities to poverty alleviation and support of historicallydisadvantaged individualsThe current proportion of local spend to HDIs was around 8.5% of expenditure in 2001 (for produceand services). The continued support of local businesses and entrepreneurs (e.g. the sawmill,furniture company, reed-sellers) positively contributes towards poverty alleviation in the local area.

Constraints for purchasing locally and from HDIsConstraints to local people in supplying CD with produce, especially fresh produce, are quality,supply, variety and service. For local community enterprises to challenge this level of service fromestablished suppliers, there would need to be a greater level of capacity and an understanding of theenterprises’ needs.

Coral Divers note that transport of products to the camp is a very significant problem. The cost andavailability of transport for a small supplier makes it unfeasible even though they may have thequality and volume of a specific product (e.g. tomatoes). Small suppliers could only get around thisthrough a co-operative arrangement. Another constraint is telephone communication with local


suppliers, since their varying needs dictate that their suppliers need to be easily contacted to placeorders.

6.1.2 Tourist purchasing guideline

4. Encourage visitors to spend more money in the local economy, and to visit local bars andrestaurants and participate in tours to local areas, bringing business to local communities. Whereappropriate treat this as part of the business of the enterprise and charge a booking fee orcommission, or sell craft and local food products through the mainstream enterprise.

Tourists staying at CD are not actively encouraged to spend money in the local economy. There isno information freely available at CD regarding local bars or markets, availability of culturalheritage tours, nor information regarding quality of service or safety. There are a small number offlyers and advertisements in the reception area describing local attractions such as horse riding andkayak tours at St Lucia. One relatively local craft enterprise is advertised on a flyer from Ilalaweavers in Hluhluwe, located around 100 km away. The company sells lamps, rugs, and fabricsmade locally, in addition to a cultural village where visitors can stay. In addition, communitytourism at Eshowe in Zululand is advertised, with a range of cultural activities including culturalvillages and experiences, township and rural tours, cultural events, community upliftment projects,and curio shopping. There are also flyers advertising accommodation at attractions further away(e.g. dive operations at Aliwal Shoal and the Protea Banks; accommodation and white water raftingin the Drakensberg mountains; Backpackers in Cape Town).

In order to reach CD’s camp, tourists must pass by informal curio stalls, the craft market, and theSilver Sands shop. There is also a craft shop just outside the park geared for sales to tourists.Products from within KwaZulu Natal are stocked, including woven baskets, beadwork, and paintedmonkey oranges. Some of the crafts are sourced from craftspeople at Hluhluwe, but none of thework comes from the Mbazwana area. The shop manager noted that the reason for this had beenthat local people did not understand that the shop would need to purchase goods at a wholesaleprice, and then mark them up for re-sale. It is assumed by CD that guests will visit the stall of theirown accord if they wish to do so.

Sales of goods to tourists has not permitted on the beach since December 2000 when KZN Wildlifeclamped down on the practice. There had been complaints from the public regarding harassment bybeach vendors and also problems of theft. Despite the ban, young girls still approach tourists onthe beach and try to sell hair ties, while young boys try to sell wooden carvings and decoratedmonkey oranges. However, if they are observed by KZN Wildlife staff they are chased away.

There are also young men who clean diving equipment for tourists, and who are informallyendorsed by CD and KZN Wildlife. There is information regarding the dive equipment cleaners onthe beach in reception. On a sign detailing the prices of dives, a section details that the cleaners arenot employed by CD and require payment, but that they are, ‘ . . .honest and experience in handlingdiving equipment . . .’, but CD would not accept any liability for losses or damage incurred (CoralDivers, Undated).

A pilot scheme was run around six years ago by KZN Wildlife, where 25 of the local dive-kitcleaners received training. This included two weeks tuition on how to clean and care for diving kitand boats, and how to treat tourists. Each trainee received a t-shirt and a certificate at the end of thecourse. However, the trainees were intimidated by men who had not done participated in the courseand did not have the t-shirts. Very quickly, the t-shirts were removed, making all of the menequally employable. A similar scheme was run by CD, where a number of cleaners known to CD


gained some training and were given Coral Divers bibs to wear. However, the bibs were alsoremoved through coercion from other cleaners on the beach, and there was confusion amongsttourists who thought that the cleaners were CD staff.

Box 2: Local employment from Sodwana National Park VisitorsAs an aside from CD, it is interesting to note that tourists staying at the KZN Wildlife camps and chalets in SodwanaBay support around 600 local people who are employed as housekeepers, security and to take care of boats. During2001 these local people worked an estimated 11,500 days for visitors, earning an average of R30 per day.

Although the work and pay is menial, many families in the area are supported through this informal employment, whichhas financed school tuition for many local children. There are even cases where visiting families use the sameemployees time after time, and have become patrons to finance university education of family members.

Local spend by touristsA small sample of 12 tourists staying at CD were asked to report on their local spend. The resultsshowed that 75% of them made purchases locally at the craft market and the Silver Sands shop.58% of the group purchased food, while 42% bought locally made grass crafts (e.g. mats, baskets),and individuals also purchased beadwork, clothes and wooden curios. Three of the bargained fortheir crafts. Cumulatively the sample spent a total of R1,415 within the local economy, with anaverage spend per guest of R157. Although this sample is not representative of the usualoccupancy of CD in relation to the proportion of foreign and domestic tourists, if the local spendwas assumed to be representative, this could indicate over R600,000 annually entering the localeconomy for such products.

In addition, a quarter of the sample had employed people on the beach to clean their diving gear,with the fee for doing so ranging between R4 and R20. The most usual price paid was R10 perdiver, per day. One tourist also reported having hair ties done, at a cost of R10.

Increasing tourist spend on local productsIn terms of encouraging tourists to spend more on local food, drink and products, it may not bepossible to set and monitor specific targets for tourist spend (say) at the craft market (e.g. 5%increase per year, for 3 years) since no organised tours are run. This is simply because the marketand local bars are very close, and it is assumed that visitors travel there in their own transport.

However, the small survey of CD tourists also noted that visitors would like to do additionalactivities in Sodwana, which could potentially be run by local people. The services and productsthey would like to do included those noted in Table 1.

Some of the tours and services desired by guests could be provided by CD, or by members of thelocal community if they were aware of the demand, with suitable training and support. Four of CDspermanent staff from the Mbazwana area are currently preparing a Zulu dancing band that willperform at weekends for guests. They will provide interpretation for guests regarding the meaningof the dances, and will be paid on tips from the audience.


Table 1: Tours and services of interest to a sample oftourists interviewed at Coral Divers 5

Trips to Lake Sibaya 92%Turtle tours 92%Mountain biking* 75%Horse riding 75%Eating a traditional meal* 67%4x4 trails 67%Cultural dancing* 67%Cultural tours* 58%Local development projects* 58%Internet access 25%Visits to local shebeens* 16%There were other mentions of snorkelling, hiking, whale watching,parachuting, sea kayaking, land yachting, windsurfing and paragliding.* Indicates services that are not currently available at Sodwana

There are also interpretative activities that could be undertaken:

• Information regarding local attractions and markets: This could take the form of aninterpretation board in the reception area, with photographs and location information. Thismarketing service could be coordinated with the attractions and markets concerned – toensure that information presented was accurate and relevant, and also to raise awarenessamongst local entrepreneurs of CD’s efforts to facilitate local economic growth. On requesttours could be provided to the attractions utilising the locally supported taxi service (forpeople without transport). CD could take a nominal booking fee to cover administrationcosts.

• Information regarding local restaurants and bars: A number of local bars operate justoutside Sodwana National Park, and in Mbazwana. Although CD has a bar and cateringservice, and therefore local restaurants and bars might be seen as competition, this may notbe the case where local enterprises showcased provided a significantly different experienceto CD.

How tourists purchasing activities contribute to poverty alleviation and support of historicallydisadvantaged individualsSimple mini-surveys were undertaken of the income and spending patterns of small samples ofpeople working at the craft market, cleaning diver’s equipment, and people tying hair on the beach.This was done in order to get an indication of how tourist purchases of these products and serviceswere contributing to local poverty alleviation and supporting historically disadvantaged individuals.

Craft MarketA mini-survey of six women making and selling crafts at the Sanlam Ubumbano Craft Market wasundertaken. It was estimated that 40-50 women were working at the stall on the day of the survey,and there are reportedly around 200 women who sell there regularly. Only women were foundworking at the market, and all came from Mbazwana (therefore within 15 km). Aged between 24and 70 (average of 49 years) the women worked on a range of days during the week – some workedeveryday, while others would only work at weekends or school holidays, and one would just workoccasionally. Items for sale included grass hats, mats and baskets and sarongs. The grass items

5 Prior to developing any of these attractions, it would be important to implement an extended survey with a largersample size, and a willingness to pay assessment.


were created by the saleswomen from materials purchased from Mbazwana, while sarongs werepurchased from Durban. Their incomes from sales varied greatly within the small sample – fromjust R5 to R490 per week (average of R133). Problems with the craft market that were reportedincluded that customers would request discounts on written prices or that they would not purchaseitems at all. Additionally, it appears that the amount of undercover market space is not sufficientfor all of the crafts people, and therefore some goods are damaged when it rains. Income fromsales was reportedly used pay the school fees of children, and to purchase groceries for the family

Diver Equipment CleanersSix men aged between 12 and 18 who were cleaning equipment for CD divers on the beach wereinterviewed. Only ten men from Mbazwana were found cleaning kit on the day of the survey, andthe sample reported working at weekends and during school holidays. They would charge betweenR5 and R40 to clean kit (average R27.50) and would work for between 2 and 5 different people perweek. During a week they could make between R25 and R200 for their services (average ofR137.5). Problems with the work were predominately social and cultural. They included customersleaving without paying; paying little for the service; using vulgar and abusive language (e.g callingthem Kaffir, thieves, and shouting); being stolen from, and getting wet all the time. Money wasused primarily to pay for school fees and equipment, in addition to groceries and school books.

Hair Tie GirlsSix girls aged between 13 and 16 selling hair ties on the beach were interviewed (it appears thatonly girls do this type of work), and all of them were from Mbazwana. Despite the ban on sales onthe beach, they work at weekends and during school holidays and manage to tie between 2-4people’s hair per week. Generally they make between R15 and R50 per tie (average price beingR20), and over the course of a week, they can make between R75 and R250 (averaging at R133 perweek). This small sample of an estimated 15 girl in total, reported that they used the money fornecessities such as school fees, school uniforms, food, clothes and also pocket money.

These three small samples of different entrepreneurial groups indicate that the revenue from theenterprises is predominately used for necessities of food and education. The results indicate thatalthough the revenue generated from these activities is relatively low, that they can make asignificant contribution to the livelihoods of local poor people. What is especially surprising, is thatthe weekly average income from each of the activities within this small sample are very similar.

What steps will the enterprise take to improve local spend

The GM of CD notes that, “the most effective way would be through education and awareness ofwhat products and services are available and information on the suppliers. Customers should betold of the socio-economic problems in the area and how their support can make a significantdifference. Display information boards can be put up in the reception/dining area, notices in therooms and pamphlets printed for distribution.”


6.1.3 Employment guideline

5. Recruit and employ staff in an equitable and transparent manner and maximise the proportion ofstaff employed from the local community. Set targets for increasing the proportion of staff and/or ofthe enterprise wage bill going to communities within 20 km of the enterprise.

EmployeesCoral Divers employs 55 permanent staff, and in 2001 also employed 4 temporary staff. Theproportion of permanent staff recruited from within 20 km (e.g. the Mbazwana area) is 64%, while50% of the temporary staff are local. In terms of revenue to the local community, 44.9% of thetotal wage bill (permanent & temporary) paid to people from within 20 km of the enterprise.

An average of two local people are employed as casual labour per month but in 2001, 22 differentlocal individuals received casual employment through CD. These people were employed for arange of work, including building, camp assistance, and cleaning reeds for construction. Reedswere cleaned of leaves prior to use in the construction of new cabins. CD employed 10-12 peopleworking at any one stage, who earned R0.08 per reed (and therefore around R70 per day). Reedsare treated twice a year with Waxol, and to undertake this task 3 local people are employed for aweek every six months.

Proportion of staff who had advanced through promotion in the companyCD has a small, fixed permanent staff within management, and the kitchen, camp and compressorstaff (who are from the local area) are also permanent. The Instructors, Dive Masters and Skippers,however generally stay with CD for around 2 years before moving on. The management describesthis as a healthy turnover (and is similar to turnovers found in the safari industry generally in SouthAfrica).

Targets and strategies to increase the proportion of staff from communities within 20 km ofthe enterpriseCurrently 63% of the CD workforce are from the local community of Mbazwana. They constitute64% of the permanent staff and 50% of temporary staff. There is preferential recruitment for themore menial, labour intensive positions from local rural communities when vacancies arise. It isnoted that the local staff working in the more menial positions have little opportunity to gainemployment elsewhere, and therefore are bound to their jobs.

It is estimated that every person employed from the local community is supporting another 7-8within their family. This indicates that CD is directly supporting the livelihoods of between 259 and296 people in the Mbila Tribal Authority.

Strategies to increase the proportion of the total wage bill going to staff from communitieswithin 20 km of the enterprise by 2% above inflation each yearThe proportion of the current wage bill going to staff from local communities is currently 44.9% ofthe budget. Given the number of people employed from the local area, the proportion of the totalwage bill going to local staff will increase annually. Annual wage increases are above inflation, andare negotiated with staff unions. However, there are no specific strategies in place to increase theproportion going to local people. Options such as preferential recruitment from the local are whenvacancies are available, in conjunction with training and promotion for local people would help toaddress this. Currently local people are predominately employed in the more menial roles withinthe company (e.g. scullery, housekeeping, transportation). The most senior roles for local people inthe company are currently the barman and the local Skipper. All of the Dive Masters, Instructors,Reception and Management staff come from over 100 km away.


Local people could have their interest in the ocean and reefs encouraged through snorkelling trips.There is, as yet, no informal education for local people regarding what the sea is, and what tourismis. CD’s barman from Mbazwana has undertaken Open Water and Advanced diving coursesthrough the company. He notes that many people in the area, especially school children, areinterested and curious about diving. However, there is a fear of the sea, and an impression thatpeople going out to dive do not return, and therefore more people would prefer to become Skippersthan Dive Masters. The barman, however, having seen both roles would prefer to become a DMthan a Skipper, but having lost two friends recently in snorkelling accidents also wishes to avoid thesea for the near future. He noted that he would be very interested in working with KZN Wildlifeand CD to promoted diving and reef education amongst local school children, and that they couldpotentially work for CD during school holidays in return. This could promote a new generation ofpeople with less fear of the sea, and the living proof that people who go diving return.

Given the high turnover of Instructors and Dive Masters at CD, one way of increasing theproportional wage bill to local people would be targeted training and advancement. PotentiallyCoral Divers could engage in THETAs (Tourism, Hospitality and sport Education TrainingAuthority) Tourism Learnership programme, or initiate National Qualifications for housekeepingand kitchen staff. By continuing to encourage existing employees and potential new recruits fromthe local area to engage in training programmes that could lead to employment in the better-paidpositions at CD. With formal qualifications, local people would also have scope to leave the areaand work elsewhere in the country, and globally.

In CD’s tender document to KZN Wildlife a year ago, they specified the aim to establish twoapprenticeships per year to local people. In conjunction with a year of training they would be paida nominal salary and train to obtain their drivers licence, Dive Master qualification, and compressoroperator qualification. This would increase the number of local skippers and DMs, and thereforethe proportion of the wage bill going to local people.

How Coral Divers’ employment and wages contributes to poverty alleviation and support ofhistorically disadvantaged individuals.The employment and wages at CD positively contributes towards local poverty alleviation. Giventhat the majority (64%) are from the Mbazwana area. Interestingly though, the method ofrecruitment allows preferential employment to friends and family of existing staff – which hasincreased the powerbase of certain families within the company (e.g. over 1/3 of the localpermanent staff are from the Zikhali family). Therefore the system of recruitment does notcurrently spread the opportunities for employment equitably amongst the poor in the area, sinceinformation regarding vacancies is controlled.

KZN Wildlife commented that CD could potentially do more with regard to black empowermentfrom the local community, and encourage the local Zulu people to become Dive Masters, and towork in reception and managements. They state that this would increase CD’s credibility within thelocal community. Apparently local people (whether employed in tourism or not) tend to see thedive industry at Sodwana as ‘fat cat’ businesses with no commitment to the community and want toknow why local people are not employed as managers. An apprenticeship programme to trainmanagers of the future would be very valuable, and would start to merge the current line betweenblack and white roles in the industry.


6.1.4 Community benefit guideline

6. Be transparent when reporting community benefits distinguish between

• Benefits to employees• Benefits to emerging or community based entrepreneurs• Community benefits, for example leasehold payments that go to community projects

(grinding mills or school books) or are distributed as household income in the localarea.


The first two parts of this guideline were covered in previous sections.

What is the vision for how the local community should look in 5 years?The manager of CD noted that the biggest problem in the local community was unemployment, andhis hope for the area was that this would drop. There was an impression that the SpatialDevelopment Initiative road would encourage more visitors to come to Sodwana, given reducedtravelling times from major centres such as Johannesburg and Durban. In addition, the recentlyimposed ban on 4x4 driving on the beach could encourage different types of tourists to visit the areain increased numbers. The manager noted, “We have found that foreign visitors are put off by thesight of a beach crammed with 4x4 vehicles and . . .[people who] . . . race around the beach inthem. If we want to attract a user group who will spend more money in the area we have to make itas attractive to this group and keep the main beach vehicle free”. The ban could mean moreemployment for youths carrying diving equipment from the car park to the beach.

A representative of KZN Wildlife was less hopeful, and did not think that the local communitywould realistically change a great deal in the next 5 years, due to infighting within the TribalAuthority. However, it was hoped that the new council would be able to work more independentlywith the TA to promote development. It was envisaged that Mbazwana would expand, and that anumber of governmental departments would be based there. It was also noted that Coral Diverswas one of a very small number of companies working in the area with any form of corporate socialresponsibility. The other two mentioned were Sandton Scuba and Triton Dive Charters.

The mini-surveys with members of the Mbazwana community working at the craft market, cleaningdiver’s equipment, and tying hair found the following community problems were highlighted (seeTable 2):

Table 2: Problems within the Mbazwana Community:Water (Paying for water / No water) 44%No electricity 20%No road 12%Transport 8%No problems 8%Paying for school 4%No money to come to market 4%Source: Interviews with local people working at Sodwana craft market, cleaningdiver’s equipment, and tying hair. n=18; Age range of sample = 12-70 (average =26)

Community projects that benefit from the enterpriseSignificant community development projects that are soon to benefit from CD, and are locatedwithin the Mbila TA are financed through KZN Wildlife’s Community Levy system. All touristsstaying at accommodation within Sodwana National Park must pay R5 towards a community trust


fund on their first day. By October 2001 a total of R1,293,355 had accrued in the fund over 3½years of operation of the fund. 90% of the fund is allocated to projects in the local area while 10%goes to a central fund to help people in the province who are not living next to a protected area.However, none of the money has been spent to date in the Sodwana area due to disagreement withinthe TA.

In 2001 a newly elected council approached KZN Wildlife regarding the electrification of all fifteenschools in the TA. Once a letter of approval for the project had been obtained from the chief, theproject costing just under R1 million was approved and is now in the planning stages. Not only willthis project electrify the schools, but it will also bring electricity within the reach of 1000s of homesin the area. Despite the fact that electrification of rural areas is perceived to be a governmentalresponsibility, it was deemed unlikely that the electrification programme would reach the areawithin 5 years, and therefore channelling of the Trust funds was the best option. Another project toupgrade the Mtanenkosi High School was also recently approved, at a cost of just over R100,000.During 2001, it could be said that visitors to CD directly contributed nearly R31,000 to thecommunity trust and therefore towards both projects6.

Indirect employment benefits from CDThrough its support of KZN Wildlife via CD’s concession levy and associated gate and day fees CDindirectly supports local employment. For example, a local security enterprise has been set up tooperate within the park employing 15 people. This costs around R150,000 annually to run, andagain it is estimated that revenue from CD pays for around 2-3% of this fee. In addition, KZNWildlife, whose staff initiated a process to develop the business skills of local enterprises, hasfacilitated the development of a number of local SMMEs. Eighteen companies ranging in size from1-10 employees were trained in business skills including tendering, calculating fuel costs,estimating man-hours, and invoicing. However, during 2001 around R250,000 of business wasoutsourced to local SMMEs by KZN Wildlife for jobs including grass cutting and generalmaintenance. Training of new companies is now undertaken on an informal basis by KZN Wildlifestaff. The conservation authority now hopes to get some of these SMMEs onto a GSLWPauthority’s training scheme.

6.2 Social Guidelines Assessment

6.2.1 Community projects guideline

7. Consider what contributions the enterprise can make to scholarships, local youth sports teamsand other community causes. Monitor and report increasing contributions with respect to thenumber of projects and level of investment

In terms of direct financial assistance to community projects, CD donated R500 to a local soccertournament in December 2001. In addition, during the early months of the year CD are approachedby school children requesting support for their education. In 2001 CD supported three localstudents, who worked off their loans by working for the company periodically over the year7. CDhave offered to help distribute old school uniforms to local schools. A visitor from Cape Townoffered these to the community, but have yet to be received by CD. There have not been increasingcontributions, as such, merely that requests directly to the enterprise are considered individually.

6 During December 01 R51,670 was raised, and January 02 R44,3477 It was through this process that CD identified the two local men trained to become Skippers


Box 3: Teachers Workshop on Marine Resource for Schools bordering Sodwana NationalPark and Kosi Bay:A PADI A.W.A.R.E project that received sponsorship from Coral Divers & Sandton Scuba.

Source: Adapted from a poster inside KZN Wildlife Office at Sodwana National Park

KwaZulu Natal Wildlife implemented environmental education with local schools with sponsorship from an AWAREgrant. These schools service the local communities adjacent to Sodwana National Park and the Coastal Forests reserveand abut the St. Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves.

The ChallengeDuring 2001 the challenge of the programme was to reach out to much wider and remote region of schools borderingthe Coastal Forest Reserve. Initial teachers’ training workshops were run a Bahanga Nek; a conservation field stationnear the Mozambique border. The teachers showed incredible enthusiasm and a hunger to learn. Not long after, theworkshops we were inundated with requests for field trips to the shore. This proved to be a challenging task with thelack of roads, and the only access to schools was with 4x4 vehicles. The field trips have been followed up withclassroom lessons on coral reefs and the importance of tourism. A marine tank was sponsored by Coral Divers.

Opening the DoorThis programme has opened the door for KZN Wildlife interaction with the schools and communities. We are beingasked by leaders and community members to teach them about coastal resources. The schools programme has initiatedlinks with other provincial programmes. The teachers enthusiasm has resulted in them organising to go to teachersworkshops in Durban; 500km away. A core group of these teachers have now formed part of a WWF sponsored‘Treasure Chest’ projects, and will develop marine related resources to use in their classrooms through a series ofworkshops in 2002.

Marine Week – October 2001Schools from the whole region participated in a drama competition near Sodwana Bay. This is done on an annual basisto proved some evaluation for the programme.

Schools camp – November 2001At Sodwana interested students experience being tourists and concepts of sustainable tourism were work-shoppedtogether.

Some informal environmental education is made available, when the community representative ofKZN Wildlife requests assistance. For example, local children have been taken on boat rides or mayhelp to clean beaches.

Although the management of CD were unable to identify potential community causes in the areawhere they could be of assistance, KZN Wildlife and the Mbazwana Ward Development Committeeidentified a number of potential projects that could use assistance:

• Enterprise development: There is an opportunity for local enterprises to be developed andtake advantage of the potential to diversify the tourism market. This is especially importantsince all of the local tourism businesses are currently white-owned. Given that divinggenerally operates during the mornings only, there is scope to diversify the tourism marketand sell activities during the afternoons. Focus on providing seed capital to initiate toursthrough local taxi groups would allow visitors to access attractions as such as Lake Sibayaor to make cultural tours. In addition, local 4x4 tracks and mountain biking tours would besimple to operate and relatively cheap to set up (for which there is a demand from CD’sguests – see section 6.1.1). For overseas visitors, who are increasingly drawn to Sodwana,there is a good market for cultural tourism; such as traditional meals, traditional villagetours, Zulu dancing, Sangoma services, and ‘meet the people’ tourism. The area is very richin cultural traditions and these could potentially be sustainably and sensitively commerciallyexploited. Representatives of the Ward development committee were interested in


developing community tourism enterprises, such as chalets or bush camps. However, theywere also keen to initiate larger industrial plants such as fruit processing factories.

• Business training: The craft market salespeople often use their income to support theirwhole household. Monthly income varies, but there is a concern that they may drop theirprices to such a low level that they cannot even recover the cost of their materials.

• Bursaries: There are currently no bursaries or scholarships available to students in the area,save from generous patrons who visit the park. Access to bridging courses is required toallow promising students to upgrade their poor local education to a level where they mayattend and succeed at university.

• Water: Although a government project has developed pipelines to bring water to the localarea, some members of the community are still without potable water.

• Sustainable agriculture: A member of the Mbazwana Ward Development Committee notedthat there was a need for upliftment of community agricultural production. Educationregarding agricultural techniques were required, in addition to seed and fencing. Given thecurrent demand from local retail outlets for fresh fruit and vegetables sourced in the localarea, such a scheme could have immediate returns. However, it appeared that the projectidea required development and focused planning by the community before a proposal wouldbe ready for presentation to potential donors. It could be possible for CD to work inconjunction with KZN Wildlife to support such a scheme. The knock-on benefits to CDwould be greater availability of good quality fresh goods sourced locally.

In terms of mechanisms of supporting local community products, strategies such as channelling aproportion of revenue, channelling donations from tourists, providing training or materials would bepossible. Given the strong working relationship between CD and KZN Wildlife, it would be mostefficient to work together to plan and implement activities.

Describe the use of participative and full consultation with the community in settingobjectives for activities to support (e.g. the community projects funded must be those that areneeded by the community)As yet there has not been any formal participative consultation with the community in settingobjectives for local support. However, given the problems within the Mbila Tribal Authority, itmay be beneficial to assist local development through the existing KZN Wildlife channels. Thiswould help to avoid duplication of effort and pool human and financial resources more efficiently.

6.2.2 Human development guideline

8.Use tourism as a catalyst for human development, focussing on gender equality, careerdevelopment and the implementation of national labour standards. (Report on gender equality andcareer development)

Company safeguards to ensure that recruitment and promotion occurs in anequitable/transparent manner (e.g. without nepotism, or discrimination based on race, sex ordisability)Advertising of vacant positions at CD is solely undertaken through word-of-mouth. Existing staffare informed of the opening, and friends and family come to CD to apply for the position. In termsof diving staff, people who contact the enterprise directly, and offer their services fill positions.

Construction work is implemented internally where possible. There is a full time carpenteremployed at CD, while plumbing for the new en-suite accommodation was undertaken by anapprentice DM, who also happened to be a plumber. This DM also trained two other apprentices toassist him. The casual employees who cleaned reeds during construction phases were women only,as men apparently refused to undertake this work. However, labour used to lace reeds into the hut


constructions was about 50:50 sex ratio. Training of staff from the local area within the kitchen andhousekeeping departments is simply through watching and learning, rather than any formal system.

In terms of sexual equality in employment there is no formal policy regarding equal or unequalopportunities. The number of men and women employed in total at CD is almost equal, but thereare differences in men and women’s roles within the company, as table 3 shows:

Table 3: Sex ratios of employment positions at Coral DiversPosition Men Women

Management 3 (50%) 3 (50%)Dive Instructors 3 (100%)Dive Masters* 4 (50%) 4 (50%)Skippers** 2 (100%)Apprentices 8 (61.5%) 5 (38.5%)Compressor operators 2 (100%)Drivers 2 (100%)Chefs 3 (100%)Kitchen Assistants 8 (100%)Bar 1 (50%) 1 (50%)Laundry 2 (100%)Camp Cleaner / Assistant 1 (14%) 6 (86%)Carpentry 2 (100%)General Assistant 2 (100%)Totals 29 (49%) 30 (51%)* The DMs are also apprentices** An additional 5 apprentices are commercial skippers – all men

Management notes that some of the differences are due to physical strength and ability to do thework, while others are due to what is acceptable for the employee. For example, men and womenare qualified Dive Masters at CD, but the Skippers are all men. Women have been trained asSkippers through the apprenticeship programme in the past, but have not stayed with the job.However, they state that they do not have any formalised policies that favour or disfavour any sexor race. Traditionally they have employed the most suitable person for the job. In terms ofrecruitment, during 2001 and the first months of 2002, nine men and six women were recruited toCD’s staff. All but two of these positions were for apprentices. KZN Wildlife note that there is avery rigid cultural determination of what jobs men and women may do.

The manager notes that, “CD does not have a deep management structure so there are not theopportunities to “advance” through traditional management levels that bigger companies have.Also only having a six person management team promotion opportunities are limited.” 72% of themale staff have received training through CD, and 38% of these are local people. 44% of all malestaff had received formal (certifiable) training with diving or skipper related training (11% of thesewere local people). 48% of the women staff at coral had received training (58% of these were localpeople), and 20% of the female staff had received certified training (none of these were localpeople). The informal training is used for day-to-day operations, such as maintaining and servicingpools, operating the self drive lawnmowers, basic carpentry and building techniques, bar keepingskills, boat and motor maintenance and servicing, compressor operation, house keeping. Some ofthe beach assistants have been trained to be skippers and kitchen assistants to be chefs.


6.2.3 Local guides guideline

9. Use local guides, and encourage them to continually improve their quality, to ensure that thecommunity speaks for itself and to increase the revenues going into the local community (by higherfees for quality tours). Monitor and report this economic contribution to the community and settargets to increase it annually.

CD does not currently do tours within the local community, nor do they commission any such toursfrom external guides. Although none of the diving Instructors or Dive Masters are from the localarea, two local Skippers are employed as staff. They are experienced in ‘guiding’ diving groups todifferent attractions on parts of the reefs along the coast. As a proportion, 100% of the peopleemployed purely as skippers at CD are local, but they constitute 22% of all staff who are qualifiedto Skipper boats. Both received training through CD, and two more skippers are due to be trainedduring 2002. One of the Skippers started work as a beach assistant two years ago, cleaning diversscuba gear after dives. Training for one skipper was financed by the local Billfish 1500competitions. Potential trainees are informally identified from casual labourers on the beach whoare cleaning diving kit. They must fulfil certain criteria, such as being responsible, not drinkingalcohol, and be good communicators. The current local Skipper did a diving course for interest,but was not keen to pursue that aspect of career development. The barman has undertaken hisOpen Water and Advance diving courses and has considered training to become a Dive Master.

There is an apprenticeship programme operated by CD. Novice divers are taken on and trained toDive Master level for free, while they work at the enterprise over a 12 month programme (althoughit can be completed faster than this). This gives people who cannot afford to pay for the courses theopportunity to learn. Some of the previous apprentices have gone on to work at CD if there arevacancies, while others are working internationally at other dive operations. This system wouldpotentially allow local people to train in the industry, and there are reports that they would beinterested in the type of arrangement currently available.

Proportion of the total guiding bill paid to guides from within 20 km of the enterpriseThe proportion of the total guiding bill paid to local guides is 22% excluding freelance instructors,or 17% including freelance instructors. 13 of the staff have been trained up by CD.

In terms of setting targets to regularly increase the fees paid to guides for tours run by people fromthe local area, CD are quite tied to the unions in relation to wages. They intend to train moreskippers from the local area, but it is not practical to set targets directly to fees paid.

Diving qualifications are well structured at CD through the successful completion of PADI courses.For example, a Dive Master will have completed Open Water, Advanced, Medical First Aid,Rescue Diver, and Dive Master courses. Similarly, a Skipper must hold a SAMSA CommercialSkipper License.

Regarding commitment to making an economic contribution to local guiding services, CD notes that they, “ .. need to actively encourage and source Dive Masters’s and skippers from the local community. Eventhough there is a reluctance amongst locals to become DM’s . . . through education, the perception of divingas being a high risk occupation could be changed amongst the community. Currently CD does not have anyformal plans in place to move forward with this (besides skippering), but it is certainly an area that we haveidentified as needing to be changed and within the next 3 years I think that there will be very good progressin this area. I would go so far as to say KZNW need to get to the point soon where every dive at Sodwana hasto be led by a KZNW certified DM and a percentage of these DM’s have to be locals (increasing annually).”

The training and employment of local people in guiding roles supports efforts to alleviate poverty inthe local area by increasing the capacity of individuals to make choices about employment. With


internationally recognised Skippers licences, or PADI qualifications, they have the option to beemployed in destinations other than Sodwana.

6.2.4 Social contract guideline

10. Develop a local social contract for interactions and behaviour between the local community andtourists (including responsible bargaining), developed with the participation and contributions fromthe community, and display it prominently for visitors and publicly within the community

There is currently no social contract between CD and the local community, but the managementwould consider developing one soon. They consider that liaison with the local community isessential in setting a social contract up.

A social contract is considered to be more important now than in previous years, because increasingnumbers of international tourists are coming to Sodwana. At weekends approximately 85% ofoccupancy is attributable to domestic tourists, but during the week this changes to a situation wherebetween 65-70% guests are foreign. Overall during 2001 74% of occupancy was attributed todomestic tourists, and 26% to foreign visitors. It is the foreign guests, predominately, who requiredunderstanding of appropriate behaviour with local people (e.g. appropriate greetings with Zulupeople).

KZN Wildlife also suggested that a social contract was a good idea since local people have verylittle understanding of what a tourist is, since they have never been on holiday. In the GSLWP localpeople have been taken on trips, as tourists, in order to experience what it is like and how it feels tobe a guest.

The connection between tourists, theft, and crime has been made locally. KZN Wildlife reportedthat around 5 years ago there was a major crime wave in the area, and an average of 13 thefts wouldbe reported from the beach and camp each night. Since this time there has been a massiveimprovement to a stage where in December 2001 not one crime was reported. The shift has arisenbecause local staff were made to understand that visitors meant jobs. A KZN Wildlife facilitatedprocess led to the community taking responsibility for local crime, and within 3 weeks R350,000worth of stolen goods were recovered. Previously a security company from Mbazwana had beenused in the area, but instead KZN Wildlife helped to set up a local security enterprise (see section6.1.4). Local people and existing staff work overtime on a 1-2 hour shift basis to support it.

Creation of a social contractIt was suggested that a contract could be developed in consultation with staff from the local arearegarding culturally correct etiquette. It could also incorporate consultation with local curio sellers,and beach boys cleaning diving kit. Guidance on how to bargain responsibly for their goods andservices would benefit both parties. The social contract could act as a commitment by CD, andguidance for guests. It could be displayed on the back of doors in cabins, as a poster in thereception area, or communicated to guests informally. The process could work both ways, andinform staff and local entrepreneurs of how foreign tourists expect to be treated.

There is currently a liaison committee between KZN Wildlife and the community, but staff have tobe very aware of who they discuss development issues with in terms of the TA politics. However, itis possible to get ideas seeded with local businessmen, who get the projects going within the TA.

KZN Wildlife suggested that it would require a marketing campaign, potentially under the umbrellaof the World Heritage Site.


6.3 Environmental Guideline Assessments

6.3.1 Water use guideline

11. Meter the quantity of water consumed and manage consumption and leakage so as to reducewater consumption by an additional 5% per annum for 3 years, and report water consumption andperformance in monitoring.

Facilities and systems in place to monitor waterThere are currently no systems in place to monitor water consumption at CD, and no proposals todo so. However, it would be relatively easy and cheap to install a water meter for CD to monitorusage. The water is currently sourced from Lake Mgoboseleni and then from a bulk supply directlyfrom KZN Wildlife on a ring main that starts at a KZN Wildlife ablution block used by guestsstaying in Safari Tents and Basic Huts.

CD is not billed in proportion to the water volumes consumed. CD pays a rate for their concessionwhich is based on a payment based on their occupancy – per guest/night. During the periodJanuary-December 2001 the KZN Wildlife levy constituted 16.4% of expenditure. This fee was notonly used to finance water, but also the operation of the concession on the land used, electricity,waste disposal, road maintenance, and conservation activities8.

The payment system is interesting because CD would not get returns on investment for water-saving management systems or technology. Such activities would simply constitute altruistic (interms of reducing KZN Wildlife’s costs) and environmentally responsible behaviour.

A benchmark for water use that is easy to understand and work out (e.g. volume perbed/night; volume per tourist; volume per month) to record monthly and display to staff.Without monitoring water volumes, or a current mechanism to do so, it has not been possible todesign a suitable benchmark for CD’s overall water consumption. Similarly, it would not bepossible to monitor how the benchmark varies with occupancy without these figures. Once themeters have been installed, it would be possible to work out the cost and savings from water-savingequipment knowing that water costs incurred by KZN Wildlife for water purification, pumping etcare estimated at R2.7 per kilolitre.

Targets to reduce water consumption by a minimum of 5% per annum for 3 years (e.g.reduce consumption by 10 litres per bed/night)Some water saving devices and management strategies are already employed at CD. For example,the toilet cisterns in ensuite bathrooms are set to a low-flush volume of 6 litres, rather than 9.Similarly, basins in the bathrooms can only hold around 1.5 litres. However, the KZN Wildlifecommunal ablutions are less water-conservation oriented: they are fitted with baths and 12-15 litretoilet cisterns.

In terms of laundry, visitors receive one set of clean linen and towels during their stay (unless theyremain for over a week). This reduces the amount of water needed to wash them if they werereplaced daily. A laundry facility for guests is unadvertised, and charged at a rate of R25 per loadin order that guests do not abuse a free service. Based on the volume capacity of the washingmachine and frequency of use, the laundry service stands currently uses an estimated 32 – 39kilolitres per year.

8 The revenue does not enter a specific pool for Sodwana, but instead accrues to Head Quarters in Pietermarizburg.Revenue from Sodwana and other KZN Wildlife reserves is then distributed as per approved budgets. This mechanismallows profitable reserves to subsidise the operation of areas which are not so attractive to tourism, and so maximise theareas of land under conservation.


There are three swimming pools at CD: Two that are used for training purposes, and one forrecreation. They are all filled to a level of around 15 cm below the top, and have a lip to minimisewater spillage. Pool covers are fitted to the two training pools, although only one was in use at thetime it was viewed.

A faucet with an aerator attachment is fitted to a faucet in the self-catering cooking area of CD, butnot elsewhere. However, due to the low pressure of water at the camp, the flow from taps is alreadylower than elsewhere in Sodwana at around 10-12 litres per minute. This could be reduced furtherdown to 5 litres per minute, but is certainly already better than the conventional 20 litres per minute.

The most water-hungry aspects of CD are diving related. Water used to wash boats per annum isestimated at between 96 and 154 kilolitres (varying with the number of boats launched each day andtime taken to clean the boats). Meanwhile, it was estimated from twenty divers observed washingequipment that each uses an average estimated 41 litres of water to cleaning their kit if they used theshowers on the beach (range: 5 – 93 litres) (see Plate 2). Of the twenty observed, only two peopleused the water bath provided to clean equipment, while all thirty occasions when local kit-cleanerswere observed, only the bath was used. When not in use and are firmly switched off, three of thetaps continue to flow at a rate of 0.8 litres per minute. Therefore there is currently wastage of over3.45 kilolitres of clean water per day9. Divers cleaning equipment at CD in with the shower or hoseuse comparatively less water, since the flow rate is half that of at the beach, and even the cleaningtimes are less (average 13 litres).

Plate 2: Beach showers and bath

Management strategies with the enterprise to reduce water consumption to reach the targetsby managing use and installing low-water use equipment

There is a range of potential water-saving options that could feasibly be implemented at CD.Although there are no financial incentives to reduce the volume of water consumed, the potentialwater saving technology and activities implemented include:

9 Potentially 1260 kilolitres per year wastage, if it remained unfixed


• Water-saving taps and showerheads in ensuite facilities to improve the spray and efficiencyof the flow. This should not effect the low pressure gas geysers installed.

• Information and requests that guests conserve water in all bathrooms: This can be added toposters that are already located behind chalet doors.

• Sprinkler attachment on the hose used to maximise spray and minimise use when washingboats and watering lawns.

• Ensuring pool covers are used on training pools when not in use to reduce evaporation.• Invest in a holding tank which would catch water from outside showers and recycle it, with

a re-charge of 10% clean water at a time (suggestion from KZN Wildlife)• Rainwater collection from roofs: This is feasible since the majority of the roofs are

corrugated plastic. However, since there are no financial savings to be made, it may provetoo costly to implement.

It is interesting to note that efforts by KZN Wildlife to install low volume shower-heads, or pushbutton timing devices over the past five years have failed. In all instances water-saving technologyhas been vandalised and removed. KZN Wildlife perceives that this is not just a matter ofeducation of the need for water-saving technology, but part of the nature of the user, who desires astrong flow of water.

There is currently no information regarding water-saving for guests in the KZN Wildlife ablutionsadjacent to CD. These facilities also contain 12 litre toilet cisterns, baths and showers that consumemore water than just smaller cisterns and showers.

6.3.2 Energy use guideline

12. Measure electricity consumption and introduce energy saving measures to achieve 5%reduction in use per annum over three years. This can be done by for example dimming lights, usinglow energy appliances and light bulbs and enhancing the use of natural ventilation

Electricity useSimilarly to water consumption, CD is unaware of the amount of electricity it consumes at thecamp. This because amounts of electricity consumption are also hidden within the levy payments.The only meters currently installed in Sodwana National Park are for the compressors. This isbecause KZN Wildlife’s electricity payments are based upon peak usage. By spreading compressorusage throughout the day (a significant consumer of electricity) overall bulk bills are reduced.

Given the lack of information available to CD currently regarding their electricity consumption, it isnot possible to design and monitor a relevant benchmark for consumption (e.g. kWh per bed/night;usage per tourist; usage per month). Nor is it possible to relate monthly electricity usage to changesin energy consumption (e.g. due to weather, additional tourists, construction work).

However, due to the non-compliance of certain operators (not including CD) at Sodwana toimplement energy saving devices (e.g. photoswitches; energy saving bulbs), KZN Wildlife isseriously considering installing camp electricity meters during 2002. This is a higher priority thaninstalling water meters since the costs incurred are higher.

Targets to reduce electricity consumption by a minimum of 5% per annum for 3 yearsAlthough it is difficult to set targets to reduce overall electricity consumption by a certain target(since overall consumption values are not known) it is possible to set targets to reduce consumptionin sections of the business: e.g. lighting & laundry. Initial targets of 40% reduction in consumptionfor lighting, 30% reduction in the laundry are feasible.


However, according to KZN Wildlife, the most electricity hungry activity at CD is compressing airfor scuba diving tanks, and it would be counterproductive to the business to reduce the usage of thisactivity. In fact, with increasing occupancy of CD it is more likely that energy consumption for thisreason will increase in the future.

Management strategies and low-energy use equipment used to reduce electricity consumptionThe current lighting system at CD and in the chalets was converted so that all 40 W light fittingswere energy efficient 15 W bulbs, and if outside lights were all placed on photosensitive daylightswitches, CD could reduce its electricity for lighting by 48%. However, the fitting ofphotosensitive switches may not be logistically or economically feasible until the camp’s powersupply is re-wired. Currently the wiring is arranged in such a way that photosensitive switcheswould need to be installed on individual bulbs, than for entire camp areas.

CD is in the process of converting its use of 40 W argon light bulbs to 15 W low energy bulbs,which are equivalent to 75 W (1200 lumens). These are installed as and when existing bulbs fail10.The ceilings of the kitchen and dining area have been cleverly designed to make use of natural light.Translucent plastic boarding forms the waterproof part of the ceiling, which is underlain with a‘rustic’ wooden pole layer (Plate 3). Using a lighter colour of wood preservative inside the diningroom of CD could also reduce the need for lighting in the area (currently the lights are switched onduring the daytime). There is use of natural light and cooling through flap windows throughout CD(e.g. in the dining area, office, and chalets). However, due to the layout of the dining area, they arenot sufficient for natural ventilation to cool the area sufficiently, and ceiling fans are also used. Theefficiency of the ceiling fans could be improved by increasing the ‘tilt’ of blades.

Plate 3: Photograph of ceiling (dining room/kitchen) & flap windows

As mentioned in relation to water use, the current laundry management is already relativelyenergetically efficient. Linen used in the more expensive accommodations is fitted with darkcoloured towels, and coloured sheets and duvet covers. Using darker-coloured linen allows lowertemperature washes, and also less detergent used than for white linen. In addition, the policy is toprovide guests with one set of clean linen, towels and soap during their stay, unless they remain formore than a week. Industrial washing and drying machines are installed in the laundry, whichoperate all day (8.5 hours), and therefore consume around 15,700 Kwh over the year. Towels aredried on lines outside when the weather is good. The reason for the need for the dryer is the highvolume turnover of guests within a short time span. For example, the whole occupancy of the campmay leave on a Sunday afternoon, to be replaced by all new guests. Since there is not an additional

10 Interestingly, KZN Wildlife report that the low energy fluorescent bulbs emit more UV light than conventional bulbs,and this has led to problems in attracting insects at night.


set of linen, all of the linen has to be washed and dried in time. However, a new set of linen wouldcost an estimated R40,000.

Given that the estimated annual electricity consumption from the laundry (washer and dryer) isalmost equal to all of the lighting, there could be considerable savings in resource use throughpreferential drying of linen and towels in the open air when weather permits. If the laundry couldbe extended by 2 m along its length, the housekeeping manager estimates that the dryer would notbe required during winter months. If it were assumed that the dryer could be unused for 4 monthsper year, this would reduce the electricity consumption for the laundry by just over a third.

Cumulatively, if KZN Wildlife were to initiate a meter-payment system in line with current Eskomelectricity charges, CD could annually save over R8,700 through conversion of the lighting andlaundry, and by switching off the urn and coffee machine over night.

Gas savingsGas is used at CD for cooking food and for heating water. This is a more efficient heating systemthan using electricity. Gas savings could be made by switching thermostats on geysers to cooler,optimum washing temperatures; and also by installing water-saving showerheads in bathrooms.

Petrol and Diesel savingsThe volumes of petrol and diesel purchased from KZN Wildlife are not monitored. Althoughreceipts are given for every individual purchase made, only the bulk value of the fuel is billed to CDmonthly. Coupled with the price fluctuations in fuel over the course of 2001, it has not beenpossible to calculate the volumes of fuel purchased.

Coral Divers is, by its very nature, hungry in terms of diesel and petrol use. In order to make thedive trips more efficient, the boats will only launch with a minimum of 4 people, and divers arecharged extra money for dives to reefs that are further away from Sodwana Bay, in order to financethe additional petrol for the boats. During 2001 the associated diesel and petrol usage for tractors(to pull boats and trailers of divers to the beach from CD) and boats is 24.6 litre per launch. 11

Savings could be made only in terms of engine efficiency. Therefore, current engines should bewell maintained, and when replacements are required, 4-stroke outboards should be installed.These are preferable to 2-stroke engines in terms of greater fuel efficiency, 75% less hydrocarbonemissions, quieter running, and no-need to mix fuel and oil (so reducing the chance of spilling).However, CD note that the cost of such engines in terms of capital, maintenance, reliability andadditional weight outweighs the fuel. However, as 4-stroke engines improve they may becomemore economically viable.

There is currently no communication of energy saving agendas or activities to either staff or guests.

6.3.3 Renewable energy guideline

13. Set targets to increase the proportion of energy used from renewable resources – for examplesolar, wind, hydroelectric (increase by 10% over 3 years). Sustainable use of wood, fromindigenous and plantation forests is complex, and great care needs to be taken.

There is currently no use of renewable energy at CD. However, the management plans to install awindmill to improve the consistency of energy supply to computers, by taking advantage of theconsistent breeze at the camp. The capital cost for the windmill would be around R7,000 whichwould charge a 12 V battery from which to run three computers in the office. Given that CD is

11 There were 2,229 launches and 54,857 litres of diesel (tractors) and petrol (boats) were used.


charged a flat rate for its electricity, and that the value of this is hidden within their levy, there iscurrently no financial incentive to increase use of renewable energy and therefore minimise energycosts. It could potentially be possible to use wind turbines to power lights in cabins, but this wouldbe difficult due to the layout of the camp, and the dissipation of power of the distances incurred.Once installed, guests and staff should be made to understand the importance of renewable energythrough education, and the technology showcased.

Solar power is not really a viable option for energy use, since it is not unusual for Sodwana toexperience 2 weeks of rain at a time during the summer months. Also problems with potential theftof solar panels and their maintenance would increase the expense.

KZN Wildlife has not considered the use of renewable energy in the park or camps, althoughconsiders that there could be high maintenance costs.

6.3.4 Waste management guideline

14. Set percentage targets and time scales for the reduction of waste produced, levels of recyclingand reuse of waste from the enterprise. Set appropriate targets for reduction and/or recycling ofwaste produced per year for paper (5%), plastics (5%), metal (5%) and glass (5%). Report onprogress towards 15% targets over 3 years

There is currently very little activity at CD to (a) reduce waste produced, (b) re-use, or (c) recyclewaste. The mechanisms to reduce the amount of waste produce employed are to buy in bulk, andtherefore limit the amount of packaging waste; and also not to use disposable plates or cutlery. Theonly examples of re-use illustrated by the enterprise were the re-use of office paper as scrap, and re-use of 25 litre oil and soap containers by staff for water. There is no use of re-cycled materials,such as paper or ink cartridges, due to their reduced quality.

The problem for CD is that their waste disposal is tied to waste management practices employed byKZN Wildlife. Currently waste is collected from the bins at CD by KZN Wildlife staff, and isremoved to a landfill site, where it is incinerated and then covered (see plate 4). There is noincinerator structure or use of emission filters. Examination of post-incineration waste illustratesthat the debris is predominately tin and glass. The landfill site has caused problems for CD onoccasion. During 2001 there was a fly epidemic caused by a short period of poor maintenance atthe site when the earthmover broke and was not replaced. Mid 2001 the site was re-worked, wastewas re-buried and the area re-surfaced.

Plate 4: Sodwana land fill site: New waste area and historical landfill site


Despite the current use of the landfill site, two years ago waste KZN Wildlife collected andseparated into tin and glass and took it for recycling. However, this system was not cost effectivedue to the expense of transporting separated waste to the nearest recycling facility at Mtuba around150 km away was prohibitive, given the small financial returns (e.g. R25 per load). Coupled withstaff retrenchments within KZN Wildlife12 recycling is not currently feasible. If, however, arecycling facility was operating at Mbazwana, KZN Wildlife would be able to justify transportingseparated waste to it. Apparently a Land Use Management Process is currently being developed forMbazwana, and this could potentially include a consolidated waste strategy for the area.

Although it would potentially be feasible to distribute waste food to local pig farmers . . . but thereare no local pig farmers. It could potentially be composted, but would need to be processed first toensure that no toxins entered the soil. In order to prevent wildlife from raiding bins for foodaround the camp, bins have been constructed with covers (see plate 5). However, bins around thekitchen area, for some reason, do not, and banded mongooses were observed on several occasionswithin food waste areas in bins. Information is also provided to guests on notices advising them notto feed monkeys, which can become pests.

Plate 5: Bin at Coral Divers

Management of CD could not identify ways in which waste could be reduced through adapting theiroperations. However, it has been deemed possible to have large separate recycle bins that could beloaded onto a trailer and towed to Mtuba when vehicles travel there for other purposes.

Waste soap blocks that have been used by guests are given to staff when visitors leave. Byinstalling liquid soap dispensers within en-suite bathrooms by sinks and showers (as are found inCD’s communal ablutions), soap costs and packaging wastage could be reduced.

It could be possible to provide some waste materials (e.g. bottles/plastics) to community recyclingand craft making schemes. Consultation with local craftspeople would allow CD to determine whatparts of their waste could be of use. Waste reduction strategies could be designed by staff for useat CD, with prizes for effective ideas.

12 14% of KZN Wildlife staff were retrenched in August 2001


6.3.5 Conservation investment guideline

5. Invest a percentage of profits or turnover in species conservation or habitat restoration andmanagement. Report the investment, and try to increase this by 5% per year.

As previously mentioned, the proportion of CD expenditure that went to KZN Wildlife in 2001 was16.4%. This was made through the levy that is paid by CD for occupancy of concession they hold.This rate has a base-rate is calculated on the number of beds within the camp and resource use whenonly occupied by staff, and increases with increasing occupancy. Levels were calculated by judgingthe operating costs of KZN Wildlife facilities, and equivalent costs were used to determine the levy.

As previously mentioned, the levy is paid into a central KZN Wildlife account, which otherconcessions and park revenues in the province also feed into. This system allows the managementof reserves in the province that do not generate sufficient revenue through tourism to operate (butwhich are important in terms of biodiversity conservation) to be subsidised by more profitablereserves. KZN Wildlife estimate that 15-20% of their revenue is channelled to finance conservationactivities within the province. Therefore, it could be estimated that 15-20% of CD’s levy paymentsdirectly funded conservation in KwaZulu Natal. CD management estimate that this levy increasesby more than 5% per year in real terms (above inflation) and therefore they would reach theguideline target.

They also raise the revenue of KZN Wildlife by marketing Sodwana through their website and othercommercial literature. Every visitor to Sodwana, including those that stay at CD, must pay a once-off R20 entrance fee in addition to a daily fee of R35. During 2001 the occupancy of CD was 28%,which indicates that almost R640,000 was contributed to KZN Wildlife by CD’s visitors throughgate fees and daily fees. In this assessment it was not possible to report on the financial size of theinvestment, due to the confidentiality of the lease agreement. Although none of the conservationprojects in Sodwana are directly funded through geographically specific portions of the levy, asenior representative of KZN Wildlife estimated that CD contributed an estimated 2-3% of theentire conservation budget in Sodwana. The total Sodwana park management budget in 2001 wasaround R13 million, including wages.

Interestingly though, KZN Wildlife consider that the contribution that CD makes to Sodwana isgreater than just the levy. There have been benefits through their marketing of the area which, intheir opinion, outweigh the simple financial benefits accrued.

In order to increase the level of investment by CD in conservation, in addition to continuing thework they are already doing. There are a number of activities that could potentially be investigatedand undertaken:

• Habitat creation. CD could initiate a programme to stock the final sewage pond-bed withreeds. Labour from CD could be provided to stock the area with reeds during quieterperiods. This would benefit conservation through assisting the purification of waste-water,and also by providing a potentially valuable habitat for reed-nesting birds; and material fornesting birds (e.g. weavers). The programme would need to be endorsed and coordinated byKZN Wildlife who operate and maintain the sewage disposal ponds13. (See plate 6 for

13 Sewage waste is taken from septic tanks at CD by a KZN Wildlife honey sucker to a holding facility, and thenpumped to a sewage pond system south-west of the camp. The size of the ponds has been designed so that the waterremains within the ponds for 30 days, and the water soaks away from the final pond. The Department of EnvironmentalAffairs tests the quality of the water every 6 months (and get the results). There is some evidence of leakage from thefinal pond, however, this apparently only occurs after spells over heavy rain.


current system). CD is already planting indigenous trees around the camp to improve shadein the cabins. This will have a direct knock-on effect on wildlife by providing additionalhabitat.

• Turtle conservation. At one time CD operated turtle tours on the beaches to observeloggerhead and leatherback turtles nesting. These assisted in increasing awareness of guestsregarding the conservation of marine turtles, and the endangered species status of locallyoccurring species such as leatherback and green turtles. The tours were ceased when theiroperation went out to tender from KZN Wildlife. It was found that tours could not beoperated to run profitably, and therefore CD did not put in an offer to run them. However,DC could still promote them by providing interpretation material on turtle conservation andadvertisements for tours operated by other companies.

• Local environmental awareness. Given that there is reportedly a very low awarenesswithin the local communities regarding what scuba diving is, and why people come to thearea, get onto boats and head out to sea in such numbers, CD could greatly benefitconservation in the long term by helping to raise awareness of the wealth of naturalresources at their doorstep. This could be undertaken by assisting existing awarenessprogrammes run by KZN Wildlife taking local children snorkelling on the coral reefs.Labour could be provided during periods when the camp is less busy, and videos could beshown in the teaching facilities.

• Donations. Coral Divers is in a very strong position to obtain donations for its guests, andchannel these towards specific conservation projects.

Plate 6: Sewage ponds for Sodwana National Park, KZN WildlifePonds and historical leakage area – a reed bed in the final pond could provide a valuable habitat feature.

Encouragement of tourists to invest in conservationAs yet, tourists at CD have not been encouraged to invest in conservation or restoration in terms offinancial contributions. However, the training manuals used in the PADI courses run describeProject AWARE, and how divers might join. In addition, PADI centres across the world(including CD) annually participate in a reef-cleaning exercise. One day is set aside for divers tocollect waste which has collected on reefs from divers, boats and other sources. CD staff participatein the process, and encourage tourists to collect litter on this occasion during their recreationaldives.

CD plays also already plays a major role in environmental awareness of new divers through itstraining courses. The company is able to educate new divers regarding responsible environmentalpractices above and below water, and also to increase the awareness of divers undertaking advancedor supplementary courses (See section 6.3.6).


6.3.6 Reducing negative impacts guideline

16. Work with conservation authorities to ensure that visitors to natural heritage areas are aware ofthe impacts that they may have on the ecology of the area and how they should behave in order tominimise those impacts.

Diving from Sodwana National Park occurs on reefs located within the Maputaland MarineReserve. The coastline has been zoned for use between Cape Vidal in the south, to the border withMozambique in the north. The three Zones are:

• A – Sanctuary Zone• B – Restricted Zone• C – Controlled Access Zone

Sodwana Bay and the two-, four- and five-mile reefs are located within Zone C. Scuba diving andsnorkelling are permitted in relation to a code of conduct, as is Department of Transport registeredboating. Seven- and nine-mile reefs, which are also dived by CD guests, are within Zone B, wherelimited scuba-diving is permitted, in accordance with a code of conduct (KZN Nature ConservationService, Undated). ‘2-mile’ reef is the most utilised reef in Sodwana, with 83% of dives, followedby ‘5-mile’ (5%); ‘7-mile’ (8%), ‘9-mile’ (3%) and 1% on other reefs (Porter, 1999). Althoughbetween 120,000 and 130,000 dives per year14 occur on ‘2-mile’ reef, KZN Wildlife report thatthere has been no significant damage to the reef.

Information regarding the beach zoning and Codes of Conduct and swimming with whale sharks areavailable to all visitors to Sodwana National Park in the KZN Wildlife Office. The conservation-related aspects of the codes for diving and boating are summarised in Table 4. There are also anumber of boards erected around Sodwana with advice for visitors, boat users and divers (see Plate7). Although the pamphlets and information boards outlining the codes are freely available in theKZN Wildlife Offices, it is not actively given to all divers entering the park. CD could facilitate thedistribution of the codes by giving them to all trainee and experience divers on arrival.

Course information provided to divers undertaking Advanced courses at CD include informationregarding Project AWARE and its mission to increase environmental awareness within the divecommunity, and to propagate environmentally sound dive practices, operations and skills. Thecourse manual also outlines responsible interactions with aquatic life. This includes adviceregarding passive interactions, touching and handling aquatic life, collecting, feeding fish, andvarious diving techniques to minimise impacts (Richardson, 2000).

14 Although these are performed by a population of only 20-25,000 divers!


Table 4: Summarised Codes of Conduct in the Maputaland Marine Reserve(Source: KZN Nature Conservation Service, Undated; KZN Wildlife, Undated )

Diving CodeCarefully observe your surroundings so that you do notdisturb any animals.

Never surround an animal/s. There should always be anarea for the animal/s to move away from you

Fins can severely damage animals and coral through directcontact or by stirring up clouds of sand that can ‘choke’corals and other filter feeders

Please do not touch the reefs- this causes breakages andinfection of damaged areas due to the transmission oftoxins and disease form one coral to another

Marine mammals and sharks should be approached slowlyfrom the side and divers should stay five metres awayfrom the periphery of the group. One may not approachcloser than 20 m to whales.

If you haven’t dived in a while your skills may needsharpening. Before heading to the reefs, spend somebottom time familiarising yourself with buoyancy andother techniques again

Divers must have a recognised diving qualification andshould not dive beyond their qualification

Do not harass fish, especially territorial ones like clownfish, which expend a lot of energy trying to fend you off

Trainees’ first dives should be conducted over sand untilbuoyancy control has been mastered

Be careful going into caves or next to large corals withbuoy lines

Do not collect souvenirs (dead or alive) – even shells orrocks. Everybody must have the opportunity to see anuntouched environment

Do not wear gloves. Holding onto reef in a current orsurge is particularly damaging and gloves can be a majorvector of toxins and diseases between species

Please do not feed any marine animals. Secure all equipment so that it cannot contact the reefUnderwater photographers should exercise extremecaution when taking close-ups – no hanging on

Never touch marine animals. Don’t hold onto turtles –they can drown easily

Report environmental disturbances or destruction of yourdive sites to [KZN Wildlife]

Code of Conduct for Swimming with Whale SharksPlease don’t approach closer than 3 m from the head orbody, or 4 m from the tail

Don’t swim or boat in front of whale sharks

Don’t touch the whale sharks Don’t use a camera with a flashRemember that whale sharks are wild and at time unpredictable. Although they are usually docile, there have been caseswhere divers have been injured. Treat them with the care and respect that any large powerful animal deserves.

Boating CodeMarine mammals and sharks should be approached slowlyfrom the side and the boat should stay on the periphery ofthe animal group. (The national regulates state a distanceof 300 m for whales)

To protect reefs, no anchoring may take place withinmarine reserves, except in cases of emergency.

Tuition for Dive Masters includes information on briefings (Richardson, 1999). With respect toenvironmental impact, this details that briefings should includes ‘environmental interactionsuggestions.’ It advises DMs to remind divers in a positive context to motivate divers to dive in anenvironmentally friendly manner. The items included are:

• Identifying organisms divers need to respect, and be cautious about in the localenvironment.

• Reminding divers to avoid damaging sensitive organisms – by maintaining buoyancycontrol, by not kicking or grasping sensitive parts of the reef.

• Discouraging fish feeding by killing organisms to do so. It helps to point out that everyorganism has its role to play in maintaining an ecological balance.

• Encouraging divers to leave the environment as they find it – take nothing but pictures,leave noting but bubbles, move nothing but themselves.

The PADI books are relatively new, and CD is able to access up-to-date information on bestpractice from AWARE. For example, a pamphlet produced by PADI’s Project AWARE15 is givento students outlining 10 ways in which divers can protect the underwater environment. These aresimilar to items included within the Maputaland Marine Reserve code of conduct, but also include 15 AWARE = Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education


getting involved in local environmental activities and issues; and be a role model for other divers inyour interaction with the environment. PADI’s AWARE project has financed three KZN Wildlifeeducation programmes over the past two years.

Plate 7: Codes of Conduct boards around Sodwana

KZN Wildlife also runs education and communication programmes for dive operations atSodwana. These are informal training courses for Dive Masters.

Two dives were taken on ‘7-mile’ reef during the assessment. During dive briefings that occurbefore each diving trip the Dive Master informs the divers of general information regarding current,depth, dive time, and that they are diving within a marine reserve, and they should therefore nottouch or remove anything. Time is also provided for divers to obtain neutral buoyancy underwater,in order that they do not damage the coral. On one occasion a diver holding onto reef in a swell toobserve a moray eel was directed by the DM to stop touching it. During a boat trip to and from thereef, dolphins and a whale shark were encountered. No advice was given regarding swimming with


dolphins, but before entering the water to snorkel with the whale shark, divers were advised not totouch it. However, the codes of conduct note that there are a number of other guidelines that alsoshould be used in conjunction with approaching and swimming with marine mammals and whalesharks. Generally speaking, therefore, these guidelines should be presented to divers on arrival atCD to ensure people are aware of best practice before diving.

One example of good environmental practice is that when boiled sweets are given to diversfollowing their dive, wrappers are collected by the Skipper for disposal on shore. This saves theproblem of divers littering in the sea. Divers could also be made to be more aware of their impactsin terms of littering – e.g. by not throwing tape from filled cylinders into the sand. In addition, OpenWater and trainee divers may only dive on ‘2-mile’ reef with CD. This does not reach depths ofmore than 18 m. Only Advanced Divers, or those who have completed more than 20 dives, andhave shown on ‘2-mile- that they are in control of their buoyancy are taken to the other reefs.

There are penalties for divers who do not comply with rules of the Marine Reserve as enforced byKZN Wildlife. Equipment may be confiscated, or they may be banned from KZN Wildlifefacilities. In severe cases, dive concessions may be lost.

Beach controlsIn December 2001 legislation was passed by parliament to prevent 4x4 vehicles driving on thebeaches in South Africa. This has not affected CD’s operations in terms of practicalities, sincetheir concession allows them to transport boats, equipment and divers to and from the beach.However, it may have an impact on the numbers of people coming to CD to dive. CD predict thatthis may produce a small negative impact in the short-term, and a large positive impact in the long-term.

KZN Wildlife consider that beach controls are overdue, but there were problems in the way theywere implemented, and the lack of lead time to prepare (e.g. the conservation authority receivednews about the ban at the same time as the public. For example additional time would have allowedKZN Wildlife to provide pedestrian access and adequate parking for visitors, and also means ofgetting people’s equipment to the beaches.

The manager of CD agreed with KZN Wildlife, and noted that, “The local community was notinvolved, alternative parking facilities were not established and pedestrian walkways and accesswere not facilitated. Aside from the beach ban KZNW have known about the tar road for the past 3years but have done nothing to accommodate the increase in non-4x4 owner business as well asvolume in general. They are chasing away business that will pump a lot more money into the localcommunity. There should be also be a KZNW shuttle from the campsite to the beach and ahardened road in the campsite that is more suitable to normal vehicles.”

Representatives of the Mbazwana Ward development committee were concerned regarding the dropin tourism recently and the related ban on 4x4s on the beaches. They hoped that the governmentwould relent on its ban to bring tourism back to the areas, and improve the local economy. Therewere concerned that visitors were preferentially travelling to Mozambique instead of the SouthAfrican coast.


7. SUMMARY OF PERFORMANCE AGAINST GUIDELINES

7.1 Economic Guidelines

1. Buy locally–made goods and use locally–provided services from locally-owned businesses wherever quality, quantity, and consistency permits.Monitor the proportion of goods and services the enterprise sourced frombusinesses with 50 km and set 20% target for improvement over three years.

1.1% CD expenditure in 2001 on locally made products23.1% was on local purchases (36.9% within 100 km).1.9% of total expenditure on local services.Targeted improvements for local food & crafts at proposed newoutlets at Mbazwana.

2. Give customers the opportunity to purchase locally produced crafts andcurios, set targets to increase the proportion of sales of goods sourced within 20km of the enterprise. Assist local craft workers to develop new products to meetmarket demand as evidenced in the enterprise.

100% crafts purchased made within 20 km.Assist local craft workers commissioning furnishingsProposals to develop craft retail outlet (for sustainably producedcrafts) at CD with local person to manage

3. Government and established businesses need to redress previous imbalances,and to enable the historically disadvantaged to engage in the tourism sector. Forexample they should source 15% of services and 15% of products, increasingby 5% per year, for 3 years, from historically disadvantaged groups, and/orindividuals, and report on purchasing activities.

6.6% of expenditure in 2001 spent on products from companies withover 79% indigenous employees. 100% of local services sourcedfrom black empowerment companies or HDIs.Potential increase use of local services through training local men asguides for tours in Ozabeni Reserve.

4. Encourage visitors to spend more money in the local economy, and to visitlocal bars and restaurants and participate in tours to local areas, bringingbusiness to local communities. Where appropriate treat this as part of thebusiness of the enterprise and charge a booking fee or commission, or sell craftand local food products through the mainstream enterprise.

Tourists encouraged to use local men to clean diving kit. Currentlyfew advertisements for local bars/tours. Sample of visitors hadaverage local spend of R157Sample local sales/service people (curios, hair-ties, kit cleaning)showed revenue used for food and education.Market survey revealed additional products and services desired thatcould be facilitated by CD. Potential for interpretation board of localattractions.

5. Recruit and employ staff in an equitable and transparent manner andmaximise the proportion of staff employed from the local community. Settargets for increasing the proportion of staff and/or of the enterprise wage billgoing to communities within 20 km of the enterprise.

News of vacancies spreads by word of mouth.Best person for job employed (regardless of gender or race)64% staff from within 20 km of CD receiving 44.9% of the totalwage bill.Will increase above inflation, as per negotiations with unions, andwith proposed employment of more local apprentices and skippers.


6. Be transparent when reporting community benefits distinguish between

• Benefits to employees• Benefits to emerging or community based entrepreneurs• Community benefits, for example leasehold payments, that go to

community projects (grinding mills or school books) or are distributedas household income in the local area.


Employee benefits and those to emerging/CB entrepreneurs alreadydealt with.CD guests pay KZN Wildlife community levy. In 2001 CD visitorscontributed R31,000 towards forthcoming local school electrification& school renovation projects. With increasing occupancy, level ofcontribution by CD visitors will increase.Entrance fees also pay for KZN Wildlife staff & services.

7.2 Social Guidelines

7. Consider what contributions the enterprise can make to scholarships, localyouth sports teams and other community causes. Monitor and report increasingcontributions with respect to the number of projects and level of investment

Current micro-loans to school pupils for books etc: paid off by workfor CD. Financial support of local soccer tournament in 2001.Facilitation of environmental education by KZN Wildlife.Opportunities to assist local enterprise development, businesstraining, and sustainable agriculture projects.

8. Use tourism as a catalyst for human development, focussing on genderequality, career development and the implementation of national labourstandards. (Report on gender equality and career development)

Roughly equal men and women employed at CD.Career development is role rather than gender oriented (e.g. skippers& diving staff). Little opportunity/scope for advancement.72% male staff & 48% female staff have received training from CD

9. Use local guides, and encourage them to continually improve their quality, toensure that the community speaks for itself and to increase the revenues goinginto the local community (by higher fees for quality tours). Monitor and reportthis economic contribution to the community and set targets to increase itannually.

22% all skippers local. Two local people to receive skipper trainingin 2002.22% total guiding bill accrues to local guidesLow interest locally of diving due to perception of high risks.

10. Develop a local social contract for interactions and behaviour between thelocal community and tourists (including responsible bargaining), developedwith the participation and contributions from the community, and display itprominently for visitors and publicly within the community.

CD consider important to develop social contract in consultationwith local staff, given increasing proportion of foreign tourists.Local crafts people revealed problems with tourists over-bargaining.


7.3 Environmental Guidelines

11. Meter the quantity of water consumed and manage consumption andleakage so as to reduce water consumption by 5% per annum for 3 years, andreport water consumption and performance in monitoring.

No meters installed by landlords, KZN Wildlife, and no plans to doso. Therefore not possible to report water consumption.Existing low-water consumption practices in laundry, water-heating,small toilet cisterns & context of low water pressure.Potential for grey-water recycling with dive-kit cleaning, informationfor guests, & water-saving faucets/showerheads.

12. Measure electricity consumption and introduce energy saving measures toachieve 5% reduction in use per annum over three years. This can be done byfor example dimming lights, using low energy appliances and light bulbs andenhancing the use of natural ventilation

No billing of electricity use by KZN wildlife, therefore not possibleto report usage nor financial savings through reduced use.Existing energy conservation measures in laundry, water heating,ventilation, daylight switches, move to low-energy bulbs, use ofnatural light,Proposals to reduced consumption for lighting by 40% and in thelaundry by 30%.No monitoring of petrol/diesel volumes used – bulk billing by KZNWildlife. Use likely to increase with increased occupancy (moredive launches). 4-stroke engines not yet economically viable.

13. Set targets to increase the proportion of energy used from renewableresources – for example solar, wind, hydroelectric (increase by 10% over 3years). Sustainable use of wood, from indigenous and plantation forests iscomplex, and great care needs to be taken.

Proposals to install windmill to power office computers.Solar power not practical due to weather.No proposals by KZN Wildlife to use renewable energy sources.

14. Set percentage targets and time scales for the reduction of waste produced,levels of recycling and reuse of waste from the enterprise. Set appropriatetargets for reduction and/or recycling of waste produced per year for paper(5%), plastics (5%), metal (5%) and glass (5%). Report on progress towards15% targets over 3 years.

Recycling scheme run by KZN Wildlife stopped 2 years ago due toimpracticalities of transporting separated waste to depot 150 kmaway. CD bound by KZN Wildlife waste management policies.Potential for recycling if depot opened at Mbazwana.Management consider volumes waste already reduced e (e.g. alreadybuy in bulk; no local pig farmers for waste food)


15. Invest a percentage of profits or turnover in species conservation or habitatrestoration and management. Report the investment, and try to increase this by5% per year.

16.4% expenditure in 2001 to KZN Wildlife (but also to coverelectricity, water etc) and an estimated 15-20% of CD’s paymentswent to finance conservation projects in the province.Estimated CD contributed to 2-3% of Sodwana Conservation budget.Contribution should increase with levy payments >5% year.Visitors to CD paid estimated R640,000 to KZN Wildlife in entranceand day-fees.Potential to increase by assisting local environmental awareness,advertising turtle tours, habitat creation, channelling guest donations.

16. Work with conservation authorities to ensure that visitors to natural heritageareas are aware of the impacts that they may have on the ecology of the areaand how they should behave in order to minimise those impacts.

Work closely with KZN Wildlife, and staff participate in training.PADI diving codes taught to divers taking courses at CD, and divebriefings include information about the marine reserve.Could distribute diving codes from KZN Wildlife directly to gueststo improve environmental awareness.


8 DISCUSSION

The purpose of this case study was to test a selection of the National Responsible TourismGuidelines for South Africa on a nature-based tourism operation. It was attempted in order todetermine whether the guidelines can easily be assessed and reported on within a commercialtourism operation. The study of Coral Divers highlighted some limitations of the assessmentmethod designed in relation to availability of data, and also in relation to the wording of theguidelines and national targets.

Coral Divers AssessmentExisting environmental objectives in relation to guidelines were well established in relation toenergy conservation, although less formally prescribed in relation to economic and social aspects.Objectives were not set within any environmental or socio-economic policy, but were related toinformal but integral practices developed by CD management.

The assessment was greatly facilitated by the General Manager of Coral Divers, who wascommitted to the success of the study. Coral Divers were especially in information producedregarding the community development aspects and the potential for marketing. The company hasbeen through a period of concentrating on growth and improving the quality of service provided.There was an impression that the assessment had allowed them to increase the scope of areas thatshould now be addressed. The company is open to practical suggestions and appears to be willingto implement feasible changes to management systems that may improve the level of theirresponsible performance. It was clear that the use of a manual, to provide information onresponsible tourism practice would be of use, and there was a desire from management for this typeof tool. CD’s environmental performance was admirable given the absence of cost savingsassociated with implementing energy saving technology. In addition, their established stafftraining systems, guidance for trainee divers from PADI, and levels of local employment comparedwell with the guidelines. CD’s use of a computer-based financial recording system made theassessment feasible in terms of producing proportional information quickly.

The KZN Wildlife representatives interviewed were also very helpful in gathering information oncommunity projects, entrepreneurial development, and environmental aspects of CD and Sodwana.

Clearly the guidelines always need to be addressed in relation to individual circumstances of theenterprise concerned. It is unlikely that enterprises will be able to successfully fulfil each andevery aspect of the guidelines, and therefore they should concentrate on areas where their effortscan be most effective. This was clear in the case of Coral Divers in relation to waste management,since their level of control of the system was constrained by the context of KZN Wildlife wastepractices.

Availability of dataThe majority of the information required to implement the assessment was readily available throughthe company accounts and existing financial monitoring. Data that was not available at all, andwhich constrained certain aspects of the assessment included:

• Lack of information on water and energy consumption (costs not associated with levels ofuse; no meters within the camp & not possible to implement monitoring measures during theassessment; petrol and diesel not monitored separately and their volumes not recorded)

• Lack of information on historically disadvantaged companies used (this required individualinterviews with each company)


• Determining how much money visitors spend in the local economy (a separate study wasrequired to interview tourists, and monitoring over time may be logistically expensive).

Critique of guidelines and targetsIn relation to the waste management guideline, there is a lack of clarity with respect to whether the5%’s are in terms of volume or mass. It should be made clear that the enterprise needs to report onwhich method of measurement they intend to utilise. In cases where there is no formal collectionmethod of waste, ascertaining and monitoring volumes/masses of waste produced regularly, andbeing able to evaluate 5% reductions may be impossible. However, strategies to reduce waste maystill be reported.

In relation to the <20 km target for sourcing crafts, and <50 km for sourcing employees, productsand services, the national targets were realistic in this case. This is partially because the local townof Mbazwana was located just 15 km from CD, and local employees lived within the tribal authorityadjacent to Sodwana National Park. However, it may have been more straightforward to only utiliseone standard distance (e.g. 50 km).

In relation to the use of proportions as targets for annual improvement, these will need to beassessed in relation to their context. For example, CD had made major capital purchases locallyduring 2001 for construction purposes and the same level of purchasing would not be requiredduring 2002. Therefore, their proportional local spend in relation to total expenditure during 2002may be lower, even if the proportion of local operational purchases made (e.g. food) are increased.

The use of proportional information rather than actual financial data made the collection ofinformation far easier, since confidential aspects of the accounts were not required. However, thereis clearly an intrinsic mathematical problem in the use of proportions. For example, if an enterprisewere to increase its current investment in conservation from nothing, by 5% per year, they wouldstill be contributing nothing after 5 years, but would be successfully implementing the guideline!

Some unnecessary overlap of guidelines was found during the assessment. For example, the threeeconomic guidelines regarding purchasing could ideally be combined (Guidelines 1-3: Section 4.1).There was also overlap between the Economic and Social guidelines regarding community benefits(Guideline 6, Section 4.1 & Guideline 7, Section 4.2). Similarly, the guidelines regarding the useand training of local guides and equality in career development (Guidelines 8 & 9: Section 4.2)were partially covered within the recruitment and employment guideline in the Economic section(Guideline 5: Section 4.1).

There is, as yet, no mechanism to evaluate overall performance in relation to responsibility – andpotentially a checklist of adherence to the different guidelines would be of use in destination,provincial or national collation of results.

Limitations of assessmentThe aim of the assessment, to produce objectively and transparently measurable and declarable datawas achieved. Little of the assessment results are qualitative in nature, and therefore there is arealistic potential for some type of auditing system in relation to the guidelines in the future.

Parts of the assessment methodology were found to be overly prescriptive (e.g. Enterprisepurchasing – separating items made and purchased within 50 km) and so detailed that it wasdifficult to collect all of the required information within the time constraints (10 days) of the work.The database that had been designed for data collection was, in some instances, not useful inrelation to the guideline and available data. However, it did assist in the guidance of investigation.


There were problems in setting targets for reducing waste, recycling, and reuse in this case due tothe constraints of the wider waste disposal problems (e.g. no recycling plants within 400 km).Therefore, the practicalities of each case must be considered realistically in relation to theguidelines.

In some instances, more time was required to do a full assessment of CD. For example, it wouldhave been possible to do a full energy and water audit of the camp. This would be a very valuableprocess, and through which a comprehensive energy/water conservation plan could be developedwith appropriate monitoring tools. This would preferentially use the participation andcontributions from staff to design and implement. Time was also a constraint in comprehensivelyaddressing HDI companies utilised further away than the 50 km scope.

Additional data collection tools were used at CD that had not been included in the initialmethodology. Questionnaires were designed and implemented during the study for small samplesof retail outlets, tourists, craft salespeople, girls tying hair and men cleaning dive kit on the beaches.Semi-structured interviews were also undertaken with representatives of KZN Wildlife tocomplement the information sourced from CD on some aspects. With the additional questionnairesand interviews with KZN Wildlife, some triangulation of assessment was possible.

The database created prior to the assessment was not used prescriptively, but was adapted to thecircumstances of CD to address specific guidelines. However, now that the database has been setup, CD will be able to maintain it and update information regularly.

It was interesting to digress in certain parts of the assessment to investigate interesting case studiesand examples of good practice. Therefore, the assessment should not be the be all and end all inorder that scope can be expanded as necessary.

9 CONCLUSIONS

Coral Divers performance in relation to the GuidelinesConsidering the absence of any formal national or sub-sector guidance available in South Africaregarding responsible tourism, and the lack of financial incentives to make savings in resource use,Coral Divers performed surprisingly well on the majority of the guidelines. In instances where lessprogress had been made, the management was very keen to evaluate and develop systems toimprove where possible. It would be possible to implement monitoring systems for all of theguidelines assessed, save the difficulty of addressing waste disposal.

Performance of the GuidelinesOverall, the guidelines provided a framework for assessing a range of measurable aspects ofeconomic, social and environmental performance. They provided an interesting range ofconventional and new aspects of sustainable tourism for the enterprise to consider. The one criticalenvironmental aspect that should also have been included though, was the process of sewagedisposal (although it was touched on briefly here).

RecommendationsIt is recommended that the guidelines be re-edited to avoid repetition during assessment, and thatsome are re-worded to increase clarity. The manual development should include best practice onappropriate technology to perform in relation to environmental best practice. It should also includeelectronic versions of databases and data collection sheets to facilitate implementation andmonitoring.


10 REFERENCES

Coral Divers (Undated) Diving Information: Dive excesses, Qualification requirements, and NightDives, Poster in reception of Coral Divers.

KZN Nature Conservation Service (Undated) Zoning of St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves,Pamphlet, KZN Nature Conservation Service

KZN Wildlife (Undated) Whale Sharks and Divers, Pamphlet, KZN Wildlife

Porter, J. (1999) Sodwana Bay Diver’s Guide, KZN Nature Conservation Service

Richardson, E. (1999) PADI DiveMaster, International PADI Inc.

Richardson, E. (Ed) (2000) PADI Adventures in Diving, International PADI Inc

Personal communications & interviewees

Eric Heymans, Camp Manager and Chef, Coral DiversIan Porter, KwaZulu Natal Wildlife, Sodwana National ParkJone Porter, KwaZulu Natal Wildlife, Sodwana National ParkMr M. D. Mdletshe – Mbazwana Ward Development CommitteeMr Alison Ncube – Mbazwana Ward Development CommitteeStuart Roberts, General Manager, Coral DiversYvette Heymans, Camp Manager, Housekeeping, Coral Divers

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