The Greater Makalali Land and Wildlife Trust was initiated to act as caretaker of the land and all the wildlife on it. The Trust pursues applied and innovative research, which is directed towards solving problems facing the owners of small reserves. In committing ourselves to the conservation of habitats, cultures and wildlife; the reserve management and the Trustees hope to create a management model that can be applied to other conservation areas, proving that there is indeed a future for long-term private conservation development.

As a result of fragmented habitats, small reserves and conservancies retain a central role in the conservation of animal and plant populations, particularly through meta-population management. In addition, the challenges we have committed ourselves to combating are the numerous threats to biodiversity. Furthermore, through the collaborative research projects, the program strives to make a contribution to “the bigger picture” through monitoring biodiversity processes, and facing up to management challenges created by the ever-increasing human population.

Our research and monitoring endeavours are aimed at achieving the following:

• To provide essential information for managing the Makalali ecosystem.
• To create a model that produces innovative and practical solutions for the management and protection of
  similar long term management concerns.
• To aid in the development of similar conservation projects.
• To provide a facility and opportunities for postgraduate students to complete research and gain experience in the conservation fields.

As the Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve acts as an occasional host for post-graduate students, please contact Audrey Delsink if you need to conduct a research project for your university and require a study site or fieldwork component. By submitting your approved research design, we can establish whether GMPGR is suitable for your study and if it will help to address GMPGR management questions and challenges.

If you want to read more about our other research please click here...

The official Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve Research and Conservancy website