Responsible Tourism in Tanzania - The Selous Project

By Rosie Davies - 24 April 2009

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In the southern part of Tanzania lies 300,000 acres of wilderness conserved and preserved by a new and exciting initiative; The Selous Project.

Set within the Selous Game Reserve, the project combines conservation and luxurious travel, bringing sustainable tourism to a new level. It has been developed to move away from hunting safaris and attract tourists in a non-consumptive way that is beneficial to communities and the environment.

The project has been founded by Anton Turner and Ryan Wienand, both ex-hunters turned conservationists. Turner has been drawn back to the area by his “deep connection” to it through his family history and working life as a guide and felt that he wanted to give back, “I had had enough of hunting. I think every purist, every hunter once in their life turns very much into a conserver and a preserver and a conservationist.”

Lukula Selous is the area and is host to many species of wildlife, and now a small number of visitors. A maximum of only eight people can witness this area in its entirety as part of a photographic safari, without the obstruction of man made noise, development, or interference with the environment.   The project pays the government up to $100,000 a year to secure the area and the animals, and visitors pay a daily park fee to enable Lukula Selous to be home to only you and the project’s staff. They’ve taken the hunting area, the lease and the hunting quota of the animals, but they don’t shoot them.

Selous has adopted a low volume in numbers and a high revenue approach in order to minimize the impact on the area, and so only one vehicle is required. The area is almost the same size as the Mari game reserve in Kenya, but at the height of the migration up to 2000 vehicles can be seen at the Mari compared to the Selous’ one and they are also looking to modify this to run on vegetable oil, but a source is yet to be found. Turner said “we work our camps and work ourselves around the area” and “we do everything as best as we can and as best as technology and best practices allow us to do.”  

The impact and their approach to the project is manageable, a lot of the safari is on foot allowing visitors to approach wild animals in their natural state and habitat, Turner describes; “If you walk into the wind up to an elephant with a bit of cover you can stand up to 10 meters from a heard of elephants and they won’t know that you’re there.” This is an experience that will open anyone’s eyes up to conservation and the beauty of wildlife.

Pressure on conserving and sustaining endangered species is ever growing, Turner recalls that in the last 50 years the estimated lion population in Africa has reduced from 450,000, which were roaming free to now 20,000. Hunting tourism that worked previously may not sustain them in the long term, he believes that we have to be imaginative and more inclusive in the way that the area is used, but we’ve also “got to understand the dynamic of local communities, and their involvement. We have to have initiatives that take communities and the government and all other interests.” The Selous Project may be part of the private sector but it is directly involved and “we rely on the resources as well as the communities.”

The camp has been built using only three bags of cement and is run by solar panels. The interior is based on the style and era of Frederick Courtney Selous, a hunter, explorer, conservationist and naturist, which the reserve is named after due to his explorations of Southern and East Africa. Positioned amongst a riverine forest on the banks of the Luwego River, the sounds and sights of wildlife surround the four spacious tents that look out onto the river and white sand. Natural and man made beauty come together with the elegance of the tents and the untouched scenery that they are built on. Each tent has stylish furniture made from recycled hardwoods and furnishings from Zanzibar. There are open air en-suite facilities, bucket showers, flush toilets and vanity stands, and hot water with 24 hour notice.  

In the dining tent guests will eat their delicious meals at a long mahogany table beneath candlelight. Meals are cooked using organic and local ingredients and bread and cakes are baked daily using the dutch oven in the camp, and to keep the hunger at bay picnic boxes and cold drinks are prepared for the day while on an expedition venturing away from camp. Luxury extras are available such as a masseuse and champagne.
The Selous project is more than a holiday resort, it is there “to secure and expand habitat for wildlife”. The Selous project will continue to take on areas, either former hunting areas or community areas and put into place a portfolio of tourism, which will be committed to working with everyone at every level that has a real interest.

This must be achieved sensitively and beneficiary to the communities. The project doesn’t rely on donations, it is run as a business; it relies on revenue generated, enabling it to be sustainable long term. Much of this also goes into the community and educating them to access the resources that they have, which involves building there skills; learning English, to having understanding of what wildlife and wildlife tourism can mean to them. The project only employs locally and can take 60 to 70 people. Future ambitions include creating a type of safari school where they will teach bush affiliation and skills enabling them to work else where because the project can only employ so many. 

Turner and Wienand are not alone they are partners with Great Plains Conservation founded by Collin Bell, which has projects in Botswana, Kenya, the Seychelles and other parts of Africa. Turner feels that “the beauty of being in Great Plains, we’re all part of a bigger energy, we’re all partners affectively and we all share the same ideals.”
“I wanted to get involved in this area because I believe it’s one of the last great wildernesses left in Africa,” said Turner and “this is a beautiful area and I think that, what we’re attempting to do is very needed.” Selous is a step forward in conservation projects as it is giving something to everyone that is involved.
For more information visit www.selousproject.com or email lise@selousproject.com for enquiries and reservations.  

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