A collaborative project between BirdLife South Africa’s Empowering People and Landscape Conservation Programmes
The Ntsikeni Sustainable Livelihoods Community Project aims to improve and maintain ecosystem service delivery and biodiversity within the Ntsikeni Nature Reserve and Ramsar Site through nature-based solutions. Located in KwaZulu-Natal’s Southern Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, between Underberg and Kokstad, the 9,200 ha reserve provides, stores, and regulates an average annual runoff of 22 million m³, supporting numerous downstream communities who rely on this water for daily survival. Ntsikeni Vlei is one of South Africa’s most extensive high-elevation wetlands and hosts a variety of endemic and threatened species, including the Critically Endangered White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi).
The reserve is bordered to the south and east by many villages of the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality, an area of high unemployment where socio-economic pressures contribute to environmental challenges. Ntsikeni Nature Reserve faces several threats, including community cattle being herded into the reserve, annual arson fires that damage the wetland and surrounding catchment, and the declining profitability of its community-run lodges, which reduces local incentives to protect the reserve. The project was initiated after BirdLife South Africa discovered the White-winged Flufftail at the reserve in 2021, working with neighbouring isiZulu Traditional Authorities and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. By engaging local communities, BirdLife South Africa addresses threats to ecosystem functioning and to the livelihoods of people dependent on the wetlands, grasslands, and forests of the wider Ntsikeni Key Biodiversity Area. The project is delivered through two complementary streams: the Herding for Health Programme outside the reserve, and the Wetland Conservation Project inside the reserve.
For the communities around Ntsikeni Nature Reserve to secure diversified incomes and growing benefits from healthy ecosystems, where the wetlands, grasslands, and forests of the Southern Drakensberg sustain both the livelihoods of local people and the biodiversity they share the landscape with, for generations to come.
We partner with the traditional communities neighbouring Ntsikeni Nature Reserve to deliver nature-based solutions that improve and maintain ecosystem service delivery and biodiversity. By combining sustainable rangeland and livestock management, ecotourism, habitat restoration, and skills development with traditional knowledge, we reduce pressures on the reserve’s wetlands and catchments while creating conservation-compatible livelihoods.
Outside the reserve (implemented by the Herding for Health Programme)
1. Restore rangeland condition and reduce land degradation on communal grasslands through structured grazing plans, so that livestock pressure on the reserve’s wetlands and catchments is alleviated.
2. Improve livestock health and community economic resilience by integrating traditional knowledge with conservation practice through veterinary support, training, and improved livestock market access.
3. Strengthen climate resilience and conservation-compatible livelihoods for rural households dependent on livestock and natural resources, through Ecoranger employment and carbon credit schemes.
Inside the reserve (implemented by the Wetland Conservation Project)
4. Support ecotourism and reserve management through a contracted community bird guide who provides guiding and hospitality services at Ntsikeni Lodge, with proceeds distributed through traditional authorities to support local livelihoods.
5. Conduct long-term research and monitoring of birds, including the threatened White-winged Flufftail, and provide management support such as livestock exclusion from wetlands, reporting of illegal activities, and firebreak maintenance.
Operating outside the reserve and established by BirdLife South Africa’s Empowering People Programme in partnership with Meat Naturally–Africa, the Herding for Health Programme is a community-driven initiative focused on rangeland restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods. It improves land condition, livestock health, and community economic resilience by integrating traditional knowledge with conservation practice through structured grazing plans, veterinary support, and training. Financial incentives have already reduced livestock encroachment in the reserve, alleviating pressures on the wetlands and surrounding catchments.
Current reach includes participation by 16 villages covering over 20,000 ha of communal rangeland, with 16 Ecorangers, one Field Officer, and one Ecomonitor, totalling 19 employment opportunities, and equipped to support sustainable grazing, reduce land degradation, and improve herd productivity. The programme aims to scale to 50 villages and more than 52,000 ha of communal rangeland, enhancing biodiversity protection, landscape restoration, and the resilience of rural households dependent on livestock and natural resources.
Find out more at the Sustainable Livelihoods Project webpage.
Operating within the reserve, BirdLife South Africa’s Wetland Conservation Project has contracted a community bird guide since 2022 to provide ecotourism guiding and hospitality services, and to maintain the Ntsikeni Lodge under the Ntsikeni Community Trust. Lodge proceeds are distributed through traditional authorities, supporting local livelihoods. The guide also assists with bird monitoring, research on the White-winged Flufftail, and management support, such as livestock exclusion from wetlands, reporting illegal activities, and firebreak maintenance.
Following the discovery of this new White-winged Flufftail hotspot at the reserve, the project supports long-term research and monitoring using passive acoustic and camera-trap surveys. Planned work includes rehabilitating head-cut erosion around Ntsikeni Vlei to reduce sediment deposition, re-establishing indigenous forest after clearing invasive alien trees, and improving signage and hiking trails to boost ecotourism.
Find out more at the Wetland Conservation Project webpage.
Beyond its conservation significance, Ntsikeni has immense potential as a flagship avitourism destination within KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa. Birding tourism is a growing niche that draws passionate domestic and international travellers seeking authentic nature-based experiences, and the reserve’s rich biodiversity, scenic landscapes, and absence of dangerous game make it ideal for responsible ecotourism. BirdLife South Africa has identified Ntsikeni as an important component of the developing Drakensberg Birding Route and has been actively supporting avitourism here as a mechanism for both conservation and rural livelihood enhancement. Working closely with local stakeholders, community structures, and reserve management, the organisation has trained and equipped a local bird guide to deliver high-end professional birding experiences, consequently bringing tourists to the reserve and supporting the community lodge through use of its accommodation and facilities.
This approach recognises that long-term conservation success depends on local communities deriving tangible benefits from biodiversity. By creating employment, developing guiding and hospitality skills, supporting local tourism, and raising the reserve’s profile among the broader birding community, BirdLife South Africa is fostering a positive relationship between conservation and community development; one in which the growth of avitourism strengthens the incentive to protect the grasslands, wetlands, and threatened species that make Ntsikeni unique. With continued investment in tourism infrastructure, habitat management, community bird guide development, and destination marketing, the reserve has the potential to become one of South Africa’s premier birding destinations while delivering meaningful conservation and socio-economic benefits.
TBD
Booking Guided Activities
Explore Ntsikeni Nature Reserve with BirdLife South Africa’s Accredited Bird Guide, Mr Dalu Ngcobo. To book a guided birding activity with Dalu, kindly contact Thandulwazi Ndaba (Empowering People Programme Intern) at +27 (0) 71 718 1566 / +27 (0) 82 289 3396 or [email protected].
Guided Birding Rates
Rates are charged per group (maximum of 8 people): R600 for 3 hours, R1,200 for a half day, and R1,650 for a full day. A week’s notice and aa minimum of 48 hours is recommended.
Booking Accommodation
Ntsikeni Lodge offers four open-loft chalets and a central communal hall at the headwaters of Ntsikeni Vlei. The lodge is community-owned and administered by the Ntsikeni Liaison Forum (BirdLife South Africa does not handle accommodation bookings).
To book, contact Simon Mbuyiseni Madumela at +27 (0) 67 480 5564, +27 (0) 78 505 5724, or +27 (0) 72 723 6385.
Rates are R800 per chalet per night. Please present proof of payment on arrival.
Note that mobile reception in the area is poor.
Find out more on BirdLife South Africa’s GoBirding platform.
