Great Plains Sapi Concession (Pvt) Ltd Environmental Prospectus

Transcription

1 Great Plains Sapi Concession (Pvt) Ltd Environmental Prospectus Contact Person: Jonathan Hudson General Manager - Great Plains Sapi Concession (Pvt) Ltd. Contact Details: Great Plains Sapi Concession (Pvt) Ltd Registered Business Address Aerodrome, Victoria Falls Address jonathan@greatplainsconservation.com Office: Mobile:

2 About Great Plains Conservation INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Great Plains Conservation is a company focused on Conservation Tourism whose focus is on finding the right formula of conservation, communities and commerce that would make a lasting, sustainable difference to the world s iconic wildlife and wildernesses. Great Plains Conservation currently operate 10 camps across Kenya and Botswana and are now expanding their operations into Zimbabwe, having acquired the Mpala Jena Concession in the Zambezi National Park and the Sapi Concession in the Zambezi Valley. Our model takes stressed and / or threatened environments, surrounds them with compassionate protection and intelligent, sustainable management, and funds them with sensitive, low-volume, low-impact tourism. Communities are an intrinsic part of this model and benefit directly from it. In addition, our guests who pay to visit the camps we create become our valued partners and agents of positive change. About the Sapi Concession UNESCO World Heritage Status For a long stretch of its middle reaches, the Zambezi River separates Zimbabwe from Zambia. Downstream of Lake Kariba and Chirundu, on the southern (Zimbabwean) side of the great river, lies a vast wilderness complex that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its outstanding natural beauty and its magnificent ecological and cultural qualities. Three separate stateprotected areas together make up this huge wilderness complex and front onto the Zambezi River: Mana Pools National Park and its downstream neighbours, the Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas. The property is composed of three contiguous protected areas comprising the Mana Pools National Park (219,600 ha), Sapi Safari Area (118,000 ha) and Chewore Safari Area (339,000 ha) covering an entire area of 676,600 ha. Mana Pools is a fully protected National Park where only photo-safari and limited fishing activities are allowed (no motorboats). The Sapi Concession has been recently converted from hunting use into an exclusively tourism and conservation area. It is hoped that, with the change of use, wildlife populations will gradually recover and increase, offering another extraordinary wildlife and wilderness area to rival Mana Pools.

3 There are already some fishing camps along the Zambezi River in the Sapi area, and new photo-safari camps and activities are being developed during the coming years. Chewore remains a hunting area, with some fishing and photo-safari activities. * At time of inscription the justification for the UNESCO World Heritage criterion was that the area is one of the most important refuges for black rhino in Africa as well as a number of other species considered threatened at that time. Today, the black rhino has now disappeared from the reserve although the property still contains important populations of threatened species including elephant and hippopotamus, as well as other threatened species such as lion, cheetah and wild dog. Leopard and brown hyena, classified as near threatened, and a large population of Nile crocodile, are also protected within the property. The area is also considered an important refuge for a number of plants and birds. Wildlife populations and wilderness landscapes here are second to none in Africa. Healthy populations of many large Africa mammals are present, except for giraffe and wildebeest (which are not found anywhere in the Zambezi valley), and the black rhinoceros which is endangered and now restricted to a few specially protected areas like the Matusadona and Hwange National Parks. Fishing is excellent in deep waters of the Zambezi River here. Apart from Tiger fish and Bream, there are excellent specimens of catfish to be caught, including giant Vundu, as well as Bottlenose, Cornish Jack, Chessa and Nkupe. Many excellent fishing spots on the Zambezi River can be accessed by boat, including the spectacular Mupata Gorge, where the river narrows considerably and the flow is deep and swift. Fossil remains are located within the Sapi and Chewore areas, and west of Mupata Gorge, there are extensive "forests" of fossil wood. Inland, in the remote, wild southern section of the South Chewore Safari Area, there is a trackway of rose-colored sandstone with spectacular fossil footprints made by the dinosaur Allosaurus discovered in a riverbed. The small footprint size implies that it is a trackway of a juvenile, a probable carnosaur.

4 PROJECT DESCRIPTION PROJECT 1 CENTRAL SERVICE UNIT (CSU) FACTS No. Units Service Units No. Staff Units Source of Power Source of Water Sewerage System 11 Accommodation Units 1 x Warehouse, 3 x Storerooms, 1 x Tailors Workshop, 1 x Carpentry Workshop, 1 x Laundry, 1 x Office 24 Staff Units, 1 Kitchen Generator with Solar and Backup Batteries Borehole pump with RO System to purify drinking water Fat traps and soakaways with septic tank systems on toilets The Central Service Unit will be developed to house our Concession Manager s, Administration, Vehicle Maintenance teams and other concession staff who will be over-seeing the camps and concession as a whole. An office, a vehicle and boat maintenance workshop as well as a carpentry and tailor s workshop and central kitchen will all be included in the CSU to ensure the standards and materials across the camps are well maintained and in prime condition at all times. A laundry will be included in the development for servicing the laundry requirements for our camps.

5 The accommodation units at the CSU will be used for researchers, videographers and other invited guests / donors who will be assisting with the conservation projects, documentaries and awareness campaigns that will be done by Great Plains Conservation. There is potential that we will incorporate additional units close to the CSU for a team of National Parks Rangers which are based on the Sapi Concession, but this is not a definitive at this stage and is yet to be confirmed.

6 PROJECT 2 SEMI-PERMANENT TENTED CAMP FACTS No. Units No. Staff Units Source of Power Source of Water Sewerage System 3 Rooms, 1 guides room and pilot and / or a private guide room, 1 Main Areas, 1 Kitchen 6 staff, 2 manager s / guides rooms, Solar System and Lanterns Boreholes Bio-tank Systems The camp will be located on the banks of the Sapi River and will comprise of four tents and a main lounge / dining area, sitting on the earth to take advantage of the views overlooking the majestic Sapi River with views over Mana Pools. Using revolutionary environmentally friendly methods in the construction of these camps, they will be constructed with a maximum focus on minimising the impact on the pristine environment which surrounds them. Energy will come from a small solar system which should produce enough electricity during daylight hours to handle the electrical needs of the tents in the evening. Small lanterns will also be used in the camp. Access will be via light aircraft (scheduled or private charter) and guests will be flown into Chikwenya airstrip which will be maintained and licensed by both Chikwenya and Great Plains Conservation. GPS Co-ordinates for the Chikwenya Airstrip are: S and E PROJECT 3 SEMI-PERMANENT STILTED / RAISED STARBED CAMP FACTS No. Units No. Staff Units Source of Power Source of Water Sewerage System 3 Rooms, 1 guides room and pilot and / or a private guide room, 1 Main Areas, 1 Kitchen 6 staff, 2 manager s / guides rooms, Solar System and Lanterns Boreholes Bio-tank Systems The camp will be located on the banks of the Sapi River and will comprise of four magnificent split level stilted (Platform) accommodation with ablutions and a spectacular main area, all on raised decking to take advantage of the views overlooking the majestic Sapi River. This will be in order to view the stars from your bed through the mosquito net.

7 Construction will take eco-friendly principles to a new level of excellence, focused on locally harvested sustainable woods for flooring and furniture made from sustainable teak, manufactured locally. Using revolutionary environmentally friendly methods in the construction of these camps, they will be constructed with a maximum focus on minimising the impact on the pristine environment which surrounds them. Energy will come from a small solar system and lanterns. PROJECT 4 TEMPORARY TENTED CAMP FACTS No. Units No. Staff Units Source of Power Source of Water Sewerage System 3 Rooms, 1 guides room and pilot and / or a private guide room, 1 Main Areas, 1 Kitchen 6 staff, 2 manager s / guides rooms Solar with generator backup only Boreholes Bio-tank Systems Comprising of four custom-designed tents, our temporary camp will embody the philosophy of exploration, sitting squarely on the earth and connecting guests directly with the pulse of the wild. This camp will be built to have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible. It will run on 100% solar power and will have a grey water treatment plant, use borehole water for drinking and focus on activities such as walking and canoeing.

8 Light and noise pollution will be at an absolute minimum, and all our drinking water goes through an Ultra Violet reverse osmosis system, leaving no impurities. PROJECT 5 ROADS and CAUSEWAYS Plan to construct additional roads and causeways to access the camps and new areas of the Greater Sapi Concession. These will be done with limited impact on the environment, in conjunction & communication with the Mana Pools Ecologist. PROPOSED INVESTMENT VALUE PROJECT 1 CENTRAL SERVICE UNIT $160,000 PROJECT 2 SEMI-PERMANENT TENTED CAMP $80,000 PROJECT 3 - SEMI-PERMANENT STILTED SKY BED CAMP $120,000 PROJECT 4 SEMI-PERMANENT TENTED CAMP $80,000 PROJECT 5 ROADS and BRIDGES $15,000