Wilderness Management Training in
Southern Africa: Ensuring Appropriate
Management and Use of Existing Wilderness
Areas
W. D. Densham
T. G. Cooper
Abstract—Wilderness management training in southern Africa
has been offered by the Wilderness Action Group of Southern Africa
in the form of two courses, basic and advanced, since the early
1990’s. With a balance between lectures and practical work, the
courses are both relevant and interactive between participants and
facilitators. Since their inception, the courses have resulted in a
number of important outcomes for wilderness conservation in both
Namibia and South Africa. These include formation of two new
wilderness-oriented associations, preparation of management plans
for a number of wilderness areas, enhanced appreciation of the
value of wilderness in the region, and the nomination of candidate
areas for wilderness designation. Enjoying significant support from
international and local organizations, the courses are held on an
annual basis.
Wilderness conservation in both South Africa and Namibia
gained prominence because of the efforts of concerned individuals and non-government organizations recognizing the
important role wilderness areas can play in people’s lives.
This trend began in South Africa in the mid-1950’s. However, Namibia, where wilderness conservation is a more
recent development, did not follow suit until 1984. The need
for structured training, due to the relatively small size of
southern African wilderness areas and their fragile habitats, was only recognized recently. If these areas are not
used or managed with sensitivity (due to a lack of management expertise), their unique wilderness character and
resources will be impaired or permanently lost.
The Wilderness Management Training Courses were developed as a result of needs identified at the First South
African Wilderness Symposium held in September 1989, in
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The first courses were conducted
in the Umfolozi Game Reserve in October 1991, under the
auspices of the Wilderness Action Group. Following the
Wilderness Management Symposium held in the Waterberg
In: Watson, Alan E.; Aplet, Greg H.; Hendee, John C., comps. 2000.
Personal, societal, and ecological values of wilderness: Sixth World Wilderness Congress proceedings on research, management, and allocation, volume II;
1998 October 24–29; Bangalore, India. Proc. RMRS-P-14. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
W. D. Densham, Wilderness Action Group of Southern Africa, 5 Davidson
Street, Howick, 3290, Republic of South Africa, e-mail: ddensham@
kznncs.org.za. T. G. Cooper is Senior Warden, Waterberg Plateau Park,
Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Private Bag 2506, Otjiwarongo,
Republic of Namibia.
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-14. 2000
Plateau Park in June 1996, the Action Group was invited to
hold its courses in Namibia.
Wilderness Management Training
Courses _______________________
The courses provide training to equip wilderness managers with the skills needed to preserve wilderness areas and
their unique characteristics. Courses are designed similar to
those used by the U.S. Department of Ariculture’s Forest
Service, but are adapted for southern African circumstances.
This is due to the fact that Paul Weingart of the WILD
Foundation (International Wilderness Leadership Foundation) offered to develop these courses for South Africa. He
had a good sense of what was required, having spent some
time visiting southern African countries since the 1970’s
(Weingart 1998). The concepts of wilderness, the need for
wilderness areas, and wilderness management principles
form the core of the basic course. The advanced course
introduces participants to planning processes and setting
limits of acceptable change for monitoring purposes. In both
courses, the “minimum tool” principle and the fact that
wilderness areas cannot be viewed in isolation are repeatedly stressed.
Courses are limited to 25 participants to optimize opportunities for interaction and discussion of case histories.
These discussions are interesting and informative, and
have proved to be valuable in the interchange of experiences. At the beginning of each course, participants are asked
to state their expectations. Upon completion of the course,
they are asked to reflect on how these expectations have
been fulfilled.
Courses are held over a 5-day period and include a field
visit. Course contents are given in a series of short presentations, and videos of wilderness areas and wildernessrelated issues are shown to the basic course participants
because many of them have no idea of these aspects. An
important component of each course is a planning exercise
based on an actual management problem. Participants are
divided into small work groups (ideally four to six people per
group) and are required to solve the management problem
through the application of the management principles they
have learned. Each work group then presents its findings to
the entire group, giving their considered management action, the management principles they applied, and reasons
for their decisions.
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Manuals are given to each participant so that they have a
workbook to refer to in their respective work situations. This
has been made possible with the assistance of the WILD
Foundation. Each course participant is also issued the
Wilderness Action Group’s course-completion certificate.
The training courses have a number of strengths that have
ensured their ongoing success. They are held in the field with
small numbers of participants; they encourage high interaction between the participants and facilitators; and practical
case studies add value and dimension to the enjoyment of the
participants.
Basic Course
The basic course covers the elementary aspects of wilderness management and control of visitors in the wilderness to
preserve wilderness character and its resources. The course
training objectives are:
1. To understand the concept of wilderness as a protected
area category.
2. To be able to define wilderness and the need for this
form of protected area, and the legislative protection currently provided in South Africa or Namibia.
3. To understand the principles of wilderness management and the need to develop special management skills.
4. To understand the basic principles relating to visitor
management in wilderness.
5. To be able to develop a wilderness education program.
The course objectives defined the course contents and
program:
Day 1—History and Philosophy of Wilderness
Registration
Course overview, format, and objectives
Introductions and course expectations
Introduction of how formal nature conservation agencies,
conservancies, and wilderness areas are integrated
Why and what of wilderness, and the history of wilderness
Discussions
Day 2—Managing the Wilderness Resource
The need for statutory protection of wilderness areas
Principles of wilderness management
Wilderness management case studies
Videos on aspects of wilderness
Day 3—Visitor Management in Wilderness
Uses of wilderness areas
Wilderness use case studies
Principles of visitor management
Visitor management case studies
Field visit to reserve led by Reserve Manager
Videos on aspects of wilderness
Day 4—Further Aspects of Wilderness Management
Visitor management case studies
Visitor control measures
Wilderness education
Further aspects of wilderness management
Fire management and control
Wilderness wildlife management
Law enforcement
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Aircraft over wilderness areas
Cabins and structures
Competitive events
Day 5—Review of Course
Review of participants’ expectations
Course evaluation
Closing comments
Advanced Course
The advanced course is open to those who have completed
the basic course to ensure all participants have the same
basic understanding of wilderness concepts. It assumes that
all participants understand the principles of wilderness
management so that meaningful discussions will revolve
around the process of developing management plans and
programs for wilderness areas. Course participants are
required to bring a 1:50,000 map of a wilderness area for the
planning exercise, and are also asked to give a short presentation about the wilderness area in which they work. The
advanced course objectives are listed below.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
1. Appreciate the contributions to society of wilderness as
a protected area category and its role in relation to other
protected area categories in conserving wilderness resources,
natural environments, biodiversity conservation, and wilderness experience.
2. Gain hands-on experience in practicing wilderness
management principles by participating in a “Wilderness
Manager-for-a-day” exercise.
3. Develop an understanding of the application of the
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, the Wilderness Opportunity Spectrum, and the principles of the Limits of Acceptable Change.
4. Prepare a basic management plan for a wilderness area
to gain practical experience in wilderness planning.
The course objectives defined the course contents and
program:
Day 1—Importance of Wilderness Areas as a Resource
in Review
Registration
Course overview, format, and objectives
Introductions and course expectations
Role of wilderness areas as protected area category
Management of wilderness resource and management
principles
Day 2—Wilderness and You
Course participants’ presentations on a wilderness area
Discussions on presentations
Wilderness Manager-for-a-day exercise (by groups)
Group report-back and discussion session
Day 3—Principles of Wilderness Planning
Integrated environment management process and its
relation to wilderness areas
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum
Wilderness Opportunity Spectrum
Limits of Acceptable Change
Practical planning exercise (by groups)
Field visit into reserve led by Reserve Manager
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Day 4—Wilderness Planning Exercise
Practical planning exercise
Group presentations of planning exercise
General discussions
Day 5—Course Evaluation
Review of course expectations
Course evaluation
Closing comments
This course equips participants, who have little or no
experience in planning, to grasp the elementary principles
and to produce the beginnings of a management plan for
their areas. They are encouraged to complete and then
incorporate these plans in their wilderness areas. The courses
have been successful in stimulating field staff members to
produce management plans for two wilderness areas in
South Africa that have now received official recognition.
Management plans are currently being prepared for a number of wilderness areas within the Namibia Parks.
Evaluation of Courses ___________
The courses are evaluated at three stages. The participants are requested to complete a post-course questionnaire
and to give suggestions for improvements. These forms are
anonymous, giving them more freedom to make their comments and ensuring that the facilitators receive comments
from each of the participants. The participants are asked to
rate the content of the course, the value of the course, and the
facilitators. The completed forms are scrutinized carefully
by the facilitators to note all the comments so that the
courses are kept relevant for the needs prevailing at the
time. Results are summarized in a report by the facilitators
that is submitted to the Directors of the Wilderness Action
Group. Then, at the closing stage of the course, participants
are given an opportunity to make suggestions for any course
changes. The comments, evaluations, and suggestions (captured by the facilitators for the overall assessment of the
courses) have led to a number of course improvements and
have proven extremely valuable in keeping the courses
relevant and successful.
At a session conducted after all courses have been completed for the year, facilitators review participant comments
and make their own points on how the courses could be
improved. Once agreement is reached concerning what adjustments are needed, preparations are made for the following year’s courses.
The fundamental structure of the courses has not changed
substantially since initiation of the first basic and advanced
courses. The methods of presentation, the use of visual aids,
the timing of the program, the manuals, and the addition of
new topics have formed the basis of the improvements.
Course Outcomes _______________
Over the period that the courses have been offered, 350
participants have attended. They have come mainly from
the formal nature conservation agencies, although people
from the local communities, private land owners, and nongovernment organizations have recently taken part. The
courses have resulted in:
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• A wider appreciation of the value of wilderness as a
protected area category and its role in the conservation
of sensitive and fragile environments.
• The promotion of the wilderness concept in providing
specialist tourism opportunities, spiritual rejuvenation,
and the preservation of cultural heritages.
• The support of participants for the need for specialist management skills to preserve the wilderness characteristics.
• The promotion of the tenets of wilderness management,
with special reference to the “minimum tool” concept.
• An appreciation of the specialist planning procedures of
the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, the Wilderness
Opportunity Spectrum, and the Limits of Acceptable
Change for appropriate wilderness management.
• Recognition of the need to monitor the effects of visitor
use.
Since the start of the courses, two wilderness area management plans have been prepared, approved, and implemented in South Africa. They are for the Umfolozi Wilderness Area in KwaZulu-Natal and the Baviaanskloof
Wilderness Complex in the Eastern Cape. There is now more
public involvement included in the management of each of
these areas. For example, the Friends of the Baviaanskloof
Wilderness Area assist the staff in a number of significant
ways, and the Umfolozi Wilderness Area has a representative of the Wilderness Leadership School on its management
steering committee. This committee discusses all aspects of
wilderness management and decides what the best management direction is for the area.
Wilderness Action Group Courses are becoming recognized by the formal nature conservation agencies. The
Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism has included them as a component of its official training schedule.
The KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service has also
indicated willingness to accord them formal recognition.
This formal recognition will enable participants to include
successful course participation in their ‘curricula vitae’
(course requirements) for promotion purposes.
In October 1997, past participants, through their enthusiasm and concern for wilderness formed the Wilderness
Management Association, which is affiliated with the Wilderness Action Group. And in July 1998, the Namibian
Wilderness Association was formed as a result of the courses.
Way Forward ___________________
The Wilderness Management Courses have played an
important role in wilderness conservation in the southern
African region. This has been in spite of the fact that funds
to run them has been a severe constraint. There are a
number of non-government organizations that have assisted
in ensuring that the courses continue to be available. They
are: the WILD Foundation, Wilderness Leadership School,
Wilderness Foundation, Wildlands Trust, Msinsi Holdings,
Namibia Nature Foundation, Rossing Uranium Mine, U.S.
AID, and the Royal Netherlands Embassy. A number of
formal nature conservation agencies have played a significant role as well, including the former Natal Parks Board,
the former Department of Nature Conservation, Eastern
Cape Nature Conservation, and the Namibian Ministry of
Environment and Tourism.
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The Wilderness Action Group has also received support
from the U.S. Forest Service; an agency member traveled to
southern Africa to assist in the facilitation of the Wilderness
Action Group Courses. The Group is indebted to the Forest
Service and plans to strengthen this cooperative tie in order
to further ensure the success of its Wilderness Training
Courses.
The reduction of government funding to formal nature
conservation agencies is a reality that has become more
serious in the last 3 years. As this scenario is likely to
continue, the Wilderness Action Group is in the process of
seeking funding to be able to offer its courses on a more
structured basis.
There are a number of candidate wilderness areas throughout the region that have unique characteristics. These
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wilderness training courses can assist in the wilderness
designation of these areas by making people more aware of
the value of wilderness to present and future generations.
One way this can be achieved is by offering the courses to
people who live in communities on the boundaries of wilderness and protected areas. The Wilderness Action Group is
committed to continuing to offer its courses to keep widening
that awareness of the value of wilderness to society.
Reference ______________________
Weingart, Paul. D. 1998. Wilderness management training in
Africa. International Journal of Wilderness: 39-41.
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