DEVELOPMENT - Landowners

Representatives of Lomshiyo Trust, Mpumalanga Parks Board and Ernet Trust, during discussions to game fence the reserve, seen here on a field trip on 13 October 2000.

The following entities were the founding members and major landowners in the reserve:

Lomshiyo Trust: a community trust with 700 beneficiary families who reside to the east, outside the reserve on several farms owned by the trust. The Lomshiyo trust was established to own a series of farms bought for them with donor funding. Two of these farms were contributed to the reserve. A medium to large commercial lodge is to be built on the Lomshiyo trust land in line with the integrated development approach for the reserve and to provide a long term income stream to the trust.

Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) is a parastal agency which is the provincial conservation authority for Mpumalanga province. It is the successor to what was called the Mpumalanga Parks Board.  Under their conservation mandate they fund the conservation and biological management of the reserve from their internal budget. This is made possible by the high priority conservation status of the land which now forms the reserve. Large tracts of state land were transferred to the custodianship of the MTPA for the purposes of conservation and form a major part of the reserve.

Ernet Trust is a family trust of the Oosthuizen family who, through two subsidiary companies, Way Prop (Pty) Ltd and Simply See (Pty) Ltd, contributed three farms to the reserve. Simply See (Pty) Ltd is the developer of the current 18 Private Sites on one of these farms, in line with the integrated development approach for the reserve. The development is called the Mountainlands Estate and in its implementation the common property of the Estate has already been transferred to the Mountainlands Estate Owners Association. The owners association thus succeeds Simply See (Pty) Ltd as member of the reserve. Individual sites sold are transferred to the relevant buyers who become members of the Association and enjoy their rights in the reserve through an endorsement that is added to all title deeds. This endorsement will protect the integrity of the reserve for future generations and offers security to purchasers of sites.

Public awareness of the reserve and its important conservation status is an ongoing task. This is done through field trips, workshops, media releases and coverage of major events and other public relations activities. Initiatives such as the five year bird survey being conducted by the local Barberton bird club contribute greatly to the awareness. The bird club and other field trips are always popular. 

Landowners hosting a field trip, during which they guided local residents through the reserve to familiarise people of the region with the reserve, its objectives and conservation importance.