African Safari Foundation

African Safari Foundation The ASF manages a rural development program to enhance the positive contribution of Africa’s natur

Over the last decade, the ASF (and its predecessor, Mafisa Planning and Research) has successfully researched the safari lodge industry, implemented pilot projects, analyzed public policy, advocated progressive approaches and participated in regional and global knowledge networks. The ASF underwent a strategic reassessment to guide its work for the next decade. The principal outcomes of the strate

gic review are:
• The ASF emphasizes a rights-based approach to build assets and improve the livelihoods of rural households. It targets a subsector of the tourism industry with exceptionally high potential for poverty reduction.
• The approach advocated by the ASF is now widely recognized in southern and east Africa. Several pilot projects demonstrating community ownership of land and capital assets are in place; training programs have successfully built the skills of local residents for senior employment; some government agencies have adopted (or are in the process of developing) progressive policies; and many private firms see community partnerships as central to their future expansion.
• The challenge for the next decade is to consolidate and expand the gains of recent years. In South Africa and Namibia, the future need is not so much to establish new demonstration projects (these exist and are at various different stages of implementation) but to build greater understanding and capacity to implement an already-proven approach at scale and to build forward and backward linkages along value chains anchored in successful safari lodges. In Mozambique, by contrast, there is a continued need for pilot projects because community partnerships remain unknown or at an early stage of development and there is consequently a need to demonstrate the potential of such projects.
• The ASF (and its network of associates) have become a repository of experience and is well-positioned to play an important role in scaling up the pro-poor transformation of the nature tourism sector. Over the next decade, the ASF will do this as a research, support and advocacy organization focusing primarily on southern Africa but networking locally, regionally and globally.

14/05/2026

Dear all. The African Safari Foundation has closed down.

Our Community/Public/Private partnership models for community benefit and commercial rights have been widely adopted. We set out to show how more respectful and inclusive community private partnerships were the right way to do business on community owned conservation land. The directors agreed that we had achieved this and our role was not longer needed.

We and our partners will continue to support communities in our work or private capacity but not through the ASF. Thank you for the support and efforts by our CBO, conservation and private sector partners who did the right thing.
Steve Collins
February 2026.

Rather than seeking to impose external conservation processes and institutional structures, collaborations that respect ...
28/09/2021

Rather than seeking to impose external conservation processes and institutional structures, collaborations that respect the multilevel governance and political structures of Indigenous and local peoples allow the robust and appropriate production, strengthening, and transmission of complex knowledge and diverse resource use practices in and through ICCAs. As Indigenous and local peoples across the globe have long advocated, their voices, concerns, and needs must take precedence in the existing and new conservation governance arrangements that involve their ancestral territories and embrace multifunctional landscapes. Rather than espousing the exclusive wilderness territories as an antidote to the ills of the Anthropocene, externally funded, designed, and implemented conservation initiatives must now align with or cede to Indigenous and local governance initiatives that drive research, policy making, and variegated landscape management.

The environmental crises currently gripping the Earth have been codified in a new proposed geological epoch: the Anthropocene. This epoch, according to the Anthropocene Working Group, began in the mid-20th century and reflects the “great acceleration” that began with industrialization in Europe ...

We support this work done by Resource Africa to mobilise and assist community leaders organise for better benefits and m...
26/08/2021

We support this work done by Resource Africa to mobilise and assist community leaders organise for better benefits and more control of natural resources.

“We are the custodians of our natural resources and the key to its sustainability. Our voices matter" Our primary goal is to increase recognition of the right of peoples to sustainably use and benefit from the resources on their land and enhancing community leader’s ability to engage and exercis...

This is why the ASF exists and supports land claimant communities in South Africa and community conservancies in souther...
27/05/2021

This is why the ASF exists and supports land claimant communities in South Africa and community conservancies in southern Africa.

The planet’s wildlife is disappearing at unprecedented rates and ecosystems are deteriorating rapidly, according to a growing number of studies. This is why the world’s largest biodiversity conference, COP15, taking place later this year, could be an important moment for the planet. But one of t...

Go to www.barefootguide.org for excellent community organising resources.
19/05/2021

Go to www.barefootguide.org for excellent community organising resources.

A global community of practice producing free Barefoot Guides and fresh resources to stimulate transformative approaches to social change

26/03/2021

This is why we support southern African communities getting clearer custodial rights and tenure on high biodiversity land.

Improving tenure of forests by Indigenous and Tribal Peoples can lower deforestation rates and biodiversity loss, avoiding C02 emissions, but more investment is urgently needed to address rising threats.

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Postnet Suite 117, Private Bag X7, Parkview
Johannesburg
2122

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