biodiversity
It is regrettable to have to record at this point that the reserve
named ‘in honour’ of the late Norman Atherstone and his pioneering
conservation initiatives combined with massive pecuniary generosity
has in no way lived up to his envisaged legacy following a sustained
period of benign neglect by the authorities concerned. This is a tragic
waste of an extremely valuable national resource with tremendous
potential and the ability to uplift surrounding communities and the
entire district in general. If nothing else, it should be an excellent rare
species reserve and a much sought-after tourist destination. The private
landowners, who have been involved since the early 1990s, have every
reason to be thoroughly dissatisfied with developments over the last few
yearsin particularandwhileAtherstoneshouldhaveseta pioneering
publiblic//priivatteparttnershihipexamppll i theinthe conservatitionarenait hithas
unfortunatelysucceeded in achieving the exactopposite!>>
6 Initial poor growth rate:
Common tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus lunatus).
Photo © EcoPrintWhile Atherstone should
have set a pioneering public/
SULYDWHSDUWQHUVKLSH[DPSOH
in the conservation arena it
has unfortunately succeeded in
DFKLHYLQJWKHH[DFWRSSRVLWH