Publications
Publications
- July 2008 (Revised January 2009)
- HBS Case Collection
Londolozi: Towards a Sustainable Business Model and Ecological Integrity in Southern Africa
By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Thomas Koelble
Abstract
The Londolozi game viewing reserve in South Africa became a defining icon of ecotourism during the 1990s and early 2000s-that is, a tourist business promoting ecological land management and, at the same time, local economic development. The reserve was in a region in the northeastern part of the country, not far from Mozambique, that sorely called out for progress in both these dimensions. The Sabi Sand Game reserve (within which Londolozi was located) was initially created by the government to provide hunters with an area in which to hunt wildlife. The government retained a portion of the reserve as the Kruger National Park, which allowed visitors to view wildlife, but banned hunting, in an effort to boost wildlife populations. The KNP was initially fenced off from the Sabi Sands Game reserve to prevent hunters from moving into the wildlife reserve. The fence, however, also prevented traditional east-west migration of animals across the region. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the farms within the Sabi Sand Game reserve converted their functions from hunting to wildlife viewing, and the fence was taken down. The new challenge for the farms while transforming into wildlife viewing became land management and local economic development.
Keywords
Developing Countries and Economies; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; South Africa
Citation
Abdelal, Rawi E., and Thomas Koelble. "Londolozi: Towards a Sustainable Business Model and Ecological Integrity in Southern Africa." Harvard Business School Case 709-001, July 2008. (Revised January 2009.)