Page 42 - KGR 2020-21 Annual Report

BOUNDARY AND FENCING

RESULTS

Boundary and thus perimeter fence integrity is a vital aspect of both Karingani’s internal management as well as its
relations with neighbouring communities. The presence and maintenance of this fence allows for the safekeeping of
Karingani assets as well as the protection of communities by mitigating human wildlife conflicts. Reporting regarding
fence maintenance and incidents of repairs has been consistent and detailed during this reporting year allowing for
a better analysis of which animals are the main cause of damage, as well as the inputs required to maintain the fence
in regards to materials as well as man hours.

KPI 1 | BOUNDARY FENCE

The 148 km Eastern boundary fence has been completed since November 2019. The maintenance of this fence
continues on a daily basis with operations staff based in each section as well as a dedicated fencing team contingent
based at Mbilu deploying to the various sections on a daily basis for either specific incidents or daily checks and
subsequent maintenance. We aim to increase the level of detail in which we record perimeter damage to include
specific materials used in order to determine a more accurate assessment of what quantities of materials are being
used for fence maintenance. A total of 770 fence damage events (an increase by 73% in the number of damage
events compared to last report period) on the Eastern perimeter fence with a total of 2 694.81 hours recorded
fence repairs taking place averaging 224.57 hours per month. The assumption is an increase in damage events
can be attributed to an increase in the wildlife population through natural recruitment; an increase in the accuracy
and report frequency; and specific fence breaks that were attributed to a trio of elephants consistently testing the
common perimeter fence with a neighbouring conservation area in the central East.

During this reporting period we recorded the use of the following items for fence repair:

121 Y Standards 4344 m Of wire 2 Brackets
259 m Of veldspan
33 Droppers 74 Bobbins 2 Straining posts

There were 442 perimeter damage events recorded where no new materials were used for repairs. This means that
existing materials on the fence were used to make the repairs.

It is important to note that the range in fence repair times per month can vary significantly based on a number of
factors including incidents of elephant break-outs, damage by water and routine maintenance jobs.
Average fence repairs per perimeter damage event is 3.77 hours for major events, however, this ranges significantly
from 0.78-7.69 hours

There were a total of 231 minor perimeter damage events which included tampering, holes under fence and wear
and tear and 539 major events which included all animal break-ins and outs, human and vehicle damage and damage
by trees and water.

C1 | 39 STRICTLY PRIV ATE AND CONFIDENTIAL