There is the recognition that we can only care for and conserve what we can understand. As we learn more about Kaingo, in part through research projects supported by the Kaingo Reserve Foundation, this amazing area continues to surprise. Research undertaken continues to reveal fascinating aspects of the ecology and archaeology.

Through accumulating a growing body of quality output on the fauna, flora, the unique habitat and archaeology of the Waterberg we have been able to make informed conservation management decisions to better support our conservation vision. This information is freely available to interested parties so that, as we seek to add to our shared understanding of this rich and diverse landscape, they too can care for the land in the best long-term interests of the wildlife and people of the Waterberg.

Kaingo represents a unique research opportunity for researchers to add to the collective knowledge of the Waterberg. By adding to our knowledge, we realise more and more what we don’t know, but we are also able to provide reserve management with the necessary data needed to make well-informed decisions and design and implement more effective conservation policies.

The Kaingo Research Centre is a newly developed facility for applied research. Set in a beautiful and safe location, the Centre lies on a ridge overlooking a picturesque section of the Mokolo river. The facility can accommodate up to 22 researchers and support staff.

Prospective projects undergo an approval process which includes, amongst other things, a research proposal that includes scientific and management outcomes, budgets, projected time frames and key deliverables for each phase of the work to be undertaken. All prospective projects will need to fall within one or more of the three core themes to be considered namely:

• Conservation Ecology – Biodiversity conservation of species and ecosystems
• Understanding the impacts of Climate Change
• Archaeology – The human impact: past, present and future.