Duba Plains Camp

Duba Plains Camp’s owners Dereck and Beverly Joubert—National Geographic filmmakers, conservationists, and explorers—are co-founders of Great Plains Conservation, which operates the concession for Duba Plains Camp and has sites across Africa.

Its “conservation tourism” model takes threatened environments and manages them intelligently and sensitively, using funds from low-volume, low-impact tourism. Local communities are integral to the model, and a guiding principle is that operations should have no negative influence on the land or any animal that uses it. Duba Plains Camp leases its land from five local communities who all receive substantial benefits through a share of the lease revenue. The communities also benefit from employment—providing 80% of the staff—as well as other projects that the camp supports, such as Big Cats Caring for Communities and the Lamps for Learning (solar jars) Conservation Camp for Kids. Duba Plains is also a strong supporter of the Pack for a Purpose initiative which encourages visitors to save space in their suitcases to bring supplies that benefit local people.