More land for SA's national parks
13 October 2003
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa has unveiled a R76-million plan to expand seven of South Africa's national parks through the proclamation of 121 000 hectares of land for conservation - the single largest proclamation of land for the country's national parks since 1931.
Announcing the proclamation in Johannesburg last week, Moosa said the parks that would benefit from the new land - totalling R76-million in land acquisitions - are the Addo Elephant, Agulhas, Bontebok, Cape Peninsula, Karoo, Marakele and Tanqua-Karoo national parks.
According to Moosa, the last time any significant expansion of South Africa's national parks was carried out was in 1931, when the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park was proclaimed.
The government plans to increase the country's terrestrial protected areas from 5.4% to 8%, and its marine protected areas from the current 11% percent to 20%, by 2010.
Moosa said that since 1995, a
total of R193-million had been invested in purchasing 300 000 hectares of land for conservation, with 20% of the funds coming from the government, 25% from donors and 55% through the conservation efforts of SA National Parks (SANParks).
This included the proclamation of four new national parks - the Cape Peninsula, Agulhas, Namaqua and Vembe Dongola national parks - as well as expansions to the Addo, Marakele, Augrabies Falls, Mountain Zebra and Karoo national parks.
Moosa said the government aimed to continue this protected areas expansion programme for the next budgeting cycle, focusing on some of the country's under-conserved biomes, including Fynbos, Thicket, Nama-Karoo, Succulent Karoo and Grasslands.
"The conservation of our protected areas remains a national environmental priority," Moosa said, adding that protected areas also served as an economic and job creation mechanism.
"The department of environmental affairs and tourism's poverty relief
programmes in national parks are linked to this expansion programme, which will create 1.1 million man-days of work, 3 000 temporary workers, 100 000 training days and 100 permanent employees over three years", Moosa said.
The minister added that eco-tourism had also proved to offer greater economic returns, employing about 30 percent more employees than pastoral agriculture while offering twice the average salary. "Tourism remains the country's fastest growing industry, contributing about 11 percent of GDP, with national parks being the principal attractions."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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