In a move to increases South Africa’s protected areas, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk has proclaimed more than 66 480ha of new land to be incorporated into the country’s national parks system.
”As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, South Africa is committed to the goal of ensuring that at least 10% of all land is protected — which will in turn help us to ensure the long-term future of our natural resources,” Van Schalkwyk said in a statement on Saturday, after it was gazetted in Parliament on Friday.
In June, during the minister’s first budget speech in the National Assembly, he announced that over the next three years R123-million, or R41-million annually, is to be budgeted for land acquisition for the national parks.
A further R160-million per year over the same period will be contributed by the local and international donor community.
Three of the areas affected by the expansion fall within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, which was recently declared South Africa’s sixth World Heritage Site.
”Of great significance is the fact that the Table Mountain National Park, the Agulhas and the West Coast national parks fall within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, which we are proud to manage on behalf of the nations of the world.
”This expansion boosts our capacity to manage the floral kingdom and further extends our mandate in the custodianship of this World Heritage Site,” Van Schalkwyk said.
The expansion includes the Vhembe-Dongola National Park in Limpopo, which acquired more than 1 725ha of land, the Western Cape’s Agulhas National Park with 3 636ha, the Karoo National Park with 17 405ha, the Namaqua National Park with 34 246ha, the Augrabies Waterfall National Park with 2 121ha, the West Coast National Park with 6 772ha and the Table Mountain National Park with 573 additional hectares of land.
Speaking about the importance of this expansion process, the minister said: ”The expansion of our protected areas accomplishes a number of important goals, one of which is to bring a more representative cross-section of ecosystems into the protection net.
”In Agulhas National Park, for instance, this brings new river catchments into the park, which in turn allows us to better protect the quality of our water supply.
”In the Table Mountain National Park we have added greater quantities of fynbos. The net result is that our ability to manage and protect biodiversity is greatly improved through the expansions.”
He said another important goal of the expansion is to increase the potential for expanded ecotourism in these areas.
”By creating more space in the parks, we allow for better facilities and greater attractions for visitors.
”We also create a need for expanded infrastructure like roads and more jobs in the conservation field and through concessions in the parks.” — Sapa