The big outcome of the fifth World Parks Congress will be the recognition that conservation efforts and the needs of human communities are inextricably linked, says Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Valli Moosa.
Briefing journalists on the fourth day of the congress, under way at Durban’s International Convention Centre, he said another result would be greater global responsibility for preserving the biodiversity of underdeveloped countries, which could not afford to divert money into conservation.
“Rich countries have a responsibility in this regard,” Moosa said.
The minister was responding to a question on what he thought the main features of the Durban accord would be. The accord, together with a global action plan for protected areas, is set to be released on Wednesday next week, the final day of the congress.
“The Durban accord will become the conservation reference document for the next 10 years. It is not a binding treaty, but it has the potential to serve as such,” he said.
The World Parks Congress is aimed at setting an agenda for the future of the world’s protected areas, and has attracted about 2 500 leading local and international conservationists and policy-makers.
Described by its organisers, the World Conservation Union, as a “technical meeting of experts”, its outputs are not binding on governments or their representatives, who are not formally recognised at the event.
Moosa told journalists the accord would create a new paradigm, and promote a shift from the old outlook of “conservation for conservation’s sake”, to one that took into account communities and human needs.
Another issue it would address was the way national parks were funded.
“If we only rely on state funding, we don’t have a recipe for success,” he said.
The solution lay in partnerships and privatisation.
Further, the accord would spell out the role and relationship of local communities and parks.
It would also “throw out a challenge for conservation of the oceans”. These covered 70% of the globe, but only half a percent of their surface area was protected.
Earlier on Thursday, Moosa hosted a round-table discussion with nine other environment ministers at the conference. The meeting was also attended by World Conservation Union director general Achim Steiner, who said he was “deeply disappointed” by the failure of many countries to fulfil financial commitments they had made at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
At the time, developed countries had agreed they would fund biodiversity conservation in poor countries.
“They are reneging on an agreement reached at Rio,” Steiner said. — Sapa
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