A proposal in 1989 to start titanium mining along the eastern shores of Lake St Lucia in northern KwaZulu-Natal sparked off one of the most vigorous environmental campaigns in the history of South Africa. The Save St Lucia lobby eventually won and the area was declared the country’s first World Heritage Site in 1999. Environmentalists were convinced ecotourism would bring prosperity and provide more jobs than the 100 or so touted by those in favour of mining.
‘It has been nine years since the no-mining decision was taken, but ecotourism hasn’t delivered as yet,” contends Andrew Zaloumis, director of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority. ‘Some 3 000 Kosi Bay community members marched earlier this year to protest the lack of jobs and development in the area, and illegal lodges have sprung up.”
This is why Zaloumis has plans for major tourism developments in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP) and he is not averse to hotels with sea views. ‘There are 70km of coastline that will remain free of development and 30km that can be used for lodges,” he says.
His controversial stance is interesting, when one considers that Andrew is the son of the late Nolly Zaloumis, one of the most ardent anti-mining campaigners. Many of Nolly Zaloumis’s campaign comrades fear that too much tourism development could destroy what makes the GSLWP special – its sense of place and wild beauty.
At a mobile workshop organised earlier this year by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, the Botanical Society of South Africa, the Zululand Environmental Alliance, Earthlife Africa, the GSLWPA and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, conservationists expressed misgivings about trying to turn the GSLWP into a licence to print money.
More than 90 delegates, ranging from veteran anti-mining campaigners such as Jim Phelps, Paul and Sheila Dutton and Wally Menne to representatives of the Bhangazi community who successfully settled a land claim in the park, came together for two days to assess progress.
A major theme that emerged was community frustration at the slow delivery of tourism benefits, weighed against conservationists’ concerns about inappropriate development in the park. Even the townsfolk of St Lucia expressed their fears of losing business to the GSLWP. The town already has 2 300 tourist beds and the operators argued that this was enough accommodation in the area.
Andrew Zaloumis’s negative remarks about ecotourism’s past delivery could be unfounded. A lot has been achieved. The GSLWP and its governing Authority have been created. The consolidation of separate land parcels into the GSLWP took just three years. ‘It would have taken conservationists 20 years,” quipped Zaloumis. ‘One cannot have open-ended consultation. At some point there has to be action.”
There are already 40 independent concessionaires operating in the GSLWP, from tour operators to boat-hire outfits. These businesses could already account for more jobs than mining would have provided.
In addition, 900 local people have had jobs for two years clearing aliens, building infrastructure and rehabilitating dunes in the park. Their work has included reducing the 2 000km of roads to 600km and moving roads out of sensitive areas such as wetlands. Roads have been tarred to improve visitor access and game viewing.
Alien-plant removal began in the GSLWP in 1995 and Working for Water – a labour-intensive alien removal programme sponsored by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry – has spent about R30-million on the area so far, clearing 8 500ha on the eastern shores and 10 000ha on the western shores. In areas cleared of plantations, indigenous grassland and forests species have returned.
St Lucia has the dubious honour of having the highest afforested dunes in Africa. This is not good for the water regime of the lake. The dunes allow rainfall to percolate through and replenish the lake. However, thirsty pines intercept this water. At least plantations don’t disturb the basic soil structure. By contrast, strip mining does and it also sterilises the soil by killing micro-organisms, says Botanical Society activist Wally Menne.
The GSLWP Authority has introduced a Social, Environmental and Economic Development (SEED) programme that ensures local people benefit from alien removal and nature-based tourism (Zaloumis hates the term ‘ecotourism”). The SEED programme runs courses for local communities, teaching tourism management skills and how to turn traditional activities such as art, craft-making, story-telling and dancing into saleable commodities.
The GSLWP is becoming increasingly attractive as a nature-based destination. Elephants from the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park were reintroduced to GSLWP with much fanfare in August 2001. Nine months ago 10 more elephants were brought in from the Kruger National Park. There are more than 32 elephants in the park now and it could accommodate 80.
Leopards, zebras and baboons have also been introduced. The Mlozi peninsula was stocked with waterbuck, kudus, white rhinos, buffalos and giraffes. Cheetahs may be introduced soon and possibly lions in the long term. It is also intended to introduce oribis, as well as brown and spotted hyenas (one spotted hyena arrived on its own steam from the Mkuzi reserve).
Cheryl Walker, the land claims commissioner at the time the Bhangazi claim was settled on Heritage Day 1999, says the Lake St Lucia area became a nature reserve through a brutal process of dispossession. Though they won their land claim, the community has not returned to the land but has the right of access and wants to develop a lodge. ‘The Bhangazi claim was settled five years ago and they have yet to benefit from tourism,” Zaloumis points out.
Three land claims have been settled in the park and another six are pending. Some 40% of the park is subject to land claims, says Zaloumis. Communities are mandatory partners in any concession deals and must also get first bite at jobs.
A three-year study has been carried out to zone the GSLWP into moderate use, low use and wilderness areas. A Strategic Environmental Assessment and Integrated Development Management Plan have also been done. Eight sites have been identified for concessions – on the eastern shores, at Lake Sibaya and Kosi Bay. They range from an exclusive 18-bed lodge to a 600-tourist facility at Cape Vidal (the same number of ‘beds”, including camping, as are available at present). Bids were evaluated last August and the successful applicants will be announced soon.
‘Concessionaires will be very carefully controlled,” assures Zaloumis. The ‘rule book” covers everything from environmental care to empowerment. Deposits will be held to cover infringements. When the concession period ends, the buildings will become the property of the GSLWP.
Constraints on the type of development allowed have also been governed by the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act of 1997, the World Heritage Convention Act of 1999 and poverty relief funding rules which stipulate that construction must be labour-intensive and that new, small and medium micro-enterprises (SMMEs) must be employed every six months. ‘We have to refer to 87 pieces of legislation before we can develop anything in this park,” adds Zaloumis.
Khulani Mkhize, the CEO of the provincial conservation authority Ezemvelo-KZN Wildlife, and Zaloumis both hold the personal view that mining is still a threat in the area. Perhaps this is being used as a stick to get ecotourism plans moving in the GSLWP. ‘Half a million people live around the park, yet only 23 tourism developments have been installed in the GSLWP,” says Mkhize.
St Lucia is currently perceived as a fishing destination and the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative, of which the GSLWP is meant to be the anchor project, has seen a decline in tourists recently. Zaloumis believes the GSLWP needs to be re-branded as offering many kinds of nature-based experiences, from walking and horse trails to upmarket lodges.
It costs R54-million a year just to manage the park, says Zaloumis. He is confident developments will produce 1 340 permanent tourism jobs and 860 temporary construction jobs. Lots of SMMEs have already been formed through the road-building projects.
‘By year 10 we will have 4 000 permanent jobs and earn R850-million in foreign exchange,” he says. Perhaps then St Lucia’s paradox of human poverty amid great natural wealth will at last be resolved.