Establishing a national park and biosphere reserve along the Wild Coast makes a lot of sense. So why have there been so many hiccups along
the way?
A proposal to create a new national park in the Pondoland region of the former Transkei was announced by Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Valli Moosa in June 2000. It was envisaged that the park would be an anchor project for the Wild Coast spatial development initiative. However, whenever there is a substantial cake to be shared, the proposed beneficiaries argue over who should get the biggest slice.
The local communities are enthusiastic about the proposed Pondo Park, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and South African National Parks (SANParks) have given it their blessings, but provincial and local authorities have been claiming that they were left out of proceedings. As the impasse delayed progress, Keith Cooper, director of the Pondo Park Project (and former conservation director of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) offered the NGO’s services as impartial broker to bring the various stakeholders together and mediate a way forward for the area.
Why should it be conserved?
South Africa’s ratification of the international Biodiversity Convention means that the country has taken on global responsibility for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of biological resources and the fair and equitable use of genetic resources. This responsibility is particularly important on the Pondoland coast, where a large number of endemic species occur within a small and relatively threatened region.
Biogeographically the proposed Pondoland Park falls into one of seven regions of floral endemism in South Africa. This is the Maputoland-Pondoland region of endemism, meaning it contains plants and animals that occur nowhere else in the world.
The diversity is mind-boggling: in one area merely 3 260ha in extent, more than 1 300 vascular plants have been recorded. In the whole of the Kruger National Park (two million hectares) there are 1 400 plant species, comparable to all the plants in Great Britain (308 000 square kilometres) at 1 440 plant species.
Approximately 34 trees can be considered endemic to the Pondoland forests. This is the highest number of endemic tree species anywhere in South Africa. The grasslands contain endemic flowering and medicinal species.
The rare Pondoland coconut palm, which grows only on the northern banks of the lower Msikaba and Mtentu rivers, has been declared a national monument.
There is also a high diversity of fauna, including endemic animal and bird species. Rare birds that breed in the forests include Cape parrots, forest spotted thrushes and mangrove kingfishers. Rare mammals found in the area include samango monkeys, tree dassies, giant golden moles and blue duikers. There are also lots of rare butterflies.
The people in the picture
Pondoland has long been a source of migrant labour and as a result there is a predominance of women, children and elderly people living in the area. A high proportion of income comes from pensions and welfare grants (more than 67%). As a result of retrenchments in the gold-mining industry, many men have returned home in recent years but have no work. This unemployment has led to increased settlement pressure on the land.
Incomes are low and households are unable to feed themselves adequately. Agricultural production does not always meet needs. There is a high illiteracy rate (functionally over 50%), a near absence of technical education and a lack of skills.
The proposed Pondoland Park is unique since it combines formally protected areas with communal lands still in good condition. “The area has minimal potential for agriculture or industrial development,” Cooper points out. “Instead it has amazing scenery, biodiversity and cultural value. We want to develop this park in such a way that local people are respected and truly benefit.”
The soils of the Pondoland part of the Wild Coast region are weakly developed, shallow, highly leached and acidic, with a low moisture holding capacity. They are generally regarded as having low arable potential and are not suited to intensive agriculture. Although subsistence grazing and agriculture are important, they can cause soil erosion and siltation of estuaries.
The warm waters of the region are too low in nutrient content to support a fish population for major commercial fishing industry. The coast is well known for recreational fishing and local people sell rock life such as mussels and crayfish to campers, hotels and cottage owners.
Mining threats
The most important minerals on the Wild Coast occur in the dune sands containing the titanium group of metals. These occur at Nxaxo, Kobonqaba, Sandy Point, and between the Mzamba and Mtentu Rivers. Deposits also occur at the Mngazana River estuary.
One community-run ecotourism project in the Pondo Park area that is threatened by mining is Amadiba Adventures (see Earthyear, Volume 1 2003, or www.earthyear.co.za).
A multinational company is prospecting for heavy minerals in the dunes near Mkambati, close to where Amadiba Adventures runs its horse trails. This is in spite of opposition from the minister of environmental affairs and tourism. The local people are also against mining and prefer the opportunities offered by ecotourism.
Local people were apparently offered boreholes, schools and jobs by the prospectors. So far nothing has materialised besides 20 casual jobs. Yellow prospecting flags have been placed right up to the primary dunes, flouting permit requirements which state that the wider community must be properly consulted before prospecting begins.
The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) is gearing up for a battle against mining. Says Wessa’s conservation director, Cathy Kay: “The prospecting company’s actions fly in the face of all environmental legislation.”
There are also flags and a rough road in the famous Berea “red sands” area, which is full of implements of archaeological importance. Legally, these may not be disturbed.
What is worrying is that the Eastern Cape government seems intent on pursuing the interests of big business, in spite of warnings from both economists and environmentalists, as it has done with the Coega deep water port. A recent report in the Sunday Tribune indicated that the prospectors have already floated 5,5-million shares and the South African government has bought R18-million of them as an incentive.
Minister Moosa has written: “It is unlikely that developments in tourism will attract serious investment on the Wild Coast while mining is on the table. My department believes that tourism offers a sustainable long-term development option for the Wild Coast. We have a precedent in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, where an identical situation was resolved in favour of tourism in 1994.”
An eminent community member, Mac Makongwana, puts it this way: “A job is not an inheritance. Our inheritance is the land, the forests and the grasslands.” Makongwana is a Pondoland businessman who runs a grocery store and vegetable farms. He is also an economic adviser to the Pondo royalty and believes not only that the proposed Pondoland Park is a good idea, but that the Wild Coast should remain wild to benefit the people.
Marine resources
Subsistence consumption of seafood has been going on sustainably for hundreds of years along the Pondo coastline, but commercial exploitation cannot be sustained. The sale of seafood is a lucrative source of income, with seafood supplied to hotels and cottages along the coast.
This has a serious impact on marine resources up to 15km on each side of a development. People from outside also come in and load up freezer boxes full of seafood. These commercial uses cannot be sustained and sustainable management is urgently required.
Illegal cottages
The original concept of allowing white people to occupy sites on state land for recreational purposes was covered by various proclamations. The tenure of these cottages is granted by means of a “Permission to Occupy” permit. The number of legal cottages has been set at the following: Msikaba – 10; Lambasi Bay – eight; Lupatana – seven; Drew’s Camp – three; Ntafufu – six; and Mbotyi – 20.
When the Transkei military government took over in 1990, a moratorium was placed on granting land to outsiders. Some headmen then “sold” land to outsiders for seaside cottages without government approval. As well as their illegality, many of these cottages have been built in the most sensitive zones (such as dune forests) and have ruined the ecology.
The Pondo Park Project
Pondo Park Project director Keith Cooper was hoping the national park would be proclaimed by March 31 this year. He points out the intention to proclaim the park was mentioned in President Thabo Mbeki’s parliamentary speech in 2001. In July 2002, senior officials from the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry threw their weight behind the project.
“What is so special about the way we hope to establish this park is that we don’t intend moving people or changing any aspect of their lives unless it is extensively discussed,” says Cooper. “It is amazing how intact the area is ecologically, in spite of having been occupied for many years. The plants have adapted to being grazed. The local people have also been harvesting mussels and crayfish for hundreds of years, and if research proves this to be sustainable, this can continue.”
There is international pressure to create the park. Conservation International, a global organisation based in the United States, has identified Pondoland as one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots.
The idea of declaring a national park in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape was mooted 25 years ago. Two years ago Cooper obtained permission from the Wessa board to devote more time to helping establish a Pondoland national park. He consulted widely with tribal authorities and even organised a visit to Addo and Tsitsikamma national parks for councillors so they could see first-hand the benefits a park could bring. The councillors were impressed and said they definitely wanted a Pondo Park.
But delays have been caused by debates over whether
it should be a national or provincial reserve. Some provincial and local authorities claimed they were left out of
proceedings.
“While the parties procrastinate over who is responsible for the area, people are plundering the resources,” Cooper says. “More illegal cottages are being constructed and not one ‘owner’ has been charged in court or evicted. There is also the threat of heavy mineral mining. The Pondoland coast seems a free-for-all.”
Special features
Conservation provides an opportunity to make the most of the tourism potential of the landscape. Scenery worthy of
special mention includes:
– open, unspoilt coastline with rugged cliffs and golden
beaches.
– Waterfall Bluff has two waterfalls that cascade directly into the sea and the nearby freestanding Cathedral Rock.
– Areas of virtually untouched indigenous forests.
– Deeply incised and dramatic river gorges.
– There are waterfalls on almost every river, and sheltered lagoons and estuaries at the mouths of most rivers.
– The local villages are scenic, with thatched rondavels and rural lifestyles set in rolling green hillsides.
Within the area researchers have identified as worthy of national park status, there are seven tribal authorities. Each authority has selected two representatives to be on a community forum called the Pondoland Park Forum. This forum is fully involved in negotiations and looking forward to helping run the park.
“Because of the diverse land uses, the park could be run as a biosphere reserve and the area has potential as a World Heritage site,” Cooper explains. “The World Heritage Convention Act makes provision for an ‘authority’ to be established to administer such unique sites.
Members of the Pondoland Park Authority could include representatives of all relevant stakeholders, such as the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Eastern Cape government, the Department of Land Affairs, the Quwakeni Local Authority, and strong representation from local communities living in the area.
A similar park authority has been successfully established for the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
“A way forward can be found if there is goodwill and commitment by all parties,” Cooper says. “If not, selfish interests will render the area unmanageable and it will be destroyed.”
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