Noxolo Miya
Pretoria - Moving towards sustainable conservation and transforming SANParks into a world-class conservation organisation by 2040 is on the cards, says Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy.
And the vision is centred on three critical strategic targets: conservation excellence, sustainable enterprise, and social and economic inclusion.
Creecy said this at the launch of Vision 2040 at Groenkloof National Park this week. SANParks has been unable to reach its goals in recent years due to a range of challenges, including climate change, illegal poaching and human encroachment.
SANParks is one of the best-known and revered conservation organisations in the world, and in its 97 years has been instrumental in the protection and management of some of South Africa’s most valuable wildlife areas.
The vision aims to address challenges and develop innovative solutions to ensure the long-term future of South Africa’s natural heritage.
SANParks board member and head of the audit and risk committee Jeff Mashele said: “Today marks a special day in SANParks as we embark on a journey to reimagine and co-create a new future for conservation.”
Various sectors pledged their support, among them Youth in Conservation in Mpumalanga. Chairperson Lebo Lebotse said: “We want to be co-creators and be seen implementing this vision … However, Minister, let me remind you that any board without the youth is not a board. It does not represent us. If you see a board without young people, speak to that board’s chairperson and include young people in it.”
Nomsa Sibeko from Nature Speaks and Responds, who represented traditional healers, spoke about the importance of nature conservation in healing and said they were happy with the vision.
“I’m glad that, finally, there is a vision that is going to include us. A lot of things are happening around us but never about us, nor do they include us as traditional healers.
“In every township, province, city, we are there. But we are one of the most marginalised and ignored members of society.”
She said as users of everything natural that could be found in the country, from fauna and flora and every single part of it, they were in support of all the vision entailed.
“I’m here to say I support this vision because, for the first time, we are called to raise our voices,” Sibeko said.
The plan entails that SANParks, by 2040, would ensure that all national parks under its care are consistently managed to global standards of conservation excellence.
This would be achieved by implementing long-term conservation plans that aim to protect the biodiversity of parks, increase ecosystem resilience to climate change, and reduce human impacts in wildlife areas.
Creecy said SANParks believed that these efforts would help sustain conservation and promote natural ecosystem processes, which, in turn, would benefit both fauna and flora in the region.
Creecy added: “The department, alongside SANParks, aims to create protected areas and a protected area agency that are healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient; belong to, heal, and inspire all South Africans; reawaken and nurture national pride; are world-class in every aspect; and are prosperous, with tangible and intangible benefits flowing to stakeholders.”
Pretoria News