within the environmental sector
1 November 2006
The two day People and Parks workshop in Beaufort West which ended
yesterday, 31 October, acknowledged that the slow pace of transformation in the
environmental sector impacts negatively on the implementation of the People and
Parks programme. People and Parks is a programme that addresses issues of
communities affected by park activities and the settlement of land claims in a
protected area. The Protected Areas Act which was put into force in 2005 seeks
to mainstream biodiversity management to promote the sustainable use of
benefits.
The workshop adopted the Beaufort West Declaration of 2006, which expects
government to fasttrack the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) by
Ministers of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and Land Affairs (DLA).
The MOA seeks a co-operative approach in the resolution of land claims in
protected areas (land under conservation). Co-operative governance will see the
protected areas network becoming ecologically, socially and financially
sustainable. Once signed DEAT will facilitate community workshops to ensure
common understanding of the MOA, to avoid conflicting situations.
The People and Parks workshop was attended by representatives from national
and provincial government, conservation agencies as well as representatives of
communities affected by park activities. It assessed the outcomes of the 2004
implementation of the People and Parks workshop and mapped the way forward.
The workshop also noted the lack of transparency and the non-involvement of
land owners in the management of protected areas and non-involvement of local
government in initiatives aimed at bettering the lives of communities. The
declaration calls for the creation of an interim community task team and
national and provincial associations which will represent new landowners, land
claimants and displaced people. The interim community task team was formed with
two representatives from each province.
In her opening address at the workshop, Deputy Minister, Rejoice
Mabudafhasi, of DEAT, urged conservation agencies to ensure that their
development plans were linked to the municipal local economic development
plans, to promote sustainability and a sense of ownership of projects by
communities.
As a way of empowering communities living adjacent to parks, the workshop
agreed that DEAT should develop capacity, and post-land claims settlement
support frameworks. Conservation agencies were encouraged to consider providing
bursaries for disadvantaged students to undertake conservation programmes. The
declaration also called for the development of co-management models as
stipulated in the Protected Areas Act and the integration of indigenous
knowledge in biodiversity management.
Enquiries:
Blessing Manale
Cell: 083 381 2939
Roopa Singh
Tel: (012) 310 3566
Fax: (012) 322 2476
Cell: 082 225 3076
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
1 November 2006
