M van Schalkwyk signs Transfrontier Conservation Area agreement with
Botswana and Zimbabwe

22 June 2006

“The uniqueness of Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) is
embedded in the fact that it takes us back to our history. It rekindles in us
fond memories and gets us in touch with our valuable past,” said Minister Van
Schalkwyk, on the occasion of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe for the Establishment of the
Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area, today, Thursday, 22 June
2006.

“From about 600 AD to the 13th century, this area was the centre of the
largest kingdom in this sub continent. It was here that our ancestors developed
and established a complex trading system and a cultural empire that stretched
more 30 000 square kilometres on either side of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers,”
he added.

The three Ministers for the environment from South Africa, Botswana and
Zimbabwe converged on the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers known as
the Shalimpo Island to conclude a process that started almost three years ago.
The signing of this memorandum comes as part of exciting cross border
initiatives currently unfolding in Southern Africa for development and
management of trans-frontier parks and trans-frontier conservation areas.
Minister Van Schalkwyk mentioned that the proposed Limpopo/Shashe TFCA is 1950
km2 in extent, 270 km2 in South Africa, 720 km2 in Botswana and 960 km2 in
Zimbabwe.

“When fully developed, our vision is that Limpopo/Shashe TFCA will cover a
total area of approximately 195 000 hectares incorporating both state and
private land,” he said.

The first trans-frontier park to be established was the Kgalagadi
Trans-frontier Park between South Africa and Botswana in 2000s. Minister Van
Schalkwyk said that the objective of this initiative was aimed at
collaboratively conserving the diversity both in cultural heritage and natural
resources that was handed down to us by our ancestors. On a broader scale the
establishment, development and management of TFCA forms part of broader aims of
trans-boundary ecosystem management, integration of conservation with
development, promoting regional cooperation and socio economic development in
the Southern African subcontinent.

The Ministers collectively pledged their commitment to the process and the
determination to ensure that communities and people around these areas would
derive maximum economic and social benefits from the establishment of this
TFCA. They said that it should provide jobs and revenue generating
opportunities for many local people living within and around it. “Improving the
lives of rural communities will in turn contribute towards biodiversity
conservation by demonstrating the economic and social advantages that can be
achieved through conservation,” the Ministers said.

Minister Van Schalkwyk also took the opportunity to announce the
contribution of his Department towards infrastructure development in the
Mapungubwe National Park. “We have invested about R120 million in social
responsibilities funding for infrastructure development in Mapungubwe National
Park and a further R30 million has been spent on land acquisition,” he
said.

The Ministers also hailed the 2010 TFCA strategy that was endorsed by the
South African Development Community (SADC) council of Ministers as a SADC
initiative. Minister Van Schalkwyk confirmed that his Department has already
started the process of recruiting people for the unit that will drive the
implementation of the strategy. “The strategy will position TFCAs and
trans-frontier parks as one of Southern Africa’s premiere international tourism
destinations for 2010 and beyond,” he said. Even before its formal
establishment, Limpopo/Shashe had already been identified as one of the
priority TFCAs for implementation within the first phase of the TFCA 2010
strategy.

For further information contact:
JP Louw
Cell: 082 569 3340

Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
22 June 2006