M van Schalkwyk on establishment of new Garden Route National
Park

6 March 2009

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk,
declared the establishment of the new Garden Route National Park at an event in
Knysna which coincides with the gazetting of the park today.

The Minister said the establishment of the new Garden Route National Park
(GRNP) is part of a long term strategy to expand the protected areas in South
Africa under formal protection from 6 percent to 8 percent of the total area of
the country. “As our parks are some of our most important conservation and
tourism assets, we have been steadily increasing spending on parks. We have
invested R411 million in infrastructure development for the period 2006/07 to
2008/09 and a further R245 million is being earmarked for the next Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. Other financial assistance has increased
from R85,6 million in 2004/05 to R205 million in 2009/10,” the Minister
said.

“The Garden Route is one of the most important conservation areas in South
Africa and one of our crown jewels in terms of biodiversity and its attraction
of both foreign and local tourists,” Van Schalkwyk said. The diverse biomes in
the Garden Route include indigenous forests, the Knysna estuary, the Wilderness
lake areas, marine protected areas, lowland fynbos and mountain catchment areas
of national importance. South African National Parks (SANParks) is the second
largest employer in the region and its total economic contribution to the
region is estimated to be almost R95 million per annum.

According to the Minister, the formation of the GRNP will have a number of
beneficial results. These include that it will allow for the sharing of
resources and management experience and the integration of current management
units in order for greater economies of scale to be achieved.

“Furthermore, the formation of the GRNP will facilitate the regional
implementation of important programmes like fire management and alien clearing
and enable land consolidation. The park management will be able to take
advantage of the potential of integrated landscape management, which will
improve the protection of important ecosystems,” Van Schalkwyk said.

The size of the GRNP will be a total of approximately 121 000 hectares. It
will consist of about 52 500 hectares of newly proclaimed land, as well as 68
500 hectares of the Wilderness and Tsitsikamma National Parks. The individual
parks will retain their identity and become camps in the greater GRNP, known as
Tsitsikamma and Wilderness.

The GRNP will straddle two provinces, namely the Eastern and Western Cape,
two district municipalities, namely Eden and Cacadu, and four local
municipalities, namely George, Knysna, Bitou and Koukamma. The tourist
facilities in the GRNP will include camping decks, chalets, mountain biking
trails, hiking trails, canoeing, diving and history and adventure
activities.

Minister van Schalkwyk said co-operative governance will be essential for
the success management of the GRNP. “The new national park is unique, as its
administrative and ecological boundaries vary considerably. In this context,
multi-stakeholder partnerships will be instrumental to successful conservation
management.”

At the event, SANParks Chief Operating Officer, Sydney Soundy, said that the
Garden Route is one of the critical focus areas in South Africa. “The area
plays host to the largest continuous complex of indigenous forest in the
country, spanning approximately 60 500 hectares. Its aquatic systems, the
Knysna estuary and the Wilderness lake areas, are rated number one and number
six respectively in the country. The fynbos falls within the Cape Floristic
region, which is a designated global diversity hotspot.”

“To manage this unique combination of diverse biomes with strong tourism and
developmental interest will be one of our biggest challenges as SANParks. Here
the term ‘conservation without boundaries’ needs to become a way of life, not
just for major stakeholders, but also for all residents in the areas
surrounding the park,” Soundy said.

“The Garden Route is fortunate to be part of this process and I believe we
will be coining a new conservation model for South Africa. The park is unique
and will require unique management, which we will have to drive. We are looking
forward to this challenge,” Soundy said.

Enquiries:
Ronel Bester
Cell: 083 242 7763

Nicci Rousseau
Cell: 083 299 7777

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
6 March 2009