Address by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, during the 9th People and parks national conference at the International Convention Centre in Sandton
Programme Director; MEC Mase Manopole from Northern Cape,
Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and my Co-host for this Conference, Ms Thoko Didiza
MEC of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism Thabo Mokone from Limpopo,
Gauteng MMC for Community Development, Cllr Harris,
Chief Land Claims Commissioner Nomfundo Gobodo
Royal Highnesses and other community leaders who graced this occasion,
Council members present
Directors-General, Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Departments;
Members of the People and Parks community led by Mr Mogakane and Mr Mpemba representing the Youth)
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good Morning
It really gives me great pleasure to officially open the 9th People and Parks National Conference, particularly during the Human Rights month.
We couldn’t have chosen a better time to host this important conference, given that in the next two days this gathering will roll over to Freedom Month.
Both these months are a reminder of the sad history that the majority of South Africans were subjected to, but are also a celebration of the rights that our citizens enjoy today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am, honoured to be joined today by my special guest, Oom Gert Links, who travelled all the way from the Northern Cape to be with us.
The significance of Oom Gert’s presence is key to this conference as he is one of the community leaders who initiated the inclusion of communities in the management of protected areas at the 5th World Parks Congress in Durban in 2003.
At the World Parks Congress, a decision was taken that people living in and around protected areas should participate in protected areas management. This statement followed the Cape Vidal Memorandum which was led by 12 communities from across South Africa who gathered in iSimangaliso Wetland Park between the 5th and 7th of September 2003, to discuss the lack of clarity around land ownership and rights that continue to fuel the conflict between communities and conservation agencies.
In the resulting Cape Vidal Memorandum community representatives agreed that their land can be managed for conservation in perpetuity, provided that they are actively involved in this process.
The Cape Vidal Memorandum remains a living document, an agreement that brings hope that a more progressive and human approach that does not view nature as divorced from communities, but rather recognises their interdependence, continues to be implemented today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we meet today we must reflect on the key pillars of our People and Parks programme namely co-governance, economic development, capacity building and awareness, community stewardship and the restoration of land rights to the rightful owners.
Accordingly, this 9th People and Parks National conference will be hosted under the theme “Banking on conservation areas for rural development and economic recovery”.
We hope that firstly that this conference will provide an opportunity for resource mobilization in support of national and provincial initiatives geared towards an enhanced People and Parks programme implementation in South Africa.
Secondly, we hope that together we will develop policy options and mechanisms to enhance stakeholder access and benefits to natural resources, participation and governance; and finally we must find ways this week to unlock access to land and strengthen opportunities to for Economic benefits.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In fostering better co-governance, in 2010 the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment launched the National Co-Management Framework, aligned to the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, to provide a coherent national guideline for the co-management of protected areas restored in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act.
Since the inception of the Co-management Framework, 46 co-management agreements have been signed and implemented with benefits being accrued to local communities. This involves 52 community legal entities such as Communal Property Associations, Trusts and Traditional Councils. The review of the framework has been undertaken to assess its implementation for continuous improvement.
With regard to the representation of communities in decision-making platforms, it is noteworthy that some of the management authorities have started appointing community members to their Boards as part of co-management agreements.
This is one of the 22 issues that were raised by the People and Parks last year when they addressed the MINMEC for which I have established a Ministerial Task Team to address these challenges. I would therefore expect that Management Authorities look to prioritise this aspect as and when they recruit new entity Boards.
With regard to economic development much has been the progress achieved since 2018 when President Ramaphosa attended the 8th People and Parks Conference which coincided with the launch of the Biodiversity Economy Lab Phakisa outcomes in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
Through the Biodiversity Economy programme, the Department is supporting the expansion of the wildlife and bioprospecting economies in line with the government’s sustainable development and use of natural resources policies.
Plans are afoot to implement pilot projects on bioprospecting in 19 Traditional Authorities in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo that will result in 2 455 community members getting temporary relief opportunities through the Presidential Economic Stimulus.
Furthermore, the implementation of the just over R1 billion in infrastructure investment in protected areas has commenced with various projects at different stages of planning. There are over 50 projects within protected areas across our nine provinces and this investment is projected to create at least 23 000 work opportunities for communities once the contractors get on the ground over the next two years.
In empowering communities and individuals emerging within the wildlife economy, the Department has developed a National Game Donation Framework through which 354 head of game were recently donated to emerging game farmers in Groot Marico, despite challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic.
The partnership that we are concluding with the Department of Defence will enable qualifying communities and previously disadvantaged individuals to receive an additional donation of 6 500 head of game as part efforts to transform the wildlife sector.
We have also developed the first ever Game Meat Strategy in partnership with the Departments of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development , the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the Department of health in partnership the wildlife industry and conservation management authorities.
The growth of the game meat industry, if properly developed through the economies of scale, and transformed from a mostly informal sector to a formal one, could lead to much needed socioeconomic development in parts of rural South Africa.
For instance, if properly co-ordinated and communicated there is potential for communally-owned land that is currently used for intensive cattle grazing to be used for grazing plains game such as antelope. Involvement in the game meat industry can assist with land claims beneficiaries and communities living adjacent to national parks extracting more value from their land, by engaging in mixed farming models.
This raises the important issue of capacity building and awareness and we must admit at the outset that the Covid 19 Pandemic undermined many planned activities as a result of restrictions on gatherings.
Nevertheless despite these trying circumstances we are pleased to announce today that 897 community members, including women and young people, have been trained and supported in various ways. This has included visiting Namibia to study best practice on mechanisms for community involvement in conservation management.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In September 2002, Minister Thoko Didiza initiated a process that sought to explicitly address the settlement of restitution claims in protected areas and state forests. This land reform programme has enabled those who were dispossessed of land for political reasons to reclaim their land in terms of the laws governing land restitution.
This has included numerous claims on land within provincial protected areas including land within national protected areas such as the Kruger National Park, World Heritage Sites such as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and a number of state forests. We must acknowledge today that there are however a number of land claims that remain outstanding in protected areas.
In this regard I have tasked the incoming Board of Sanparks to review these cases with the aim of giving new impetus to resolving long outstanding claims. We hope these initiatives will soon bear fruit and we look forward to making announcements in this regard.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is a need for us to do things differently, and that would mean entering into a new deal for people and nature! I believe that the High Level Panel (HLP) recommendations have given us a very clear way forward on how to address key sector challenges. The HLP consulted People and Parks, as well as traditional leaders, traditional healers, and communities adjacent to “big five” protected areas in North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
The voices of these stakeholders have a strong presence in the report, and informed many of the recommendations. The HLP highlighted the importance of transformation of the sector, with empowerment and capacitation of communities living with wildlife, and recognition of their traditions and culture, as practiced through the traditional leaders and traditional healers.
The HLP recommended the development of a White Paper the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity, and indicted the need for a shift to an Africanised conservation approach, that embraces the diverse cultures, traditions, and knowledge systems in South Africa, and values such as Ubuntu.
A White Paper that also ensures transformation, with access and beneficiation by communities adjacent to protected areas, as well as for previously disadvantaged individuals. I am pleased to inform People and Parks that such a draft white paper has been approved by MINMEC for submission to Cabinet and in due course for public consultation.
The HLP identified the importance of ensuring access to protected areas by communities in order to create meaningful value-chains through community SMMEs, especially ecotourism based ones. The department already initiated a process to develop the National Framework on Biodiversity Sector Transformation and we expect to commence with stakeholder engagements in the beginning of the new financial year 2022.
The HLP report also highlighted concerns over human-wildlife conflict, especially for communities living adjacent to protected areas. The Department has initiated a large Global Environment Facility funded project to resolve these issues, and consultation is already underway for the implementation of this project. I will ensure that the Department fully consults People and Parks to feed into all stages of this work, so as to strongly influence the outcome.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Partnerships are key to the success of the People and Parks programme.
I had an opportunity to engage with the late Chairperson of the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders iNkosi Mahlangu early last year and this led to the signing of a Memorandum between my department and the Department of Traditional Affairs (DTA) under COGTA this month. The Memorandum of Understanding will see all our branches working closely with the DTA to address some of the challenges confronting communities across South Africa.
I similarly had bilateral engagements with the Minister of Small Business Development in 2020, which lead to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between our departments. This partnership will see some of our small entrepreneurs receiving the support they need from the small business development department.
The memorandum that we just concluded with DALRRD paves the way for the seamless alignment of legislation and cross-departmental collaboration in a number of areas affecting our two sectors.
Similarly, the MOU that we concluded with Departments of Science and Innovation and Trade, Industry and Competition paves the way for support to our emerging bioprosectors and biotraders across the value chain through the bio-products advancement network South Africa (Bio-PANZA).
In addition, the Memorandum with the Traditional Health Practioners will bring our department closer to the prime users of the biological resources so that jointly we can find ways to educate our communities to utilise these resources in a more sustainable way.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen,
We are meeting at a difficult time where we, and the rest of the world, are emerging from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. This outbreak affected all facets of society, including the economy. As we look to a new, nature-based and climate resilient future, it is important that investment in our protected areas is ramped up so they can return to full operation.
This would require collaboration between government, communities and the private sector. In all our endeavors, we must put communities at the center of the new deal for people and nature!
I wish you well for the conference, and hope that you will emerge with innovative solutions for a new future, which is community and nature-centered, for thriving people and nature.
I therefore declare the 9th People and Parks Conference officially opened.
I THANK YOU
