Programme director;
The Premier of the Eastern Cape;
Members of Executive Council present;
The Acting CEO of SA National Parks, Mr. Abe Sibiya;
The Chief Executive, Public Sector: National Government at FNB, Mr. Hans Hillebrand;
Management Team from Total South Africa;
Local and provincial government representatives present;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen
I am grateful for this opportunity to be part of the celebration of the annual National Parks Week. Our celebration of National Parks Week this year comes as we celebrate our 20 years of Freedom and Democratic rule in our beautiful country. It also comes just hot on the heels of the upcoming People and Parks Conference which will be hosted in Umtata, Eastern Cape which also celebrates 10 years of implementation of the Programme. As we look back we are also proud to share with the world our achievements and challenges during the World Parks Congress that will be taking place in Sydney, Australia in November on our journey since the previous World Parks Congress which South Africa successfully hosted in 2004.
Our national parks week celebration this year is made even more palpable and appropriate by the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Marine Protected Area in Africa, this very same Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park. The proclamation of this first Marine Protected Area did not just happen by chance. Our forefathers realised that an area such as this one had to be preserved for future generations. It is therefore fitting to continue the legacy of those that came way before us in conserving areas such as this one.
Programme director, since the dawn of our democracy, South Africa at all the spheres of government together with communities and the private sector, has played a critical and active role in protecting and preserving our parks. These stakeholders have recorded great strides in making our parks relevant to all our people. The role of communities in our efforts to protect our parks can never be over emphasised and I believe that our communities should be at the fore front and as a people we have always lived in harmony with nature for many generations.
Programme director it should be our wish going forward that the support for national parks should cater for a diverse society we live in. Despite a strong well documented historical link between the previously marginalised and conservation their absence amongst visitors to national parks is conspicuous. This observation is supported by several visitor profile reports in our national parks as our visitor figures suggest that only a small percentage of black South Africans visits the National Parks. We need to change this kind of mentality – these national parks are for the enjoyment of every single South African.
Even though we are celebrating 20 years of a democratic rule, it is a fact that there are still some challenges that exist in our modern society. The major test for our parks is to make them more accessible and appealing to an increasingly multicultural society that we reside in and it is our belief that the hosting of the annual South African National Parks Week campaign will give some answers to the disparity of other segments of society in national parks visitation. I further challenge all Management Authorities to support this notion for the benefit of our communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, to address South Africa’s poverty, national parks are already making significant contribution towards creation of decent work, skills development, local economic growth and development of SMMEs. We hope they will continue doing so and even more. The Department of Environmental Affairs through its Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Programme has prioritised their funding to people and parks and the wildlife economy. An amount of R877 447 290 forPeople and Parks and R130 300 000 with a total of R1,007,747.290 has been budgeted for the next 3 years and it will go a long way to ensure that the national priorities I have mentioned will be addressed head on.
Ladies and gentlemen, we support this annual programme that is led by our country’s body charged with the effective management of our national parks system, South African National Parks (SANParks) and would urge you all to do the same. It is for this reason that we believe the theme of this campaign “Know Your National Parks” signifies an admiration for our scenic surroundings and the coming together to promote the guarding of our ethnic environment, our natural resources and our shared heritage. This is in direct agreement with our Transformation Mission.
It is our belief that the involvement and participation of all segments of society will assist us immensely in the building of partnerships that are in support of the conservation of natural and cultural heritage as well as act as a conduit to strengthening relationships with the South African multicultural population.
As we celebrate the 2014 SA National Parks Week, make it your responsibility to at least invite one person to visit any national park during this focus week. Let us hold hands together in celebration of our national pride!
You need not be reminded that September is both heritage and tourism month as well in South Africa and our parks are as central to our heritage celebration as they are to the celebration of tourism. We are a country richly endowed with natural wealth resources which includes a vast array of plants, animals, scenic rivers, marine areas and mountains, unspoiled forests, parks and ecosystems amongst others.
The survival of the national parks system and our natural and cultural heritage truly lies in the people of South Africa, and the SA National Parks Week provides us with that much needed opportunity to establish a real multicultural visitor profile and also assist in the development of a deep sense of national pride, which will subsequently result in building stronger constituencies and ambassadors of conservation and the environment through affordable local holiday destinations.
It is therefore befitting at this point in time where I would personally and on behalf of our government extend a warm gratitude to our two sponsors, First National Bank for being part of this campaign since inception nine years ago. Your valuable contribution Mr. Hallenbrandt, CEO of Public Sector Banking at FNB is highly appreciated. You asked the question ‘How Can We Help You’ and you answered the question yourself by allowing South Africans this opportunity to experience these special places.
Together with Total SA who has been supporting conservation efforts for many years you have as corporate South Africa heightened the efforts of ensuring that all our people see the value of our parks, especially with South Africa celebrating tourism month with a strong slant towards biodiversity. Our heritage must instill an abiding sense of pride in all of us. Please accept our biggest gratitude for offering South Africa an opportunity of this nature.
We all know that without greater visitation and interest among other sectors of society national parks are only likely to be known by a smaller segment of society and this is undesirable and unacceptable. However your help as corporate South Africa is assisting in addressing some of governments concerns – for that we thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, our country’s natural capital in the form of our ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources underpins the economy and provides a key input into the green economy agenda. This makes our parks a necessary element of the green growth path and we must cherish that. Despite the centrality of biodiversity and conservation to the green economy agenda, there are a lot of our people who are still on the fringes of the economy that we must draw into the mainstream.
For biodiversity and conservation to make sense to ordinary South Africans we must ensure that we get through public participation programmes, work collaboratively with all our communities, most especially those adjacent to our parks.
I therefore declare the 2014 SA National Parks Week officially opened.
Enkosi!
