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635 MONDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2008
636
DWAF is in the process of releasing the
uMfolozi floodplain and Futulu sections
to DEAT in terms of the Forestry
Laws Amendment Act, Act 35 of 2005
enabling the Park to manage this area
as a conservation area within the
regulatory
NEMPAA.
framework provided by
(3)
The removal of illegal clearing from
the uMfolozi floodplain will take place
under the auspices of the task team and
in accordance with Cabinet’s decisions
regarding Dukuduku. The process is
being led by the KZN Department of
Local Government and Housing.
The process is now being implemented
and includes issuing of the necessary
warning letters in terms of NEMPAA to
those with illegal fields on the uMfolozi
floodplain and arresting individuals attempting
to open new fields.
Ozabeni — 68 individuals have been
arrested. Outside of the designated
cattle grazing area offenders have been
evicted and the areas rehabilitated. The
cattle grazing area has been ring-fenced
and a process is being undertaken
which includes relocation of fields together
with the simultaneous provision
of alternatives.
A budget has been allocated for the
fencing of this section of the Park —
this will be first time in the history of
the Park that this particular area will be
fenced. 41km of this 103km fence has
been completed.
The Park has adopted a two-pronged
approach to compliance viz., education
with alternatives and law enforcement.
Law enforcement—
Prior to the Regulations published in
terms of NEMPAA the legislation regulating
activities in the Park was the
KZN Ordinance and the National
Forests Act, Act 84 of 1998. After
October 2005 the NEMPAA came into
being. This legislation provides the
Authority with the means to prosecute
directly and not through partner agencies
and departments. In the case of
Ozabeni land was released by DWAF in
terms of the National Forest Act to
DEAT in the Park in April 2007. DWAF
is now in the process of releasing
sections of the Dukuduku/uMfolozi
land to DEAT.
The Park protocol for managing illegal
clearing includes:
● Regular flights and ground patrols to
identify new clearing and assess existing
clearings;
● Filing of incident reports when a
clearing is identified and the opening
of a case file. The incident report
details the extent of the clearing and
maps the area using GPS points;
● The serving of warning letters to
offenders to verify locus standi and
inform them about the illegal activity
at time of identification and directing
the offender to stop clearing. If the
offender does not act according to
this directive a second warning letter
is issued. Thereafter the offender is
arrested and prosecuted.
Education with Alternatives
The agriculture that takes place is of a
subsistence nature. In order to prevent
this activity from continuing and expanding
the iSimangaliso Authority,
through its People and Parks programme,
has instituted agricultural and
other local economic development programmes
as alternatives to farming in
the Park. Forty food gardens benefiting
approximately 900 people (mainly
women) have been established to date.
Four hundred of the participants have
received accredited training. Further
funding has been secured from the
Flemish Food Security Programme for
the expansion of the programme over 3