DMZ 일원 생태 í‰í™”ì  관리를 위한 êµ­ì œì»¨í¼ëŸ°ìŠ¤ - ìœ ë„¤ìŠ¤ì½”í•œêµ­ìœ„ì›íšŒ

THE MALOTI DRAKENSBERG TRANSFRONTIER
CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME:
A Collaborative Initiative between the Kingdom of
Lesotho and South Africa
Mr. Kevan Zunckel
Zunckel Ecological and Environmental Services
The Kingdom of Lesotho is surrounded by the Republic of South Africa and they share
the Maloti Drakensberg mountain bioregion along their north eastern and south eastern
borders. This mountain bioregion hosts globally significant natural and cultural heritage and
is also of great scenic value. This was confirmed when the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2000 in recognition of these features. Some time
before this though, in the 1980s, officials from the two countries had already recognised the
need to collaborate on the management of this shared asset. Preliminary talks culminated in
the signing of a declaration of intent in 1997 and then an international memorandum of
understanding in 2001. This then led to the launching of the first 5 year phase of a
transfrontier conservation and development programme in 2003 which was supported by
funding from the Global Environmental Facility through the World Bank.
The experience gained and lessons learnt during this period form the basis of this paper
although it is supported by descriptions that provide the context necessary for application to
the situation and vision for the Korean DMZ. More specifically the descriptive component of
the paper provides information on both the natural and cultural heritage features of the
bioregion, and the prevailing socio-economic dynamics which threaten the integrity of these
features and the ecosystems of which they are part of.
The significance of the bioregion is presented within the categories for which the
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park received its World Heritage Status, i.e. biodiversity, cultural
heritage and scenic beauty. Thereafter the prevailing socio-economic dynamics that are
addressed are population dynamics and livelihoods, land management issues such as crop
production, grazing, fire, alien invasive species, development trends, security, protected area
network and management effectiveness, and lastly a variety of significant differences that
exist between the two countries.
Nature, Peace and Local Development ❙ 25