2005/2006 - SANParks

2005South African National ParksCONSERVATION SERVICESLEGAL FRAMEWORK FORBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONAfter a decade of transformation with its debates concerning the mostappropriate way to go, biodiversity conservation is now accepted bySANParks as the bedrock of the organisation’s activities against whichother core functions such as tourism and people and conservation areanchored. SANParks has welcomed the refocus, and is now rolling out acorporate conservation leadership strategy.In September 2005, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism(DEAT) took environmental law reform a step further by bringing into forcethe Protected Areas Act (57 of 2003 with its amendment, 31 of 2004).In line with the 2003 Protected Areas Act, SANParks must within twelvemonths, based on sections 20, 40 and 41 of the Act, submit revisedmanagement plans for all 22 National Parks to the Minister.With its heavy emphasis on stakeholder participation, the 2003 ProtectedAreas Act ushers in a new look at how management plans are drawnup. While this is welcome in the era of democracy and participativemanagement, a twelve months deadline for such an inclusive process isa daunting task.The 2003 Protected Areas Act is one of a plethora of legislative actsthat now govern the modus operandi of SANParks. Of these Acts, theBiodiversity Act (10 of 2004) requires the production of managementplans for certain key species. As indicated in the 2005 Annual Report,the elephant management strategy is going through extended publicconsultation process and to date; SANParks has spent over R3 millionsince the 2004 Great Elephant Management Indaba.The consultation has covered national and internal stakeholders includinglocal people adjacent to KNP, ‘elephant and non-elephant scientists’, andvarious NGOs. The process is perhaps the most consultative environmentalissue that South Africa has ever embarked on. While the SANParks Reportto the Minister proposed a comprehensive management tool for dealingwith the country’s rapidly increasing population of over 18,000 elephants,the debate has been largely swayed towards a narrow focus on cullingvs not culling.Consequently, the elephant consultative process is now being handled byDEAT, and the Minister has personally handled most of the internationaldiscussions. DEAT will, as a result of the consultative process, producenorms and standards for management of elephant populations in SouthAfrica.MANAGING FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATIONIn line with the strategic objectives of managing for biodiversity, andassociated cultural heritage, SANParks worked on the following:10