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Press
Release by the Gondwana Desert Collection 16.08.06
To: all media
For: immediate publication
- 1 text, 3 photos, 1 map
-
Text: 700 Words / 4,300 Characters
- Box: 220 Words / 1,500
Characters
- PDF
Download (13 KB)
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Nature
Conservation breaking new Ground
In Namibia may well open a new chapter in the history
of nature conservation. Representatives of national
and private nature reserves, a rural community and
a few farmers in the Fish River Canyon area have agreed
in principle to establish the Greater Fish River Canyon
Complex Association (GFRCCA). A joint plan for nature
conservation and for promoting biodiversity was adopted
at a meeting held last Friday at Cañon Village,
close to the main lookout point at the canyon. |
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The
transitional committee (left to right): Lazarus Kairabeb
(Mentor to the Klein Karas Cooperative Community), Louis
Fourie (Director of the Canyon Nature Park), Patrick
Lane (Chief Control Warden Southern Parks), Chris Brown
(Director of the Namibia Nature Foundation), and Peet
van der Walt (International Project Coordinator for
the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park). Photo:
Sven-Eric Kanzler
 Image
Download (1,82 MB) |
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The
vision is to establish a unique nature conservation
area which extends from the Sperrgebiet in the west
to the Klein Karas Mountains in the east, and from the
tar road between Keetmanshoop and Aus as its northern
borderline down to the Gariep/Orange River in the south
– and even further, far beyond the South African
border, because there the huge park meets the Richtersveld.
If the plan is implemented, game animals will regain
a large part of the mobility which enabled them to respond
to annual and local fluctuations in the arid Nama and
Succulent Karoo’s grazing conditions before the
arrival of settlers. The GFRCCA initiative is linked
to the larger picture of the cross-border ‘Peace
Parks’. At the meeting this was again emphasized
by Peet van der Walt, the International Project Coordinator
for the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. |
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The
initiative is driven by Namibian protagonists, however.
The core of the park is initially made up by the national
conservation areas at the Fish River Canyon and Naute
Dam, the privately-owned nature reserves Gondwana Cañon
Park (east of the canyon), Canyon Nature Park and Canyon
Private Nature Reserve (both of them west of the canyon)
as well as Norotshama Lodge on the Gariep/Orange River
west of Noordoewer. Farmers of the region and representatives
of the Klein Karas Cooperative Community were also among
the 28 participants. |
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“The
GFRCCA is intended to have advantages for everyone involved”,
Dr. Chris Brown, the Director of the Namibia Nature
Foundation (NNF) sums up the goals. Particular attention
is focused on the growth-sector tourism: “We can
jointly market the region as one of the few extensive
nature conservation areas in southern Africa.”
Additional income and jobs, which will help to speed
up the sustainable development of the rural areas, can
be expected when offering accommodation, local tours,
arts and crafts, supplying meat, milk and vegetables
and last but not least in nature conservation. |
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Participants
in the meeting. Photo: Sven-Eric Kanzler |
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“This
does not mean that all landowners should switch over
to tourism now”, Brown explains while the conservation
plan is being discussed. “On the contrary. We
rather divide the area into zones for different uses
– agriculture, mining, tourism on a larger scale,
exclusive tourism and wildlife management.” It
will always be kept in mind that each participant needs
to benefit from the joint project.
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The organisational
form (association) makes it easy for new members to
join and leaves enough flexibility to accommodate everyone's
activities. The right to own property remains intact
so that privately owned land can still be sold or bequeathed.
New owners just have to apply for membership for themselves.
Common vision, objectives and principles underpin the
cooperation that is required to achieve the GFRCCA’s
top priorities. Since the association’s vision
and objectives are in line with those of the state,
there is also an ideal basis for cooperation between
the public and private sector. Thus the national parks
and their private neighbours can support one another
– whether in the planning and building of watering
places, the introduction and monitoring of game and
their migratory patterns or in solving problems such
as poaching.
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Of course the
GFRCCA still has to prove its worth in practice. “Southern
Africa watches with great interest how we are doing”,
says NNF Director Brown, highlighting the initiative’s
pioneering feat. And some of the farmers at the meeting
did not want to join immediately, but rather to gather
information first. Nevertheless, the results of the
meeting give cause for optimism: the management plan
and the GFRCCA’s articles of association were
adopted in principle, and a transitional committee was
appointed. Legal experts will now mould the articles
into a legally sound shape. The official formation of
the GFRCCA is scheduled for the next meeting in October/November.
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The GFRCC extends
across two biomes, the Nama Karoo and the Succulent
Karoo, and the transition zone between them. Until such
time as the proposed Sperrgebiet National Park is proclaimed,
the GFRCC contains the largest single conserved area
of this biome in Namibia. The Succulent Karoo ecosystem
is recognised as one of the 25 biological 'hotspots'
of the world. Four main vegetation types occur within
the GFRCC, the Succulent Steppe in the south and south-west,
the Desert - Dwarf Shrub Transition, the Dwarf Shrub
Savanna and the Karas Dwarf Shrubland.
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Klipspringer at the
Fish River Canyon. Photo: Gondwana Desert Collection |
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| The landscapes
and associated biological assets of the GFRCC
are extremely important. It is critical that these
are properly managed and conserved. Some areas,
especially those in the northwest in the inaccessible
Huns Mountains, have remained relatively undisturbed
by human intervention. In contrast the areas adjacent
to the Orange River and to the east and north
of the Ai-Ais National Park have been severely
impacted by mining, grazing and agriculture. It
is especially along the Orange River that these
impacts must be significantly reduced through
improved management and control. Planning is critical
for all new developments or extensions to existing
developments and this must include the use of
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Source: Atlas of Namibia
Map
Download (1,38 MB) |
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environmental
assessments, strategic assessments and management plans,
which will help identify problems and opportunities,
and guide developments to achieve integrated socio-economic
and bio-physical goals. |
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