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President Thabo Mbeki will visit Mozambique on Monday, 9 December 2002, to sign the Trilateral Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Treaty along with Joachim Chissano, President of the Republic of Mozambique and Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

The signing of the Treaty will signal the establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP), formerly known as the Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park (GKG TFP). The Presidential delegation will be comprised of the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa; the Director-General, Dr Chippy Olver; and South Africa's High Commissioner to Mozambique, Ms T Lujabe-Rankoe.

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) project is a joint initiative between South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to establish a 35 771 square km transfrontier park comprising of three national parks, one in each of the three respective countries. Of this area, approximately 20 000 square km is in South Africa, 10 000 square km in Mozambique and 5 000 square km in Zimbabwe.
The three respective national parks constituting the area are the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the recently proclaimed Limpopo National Park (formerly known as Coutada 16) in Mozambique and the Gonarezhou National Park, including the Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and the Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe.
The vision of cross-border collaboration gives effect to the stated objectives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which aims at promoting synergy in regional initiatives for economic, social and conservation benefits over the subcontinent.

Transfrontier conservation initiatives form an integral part of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) whose ideals encompass trans-boundary ecosystem management, integration of conservation with development for sustainability, as well as the promotion of regional co-operation for peace and socio-economic development.

One of the first important achievements of this project is the translocation of wildlife from the Kruger National Park to the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique over the next three years. The translocation programme is part of a public-private partnership in terms of which, up to date, 1 130 game has successfully been relocated into the Limpopo National Park.

For further information contact Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853 or Bheki Khumalo on 083 256 9133.

Issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs, 8 December 2002

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs (http://www.dfa.gov.za)