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18 March 2004

"By gathering here today and making this pledge together with the people of the Free State, we are beginning a process of reconnaissance into ways of making natural resources work for all of us."

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa, and the MEC of the Free State Province, Mr Sakhiwo Belot, today (Thursday, 18 March 2004) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Basotho Cultural Village in the Eastern Free State for the incorporation of the QwaQwa National Park to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

Addressing communities and politicians from both the national parks and surrounding municipalities, Minister Moosa expressed his gratitude to the commitment of the people of Free State for enabling the co-operation between the two spheres of government.

"Indeed, our collective commitment towards the sustainable management of our natural resources - and in a true spirit of co-operative governance - will strengthen the global resolve to realise the millennium development goals and the implementation program of the World Summit on Sustainable Development to combat biodiversity loss and the eradication of poverty," said the Minister.

The MOU deproclaiming the QwaQwa National Park was entered into so that the park can be transferred to the newly appointed management authority (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism) for national park purposes. The newly established Golden Gate Highlands National Park will be managed by the South African National Parks (SANParks).

Speaking about the significance of the incorporation, the Minister said: "This new park, which will span almost 34 000 hectares of the grassland upon incorporation, presents a myriad of opportunities to the people of the Free State and South Africa as a whole. In addition to the enhanced tourism potential that it offers, the incorporation will help achieve the biodiversity conservation objectives and socio economic development goals of the Free State".

He also added that the role of communities was critical to the process of expansion of protected areas. "Also critical to this process is the participation and contribution of the ordinary people and communities of the Free State who constitute a significant ally to the process of expansion of our protected areas," he said. "We are also encouraging our people to make their valuable contribution to preserving these assets and hope that together we will prove the economic value of conservation. This is accentuated by the fact that our own protected areas act guarantees the principle of community involvement in the management of protected areas," added Minister Moosa.

The Minister also raised critical issues connected with conservation management and the sharing of benefits. "We wish to address the issue of equitable sharing in the sphere of natural resource management," he said. "Our people deserve a fair share of what nature has to provide and governments all over the world now recognise the role that people play in the management of protected areas. Our own concept of people and parks living in harmony and deriving benefits from one another has gone a long way in realising this objective," said the Minister.

The significance of this consolidation is that it will:
1. Ensure the protection of two grassland components, which are critically important in terms of South Africa's national biodiversity protection commitments.
2. Co-operation between national and provincial government in this project will help achieve the biodiversity conservation objectives and the socio economic development in the region.
3. And that the anticipated increase in tourism in the eastern Free Sate Highlands will contribute to economic growth of the region and the country.
4. It also presents an opportunity to expand the park along the lines of the Transfrontier Conservation Areas programme.

At the same event, the District Mayor of Thabo Mofutsanyana, her Royal Majesty Queen Mathokoana Mopeli, officially handed over assets and facilities of the park to SANParks and thus the communities of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. These include educational facilities like a library and a crèche, community hall and a clinic.

Contact: Phindile Makwakwa
Cell: 082 850 9559
Tel: (012) 310 3401
Tel: (021) 465 7240

Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

18 March 2004