SANParks and OFB colleagues meet in Addo Elephant National Park to share expertise, experiences and exchange knowledge on governance and management planning of Marine Protected Areas in South Africa and France
Under the 2022 French-South African cooperation agreement on biodiversity, an expertise and capacity exchange programme between the French Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB) and SANParks was established to collaborate on various issues relating to the management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This is financed by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for three years under “the partnership for biodiversity and marine conservation”.
OFB and SANParks delegates on the Woody Cape coastline of Addo Elephant National Park MPA
A first in-person workshop was hosted by SANParks in Addo Elephant National Park from 12-14 November 2024. Two full days of presentations and intense conversation were conducted through in-person and online workshops. These focused on legislation and MPA governance, management planning methodology and zonation, co-management, engaging stakeholders and adaptive governance, climate change, as well as indicators and dashboards. This was complemented by a field mission day exploring coastal aspects of Addo Elephant National Park MPA, facilitating further discussion and strengthening bonds between OFB and SANParks.
OFB and SANParks delegates during the workshop in Addo
In-person delegates from OFB were Frédéric Fasquel, Madeleine Cancemi, Kévin Leleu, Kévin da Cunha, Nicolas Jannic and Alice Lureau, representing three OFB Marine Nature Parks: Cape Corse and Agriate, Arcachon Bay and Picards Estuaries and Opale Sea. SANParks colleagues in Addo were Alison Kock, Sinothando Shibe, Stef Freitag-Ronaldson, Andre Riley, Jessica Hayes, Anban Padayachee, Pierre Nel, Nick de Goede, Andre Spies, Dirk Roux and Kyle Smith. Additionally, delegates who wished to participate in the discussions but were unable to attend in person joined the sessions virtually from both South Africa and France.
The partnership for biodiversity and marine conservation includes SANParks, SANBI, OFB and AFD and will result in technical knowledge exchange, capacity development and interaction with other biodiversity agencies and/or international events of significance for biodiversity and marine conservation. The next in-person workshop will be held in March 2025 in South Africa (Langebaan) to exchange and learn about fisheries activities and monitoring tools. Later in June 2025, SANParks delegates will travel to France to participate in the United Nations Conference for the Oceans and the third OFB-SANParks in-person workshop about evaluation of the effectiveness of MPA management plans.
OFB and SANParks delegates in Addo Elephant National Park
Audrey Delhomme