News

South African National Parks (SANParks) joins the world in celebrating World Environmental Day (WED) 2019 under the theme “Air Pollution”, #BeatAirPollution. Run by the United Nations, WED is celebrated on 5 June annually and is the biggest environmental awareness day in the world. The aim of World Environment Day is to encourage worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.

SANParks' Chief Executive Officer Fundisile Mketeni highlighted WED as one of the most significant days in the environmental calendar. ‘’It is important for SANParks to commemorate this day as it raises global awareness about taking positive action to protect planet Earth’’ added Mketeni.

He said that this year’s theme – Air Pollution, is of particular importance given the impact of air pollution on Climate Change. Air Pollution also impacts on our natural environment altering habitats of animal and plants. It is one of the most serious health and environmental risks locally, nationally and internationally. Air pollution is now recognised as the biggest environmental risk to health in the world. “SANParks hopes to be carbon neutral by 2045 and by reducing our carbon footprint, we will save money and ultimately save the plant,’’ stated Mketeni.

SANParks is committed to playing its part in reducing the impact of its carbon footprint. To this end, SANParks has embarked on a project to assess and quantify the carbon footprint of all its 19 National Parks. The results of this assessment will help implement SANParks wide interventions. Last year, the first part of this study gathered information about the greenhouse gas emissions at the SANParks Head office in Groenkloof Pretoria over the last five years wherein energy, air and vehicle travel across the parks was tracked. “Measuring our carbon footprint will enable us to introduce concrete interventions such as purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles and opting for telecommuting and video conferencing over travel,” said Mketeni.

Various interventions are also underway to make SANParks ‘greener’ in its operations; for example, we have national parks such Tankwa Karoo National Park, close to Sutherland near the border of the Northern and Western Cape that are solely using renewable energy in their facilities. Kruger National Park (KNP) on the other hand has constructed two ‘green buildings’ -the Skukuza Science Leadership Initiative Centre and the Skukuza Safari Lodge. KNP also has eight solar plants throughout the park, based at Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Nkuhlu Picnic Spot, Tshokwane, Stolsnek Ranger Post, Pafuri, Shimuwini, and Sirheni. Lower Sabie operates on 100% solar during the day and electricity during the night, and Skukuza runs on 10% solar during the day. In addition, all ranger posts are now 100% solar run and tests for the transitioning to the solar system at the Head Office are underway. Do your part this WED and share your pictures on our social media pages of ways that you are helping to #BeatAirPollution while visiting a national park.

Issued By

South African National Parks (SANParks) Corporate Communications

Media Enquiries

Reynold “Rey” Thakhuli
General Manager: Media, PR & Stakeholder Relations
Tel: 012 426 5203; Cell: 073 373 4999
Email: [email protected]