News

Honourable Chairpersons and Honourable members
Honourable Minister George in absentia
Honourable Deputy Ministers (Swartz and Singh)
Chairpersons and CEO of entities
Colleagues, ladies and gentleman

On behalf of the SANParks Board and Management team let me welcome this opportunity to present to yourselves.

Background

SANParks is a public entity which is seized with the responsibility to manage national parks and this constitutes 70% of the national protected area estate (both terrestrial and marine protected areas)

Globally there has been a mind shift that embraces the reality that the conservation of our cultural and natural heritage must be done in a way that recognises issues of development and people’s well-being. The concept of people and nature is firmly grounded in the preferred conservation model. This forms the bedrock of our conservation approach as SANParks and we recognise that whilst we are endowed with mega-diverse biological resources coupled with a rich cultural heritage we have an important role to play in enhancing people beneficiation and contributing to addressing the challenges of addressing poverty, inequality and improving people’s economic livelihoods.

Whilst applying itself to contemporary means of operation, SANParks’ approach is also embedded in the appreciation of harmonious relations enjoyed for centuries between nature and our ancestors. A historical context which also offers lessons as we continue to break barriers between communities and conservation.

SANParks’ journey since 1994 has been one of dedication, resilience, and collaboration — a testament to our shared responsibility to conserve the country’s natural and cultural heritage. This journey of stewardship and preservation has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Conservation Estate

Since the advent of democracy, the organisation has gradually increased the conservation estate by establishing six new national parks, namely Marakele, Mapungubwe, Namaqua, Camdeboo, Mokala and Meerkat National Parks. SANParks also manages three additional Marine Protected Areas (Addo, Namaqua and Robben Island MPAs) and thereby, extended South Africa’s oceans and coastline under conservation by five times in squared kilometres.

These parks and MPAs, together with the expansion of existing national parks, have added over 1 million ha of land and sea to the conservation of South Africa’s natural and cultural heritages and contribute immensely to South Africa’s nature-based tourism industry. The organisation currently manages approximately 4.2 million ha, representing nearly 70% of the national protected area estate that is managed by the state.

Wildlife Crime

While rhino poaching has been drastically reduced recently, we witnessed an increase in incidences of snaring of wildlife, particularly along the western boundary of Kruger
National Park. Activities involving the illegal of harvesting of abalone and succulent plants (and possibly reptiles) have also increased along the southwestern parts of the country. We continue to engage in efforts to improve our performance in this regard.

Environmental crime varies between parks and regions as each area has a unique set of drivers that impact criminal activities and the integrity of the parks. That said, the use of technology and a partnership approach which includes the South African Police Service, National Prosecuting Authority, local and provincial authorities and communities has proven successful in the drive against environmental crimes. For example, SANParks is actively participating in Operation Phakisa in whose framework we attend technical working group meetings and engage in law-enforcement operations with our rangers often providing crucial testimony in court cases and scientific staff serving as experts for the state in legal proceedings.

Climate Change

The adverse effects of climate change are more evident nowadays than was witnessed before, especially devastating floods and frequent wildfires creating havoc in national parks. We can already see that in places like Table Mountain, and Kruger National we are beginning to feel the effects and impact of climate change which requires us to invest in climate adaptation strategies whilst improving our carbon footprint as an organisation. This is both a conservation imperative as well as a tourism competitive advantage issue as we find new ways of financial sustainability.

Commercialisation Strategy

The SANParks Commercialisation Strategy was developed following the 1998 announcement that SANParks’ government funding would be reduced and eventually stopped. The reality is that conservation requires extensive financial investment and traditional tourism activities were not going to be sufficient. The SANParks Commercialisation Strategy introduced public-private partnerships (PPP) that created a valuable income stream whilst offering visitors new and diverse tourism products. This is implemented in a manner that also gives small suppliers access to business opportunities in the national parks.

Increased from a R10 million injection in 2005, we now have 63 active PPPs generating an annual income of almost R2 billion. In addition, SANParks diversified and added new tourism offerings, with an emphasis on activity-based products and expanding the quantity of budget-friendly accommodation offerings. This was supplemented by the new business ventures and PPPs that have grown in the commercialisation establishment over the past three decades.

Significantly, SANParks has implemented many activities and programmes to revolutionise the management of cultural heritage in its parks. This includes ensuring that all heritage elements are identified, recorded and protected. One of the most significant ‘corrections’ of the past thirty years that SANParks has been involved with was the repatriation and the reburial of human remains that were illegally excavated at various archaeological sites in the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. Milestones include the successful nomination of the Mapungubwe and Kgalakgadi/‡Khomani San cultural landscapes for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Tourism

We are also emboldened by our tourism figures which tell us that we are successfully recovering towards the pre-Covid-19 period numbers. The financial year closed with several key indicators reflecting improvement and growth. SANParks welcomed more than 6 million guests to its parks, compared to 4.9 million in the previous year and 6.3 million in 2019/20. Tourism revenue grew by 21.1% to R2.162 billion – a significant increase on the R1.785 billion achieved in the previous year.

The additional infrastructure investment allocation of R700 million in 2023/24 increased the available budget for the 2023/24 to 2025/26 period to R1.1 billion. This will make a huge contribution to recapitalise existing and develop new strategic infrastructure. In view of the infrastructure allocation funding from the EPWP and the Department of Tourism, a universal project implementation plan that includes all approved projects for the next three years was developed. Significant work has commenced in national parks such as Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant National Park and West Coast National Park, This investment covers elements such as critical tourism infrastructure and staff housing.

Policy and White Paper

A theme emanating from this White Paper is that SANParks must inherently and with resolve, benefit people and the environment. It suggests that our national parks are not only about the conservation of plants and animals but are also important catalysts for economic growth and development. The future of SANParks must be a continuation of responsibly developing new products for sustainable development and tourism growth whilst at the same time conserving our fauna and flora in our iconic national parks for the benefit of current and future generations.

We are also involved in efforts to involve more South Africans to experience their natural and cultural heritage. To this end, we run a National Parks Week (September 9th to 15 September).

Vision 2040

Vision 2040, which is about re-imaging collaborative, inclusive co-created national protected areas of the future is a SANParks-driven effort that gives expression to the White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity. It is essentially championing Mega Living Landscapes, which are large, interconnected areas of land that encompass protected areas, private and communal land and different compatible land uses. Mega Living Landscapes re-imagine the management and conservation of biodiversity on a much greater scale and in a more inclusive manner.

Vision 2040 is about the future of conservation SANParks is exploring. It lays for us a path possible to transverse considering the richness of experiences embodied in what is represented by the celebrations of the successes and lessons from 1994 to 2024.

It also involves building the organisational capability to be responsive to the demands of the day whilst investing in our people, using technology and systems to improve responsiveness whilst striving for financial sustainability, accountability and reporting