News

South African National Parks (SANParks) announces the successful conclusion of the 5th annual Garden Route Interface and Networking (GRIN) Meeting held from 10 to 12 October 2023. The event took place at The Moorings in Knysna, South Africa and brought together a diverse range of practitioners, experts and researchers from around the world to discuss critical topics and research related to the broader social-ecological context of conservation and protected areas.

GRIN is a community of practice hosted in partnership with the French CNRS, the Sustainability Research Unit (SRU) of Nelson Mandela University and SAPECS. It is a ‘safe third place’ for dialogue, exchange and learning across multiple organisations, themes and perspectives.

Over the course of three days, diverse issues spanning the ecological and social sciences were covered through presentations, discussions as well as informal networking and dialogue over teas, dinners and in nature. The three-day programme included a pre-dinner talk, Knysna Estuary – Jewel of the Garden Route by Prof Charles Breen and a workshop session combined with a field excursion at the Garden of Eden on “Care for Environment Carers” presented by Prof Wendy Foden.

GRIN 2023 featured around 40 engaging presentations, covering a wide array of subjects, including biodiversity conservation, and natural resource use steeped within a social-ecological context. These encompassed themes on nature tourism and human nature connectedness, human-wildlife co-existence, reflexivity, diversity, inclusivity and relationality transforming science and conservation, and the challenges and opportunities faced by protected areas worldwide. These presentations, delivered by experts (practitioners and researchers) in their respective fields, facilitated knowledge sharing and the exchange of innovative ideas to enhance the preservation of our natural heritage.

“This year’s GRIN meeting has been another exciting opportunity for the conservation community in its widest sense to come together and collaboratively engage the complex challenges, as well as, opportunities facing us in the 21st century. The wealth of knowledge, experiences and honesty shared during this event have been inspiring and underscores the importance of dialogue and co-learning to inform holistic conservation and benefit-sharing approaches,” said Dr Stefanie Freitag-Ronaldson, General Manager of Garden Route and Frontier Scientific Services.

SANParks would like to thank all members of the GRIN community (participants, speakers, partners) who contributed to the success of the 5th annual Garden Route Interface and Networking Meeting. The event’s fruitful discussions and the commitment of the global conservation community underline the significance of collaborative efforts to preserve our planet’s invaluable natural treasures.