News

An independent assessment on the implementation of Table Mountain National Park’s management plan scored the entity an overall high of 75%. This assessment was done by Conservation Outcome, a biodiversity non-governmental organisation that supports the development and management of land for biodiversity conservation that is also a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN. (https://www.conservation-outcomes.org/).

The review assessed six key management categories which are bioregional management looking at how the ecology in the region is managed; biodiversity management which looks at the management of fauna and flora; cultural heritage looks at managing the tangible and intangible heritage of the park; responsible tourism looks at nature-based tourism; constituency building which looks at strengthening community relations and raising conservation awareness; as well as effective park management.

The scores of specific areas of focus is 43% for bioregional management, 90% for responsible tourism, 66% for biodiversity management, 57% for constituency building, 43% for cultural heritage, 90% for responsible tourism and 89% for effective park management. This report provides us with factual and objective information which allows for SANParks to continue with its management of Table Mountain National Park based on science and evidence-based detail.

This overall positive assessment comes amid the unfortunate circulation of a misleading petition issued by a small group of stakeholders opposed to the current management of TMNP.

The group wrote a petition that contains a number of factual inaccuracies. These being:

• There is persistent high crime rates at TMNP. Facts are that we had a crime incident spike in January to March this year but the figures have since dropped back to single-digit incidents. In the past year, the figures were primarily in the region of single digits.
• Fires are often ignited by religious groups. Fact is that majority of fires are caused by arsonists and vagrants. Religious groups account for about 10% of fires in the past 3 years.
• Foreign consulates have issued safety concerns. The fact is that the safety warnings issued by foreign consulates relate to South Africa as a whole and not Table Mountain alone.
• There is a conservation mandate failure seen through alien vegetation growing unchecked. The fact is that we have a management plan to control alien vegetation. We also have an Extended Public Works programme to clear alien vegetation with the support of collaborative NGOs.
• There is generally decaying infrastructure with boardwalks unrepaired. The fact is that this is in a specific area at Maclears Beacon due to boardwalks built on a wetland which rot over time. We are now purchasing split poles to replace the decaying wooden boards.
• Infrastructure at risk – The fact is we have had a few fires this year and infrastructure that burnt down was toilet blocks at Silvermine. No infrastructure was damaged during the Newlands ravine fire, Tokai and Muizenberg fires.
• Tourism Infrastructure left to decay and losing potential revenue – The fact is that we have tenders issued to refurbish and renew infrastructure such as Rhodes Memorial, Hoerikwaggo trail, and Orange Kloof tented camp.
• The claim that “76% of the R430 million was sent to other parks.” The fact is that last year we clarified to Take Back Our Mountain (TBOM) that the R107 million referenced in their claim represents only direct, park-level expenditure. It does not account for essential corporate-level costs.

Throughout all its national parks, SANParks intentionally pursues collaborative relationships. The organisations concerned are encouraged to rather continue with a relationship that is constructive and collaborative in nature as opposed to acrimony and misleading information.