New Garden Route scenic park plans well under way

By Athane Scholtz Garden Route Reporter

PLANS for the Garden Route National Park are well on their way, with the first investigations towards consolidation of private land already in progress.

Wilderness National Park manager Roy Ernstzen said an investigation into creating natural corridors of movement between the Outeniqua Mountains and the ocean was under way.

“The study, which is funded by the national department of environmental affairs and tourism, will identify land most suitable to open up a natural corridor,” Ernstzen said.

Expected to be completed towards the end of the year, the study will pave the way for negotiations with private landowners to open up their land to facilitate natural areas.

“It is not our intention to remove people from their land, but rather to embrace our vision of leaving as much of the natural habitat as untouched as possible. In some cases it would require something as simple as ridding properties of alien vegetation,” Ernstzen said.

Speaking to a meeting of the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa in Sedgefield last week, Ernstzen was sharing the plans for the new 180 000ha park, which is expected to be officially declared some time next year.

Plans for the new park – which would encompass natural areas from Tsitsikamma to George – was launched in April with the handing over of 97 000ha of mainly State forest land into the care of SANParks.

The new park will also be setting up a conservation development framework document to determine which areas within the park would be allocated what type of development. Allocation of nodes will be determined based on biodiversity constraints, appropriateness and public needs.

Other plans for the park include the extension of the marine protected areas deeper into the sea as well as down the coast from its existing border at the Tsitsikamma National Park all the way down to possibly the Kaaimans River.

“Not everything will be ‘no-take, no-activity’ zones, but there will be sections where limited activity would be allowed. There are already certain sections of coast in South Africa that work in this way and so far it is proving very successful.”

Ernstzen said SANParks, the national department of environmental affairs and tourism, and Western Cape nature conservation were also negotiating the possibility of SANParks taking over the management of the parks on the Garden Route that were currently being managed by nature conservation.

“Suggestions include a ‘responsibility swop’ so that Cape nature conservation would withdraw completely from the Garden Route in exchange for parks closer to the Peninsula. If successful, we’ll take control of Goukamma (Buffalo Bay) and Robberg (Plettenberg Bay) nature reserves as well as a few smaller areas.”

Matters that complicate the the park include the fact that it incorporates eight local and district municipalities.

Ernstzen said SANParks would talk to local authorities to streamline its plans and programmes with the local spatial development frameworks.

The park will also engage in working partnerships with communities and schools. “We will start park forums where members of the local communities can sit on forums and give input into the management of the park in different areas.”

“We are also looking at other ways to be financially sustainable. Only 17 per cent of our funding comes from government subsidy. The rest we have to generate ourselves.”

All plans and propositions for the park will be submitted to public participation processes and Ernstzen appealed to the public to look out for advertisements in this regard.

“We need the communities to give input and share their vast expertise with us.”