NEWS
South Africa ’ s newest national park will be in an agricultural landscape
Sheree Bega
Thembanani Nsibande remembers driving through the mountains of the Eastern Cape five years ago and being struck by the beauty of the unspoilt , rugged landscape .
“ When I was on the Naude ’ s Nek Pass [ South Africa ’ s highest lying road at more than 2 500 m ] I asked myself why hasn ’ t anything been done in terms of conservation for this special area ,” said Nsibande , who had just moved to the province from KwaZulu-Natal . “ It ’ s such a mind-blowing part of the country .”
That conservation work is now underway with Nsibande , who is now the
World Wildlife Fund-SA ’ s ( WWF-SA ’ s ) project coordinator for the planned park , championing efforts on the ground for the development of South Africa ’ s newest park : the NE Cape Grasslands National Park .
This 30 000 ha high-altitude park will stretch across the Rhodes , Naude ’ s Nek and Nqanqarhu areas , which boasts vast tracts of grasslands . The project is a collaboration between the South African National Parks ( SANParks ) and WWF- SA . The national park marks a novel approach to protected area expansion because it will be in an agricultural landscape .
Through
biodiversity stewardship , people on communal land and private landowners can incorporate their land in the park on a voluntary basis and stand to benefit from a range of financial incentives .
Nsibande has spent the past three years meeting traditional leaders , communal and commercial farmers , landowners , residents , municipalities , NGOs and the forestry sector , to garner support for the project .
“ We ’ ve been working hard because this is a very special place ,” he said . “ We have all three types of crane species here — wattled cranes , crowned cranes and blue cranes — which are all species of special concern . We also have the critically endangered bearded vulture and the Cape vulture , the bald ibis and
Figure 1 . On a high : The NE Cape Grasslands National Park will encourage communities and farmers living in it to be park stewards . ( Photo by Madelene Cronjé )
Grassroots Vol 21 No 4 December 2021 14