Moosa announces major conservation initiatives

IN his budget speech to the National Assembly yesterday, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Mohammed Valli Moosa, announced several new conservation and tourism developments, including the establishment of two new transfrontier developments. "An agreement is to be signed in the next few months between SA and Namibia to establish a transfrontier park which incorporates the Richertersveld and Ais-Ais National Park. This includes the famous Fish River Canyon." Moosa further stated that in "just 12 days from today" (yesterday)he would be signing an agreement with Lesotho to establish the Drakensberg/Maluti transfrontier conservation area. The Global Environmental Fund has allocated R120m for this project. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has proposed to the Northern Province that the Nylsvlei wetlands area be declared a new national park. "The rehabilitation of wetlands will gain momentum this year with an allocation of R30m." Plans are also afoot for the incorporation of the Qwa Qwa National Park into Golden Gate National Park in the Free State, the Manyaleti and Letaba reserves into the Kruger National Park and the Mkambati Nature Reserve into the proposed Pondoland National Park in KwaZulu Natal. "I take pride in announcing that in a special government gazette, published today, (yesterday) we effect 21 land transfers into the national parks." Finally, Walker Bay in Hermanus in the Western Cape has been declared SA's first whale sanctuary. (Adéle Mackenzie)