More land for national parks

ENVIRONMENTAL affairs and tourism minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has set aside more than 66 000 hectares of new land to be incorporated into the South African National Parks system, according to BuaNews. The proclamation followed the minister's budget speech on July 30 where he announced that over the next three years R123m would be budgeted for land acquisition for the national parks and a further R160m per year over the same period would be added by the local and international donor community. "As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, South Africa is committed to the goal of ensuring that at least 10% of all land is protected which will in turn help us to ensure the long-term future of our natural resources," said Van Schalkwyk. The minister highlighted that three of the areas affected by the expansion fell within the Cape Floristic Kingdom recently declared as the country's sixth World Heritage Site. He also said that the expansion aimed to exploit the potential for expanded ecotourism in the protected areas and government would create better facilities and greater attractions for tourists by creating more space in the parks. (Darren Sandras)