4 Protected Areas in South Africa and the National Development Context South Africa is to home to vast biodiversity resources and contains the third highest level of biodiversity of any country in the world. Occupying only 2% of global surface area, South Africa is home to nearly 10% of known plant species; 7% of known terrestrial reptile, bird and mammal species; and 15% of known marine plants and animals1. Despite this species richness, the aim of biodiversity conservation in South Africa’s is steadily shifting away from a focus on individual species management towards a focus on ecosystem management. This shift is being driven by the understanding that individual species form part of a complex whole – and that this whole is important for both species conservation and the provision of ecosystem goods and services to society. Protected areas are no longer valued only for their conservation function, but for their role in maintaining the ecological integrity of their surrounding landscapes and the ability of these landscapes to contribute goods and services to society. Protected Areas are also increasingly valued for their direct contribution to economic growth – particularly in relation to the role they play in the growth of the travel and tourism industry, and the development of a robust wildlife economy. This shift is a direct response to the states imperative to respond to the development context in South Africa, as well as the emergence of Climate Change science and its focus on the integrity and maintenance of ecological systems rather than individual species. The National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy supports this shift in focus by highlighting the social and economic benefits of healthy ecosystems and the need for the expansion of the protected areas network to respond directly to addressing ecosystem management from a holistic perspective. Ecological systems and processes interact across different biomes and landscapes and the overall maintenance of South Africa’s ecological infrastructure depends on the protection of representative samples of all types of habitats. This bodes well for the role of protected areas in national development as each protected area has a unique contribution to make to ensure the ecological integrity and the productivity of ecosystem processes in the landscape in which it is located. Each individual protected area has a unique contribution to make to the sustainability of the countries growth and development trajectory – both in terms of the provision of ecosystem goods and services and in terms of the development of economic sectors dependent on healthy landscapes. In support of this perspective, the National Biodiversity Framework suggests that biodiversity assets should be seen as the source of development rather than as a medium of development. This means that protected areas play an important role in providing the source material for national development in addition to their role in providing a context for the growth of certain economic sectors.
5 The Current Protected Area Network in Limpopo Limpopo has an existing PAN comprising both formal (i.e. state owned and/or declared in terms of NEMBA) and informal (i.e. private nature reserves not declared in terms of NEMBA). The existing formal protected area network of Limpopo is made up of 61 protected areas covering a total of 1,357,156ha (11% 0f Limpopo). The major contributor to this is the Kruger National Park, which contributes 72% to the provincial PAN. There are two UNESCO word heritage sites, three national parks, and over 40 provincial nature reserves managed by LEDET. The informal conservation area network in the province is estimated to be approximately 573,239ha in extent. There are three well-‐ 1
South Africa’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, 2005
Limpopo Protected Area Expansion Strategy: Making the Case
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