Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve Initiative 

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"The true frontier for humanity is life on earth"  This dictum forms part of a global realization that the biodiversity of a country is part of its National heritage and such is the frontier of the future - an asset of great international, national and local value.

The Central Lowveld and Escarpment sub region of Mpumalanga and the Northern Province of South Africa, including the Transfrontier zone in Mozambique, contains a unique constellation of protected and natural resource areas found nowhere else in the world.  These protected areas, approximately a million hectares in extent in the Central Lowveld and escarpment region alone, and four million hectares in total in the sub region, are made up of national parks, provincial nature reserves, private reserves, wilderness, resource areas and state land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protected areas are generally regarded as an important instrument for conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity.  However, in the Central Lowveld (as in many regions in Africa) the limited focus of the conservationists interests and perspectives have neglected the interests of rural peoples and has contributed to the under-development of the rural areas adjacent to protected areas.  Values and practices in the past have caused alack of social acceptance of conservation actions amongst these neighboring communities.  The potentials of rural communities own interest in environmental protection were not developed and both stake holders mistrusted each other.  Therefore the sustainability of environmental protection was undermined.

The Greater Kruger to Canyons Biosphere region can be described as the economic engine room of the Northern Province.  At present it is producing a Gross Geographic product valued at a staggering 4.3 Billion Rand.  Mining, forestry, agriculture and tourism contributes to this - of which 50% is derived from mining alone.

Environmental issues are of a global nature and no region can act in an isolated fashion divorced from the international agenda for the protection of natural resources.  In 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, the United National Conference of Environment and Development brought these issues to the attention of the world's leaders, Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity, Climate change and Desertification were agreed upon to show the way towards sustainable development, Incorporating care of the environment, "living from the interests without depleting the capital of nature", ensuring greater social equality, including respect for local communities and their accumulated wisdom were built into these strategies.

The global community needs working examples that encapsulate the ideas of the Rio Conference.  Such examples can only work if they express the social, cultural, spiritual and economic needs of society and are also based on nature.  The gathering at Rio de Janeiro is regarded as the beginning of a revolution - a revolution to achieve sustainable living.  The messages that was sent out to the world was, that change (to achieve sustainable living ) will  only be possible if it comes from ordinary people and if global alliances are formed.)

this is a shift from the idea of ecosystem protection as preservation, to the notion of sustainable and beneficial development in which both conservation development and social goals are achieved at the same time.  Thus, new imaginative ways of ecosystem protection practices are needing to be found.

The move away from Fortress Preservation and Conservation and the need to support community-based conservation efforts through education and capacity building has far reaching long term benefits for development and environmental protection as a whole in the