"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