Protected parks working together
The conference gave managers of protected areas in southern Africa the opportunity to share experiences, successes and challenges
TOURISM delegates from 13 countries, including some of Africa’s most iconic parks, recently converged on the iSimangaliso Wetland Park for a four-day conference on tourism concessions and partnerships for southern African protected area managers.
Protected areas that were represented at the conference included Okavango Delta, Ngorongoro Crater, Selous Game Reserve, North Luangwa, Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou, Malawi’s Nkhotakota, Kasungu National Park and Lake Malawi National Park.
‘Not only was iSimangaliso able to showcase their strong partnerships with the private sector, and excellent visitor facilities, but delegates also gained immensely from presentations made by staff, community members and concessionaires during field visits,’ said organiser of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas’ Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, Dr Anna Spencely.
The first round of the convention was held in iSimangaliso, with following rounds being held in Namibia and Mozambique.
Led by iSimangaliso Business Director Terri Castis, the first round afforded delegates the opportunity to share experiences, successes and challenges surrounding concessions, and saw Castis leading the financial sessions.
‘One of the needs that was identified was a tool kit to help the various countries with the Public Private Partnership process/commercialisation,’ said Castis
‘iSimangaliso was asked to host the first workshop and share its experiences and lessons.
‘It was a tremendous privilege to work with my counterparts and exchange ideas.
‘The workshops mark the beginning of great collaborations in the fields of conservation and tourism,’ concluded Castis.
‘The Convention on Biological Diversity initiative – with generous financial support from the governments of Germany and the Republic of Korea – aims to support the development of national capacity, and technical and scientific co-operation between countries in southern Africa,’ said Spencely.
‘The Maputo meeting provided us with the chance to explore concession financial models, discuss contracting, negotiation and monitoring systems – all critical elements for protected area authorities to have in their tool boxes.
‘The networking between countries gave us a great opportunity to understand our common challenges and learn about each other’s successes.’
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