BREAKING: Andrew Zaloumis steps down as CEO of iSimangaliso Wetland Park
The announcement was made by both iSimangaliso and the Department of Environmental Affairs
AFTER 20 years and an award-winning career in the conservation industry, Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, has stepped down.
The shock announcement was made earlier today (Sunday) by both iSimangaliso and the head of the Department of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa.
‘Under his tenure, Mr Zaloumis pioneered and institutionalised development-focused conservation at the Park,’ said Molewa.
‘Respected by his staff and people who worked with him, as a leader who translated ideas into tangible life-changing benefits to the lives of the communities he served, Andrew leaves behind a living legacy that few South Africans would have had the courage and strength to pull together,’ said iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority in a statement.
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‘He met his mandate and proceeded to do more.’
Apart from being instrumental in the establishment of South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Zaloumis transformed the region from a ‘declining tourist economy into a flourishing tourism destination capable of competing with some of the finest global attractions’.
During Zaloumis’ tenure, government has delivered significant benefits across the region in which the wetland park is situated, including the construction of the road between Hluhluwe and Mozambique, N2 upgrades, a malaria programme that reduced the disease by 96% in KZN, and the listing of the wetland park on the world heritage roll and the promulgation of the World Heritage Convention Act.
Aiming to ‘rewild’ the wetland park, Zaloumis oversaw the reintroduction of historically-occurring game onto the banks of Lake St Lucia, the removal of commercial plantations and the rehabilitation of both the Eastern and Western Shores of Lake St Lucia.
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Apart from the natural rehabilitation of the area, Zaloumis’ policy of people-centered conservation saw the economic empowerment of local communities.
The park’s strategy of labour-intensive work methods created a significant number of temporary jobs in the area, and about 8 000 permanent jobs within the region’s tourism sector.
Under Zaloumis’ leadership, the wetland park has achieved 15 consecutive clean audits, raised millions from the park’s Rare and Endangered Species Fund and enlisted the World Bank’s Global Environmental Fund for the rehabilitation of St Lucia Estuary.
‘Not many in our nation have demonstrated selflessness, dedication to grooming leaders, managers, professionals, and entrepreneurs in rural settings to world standards with unquestionable love for the country as recently retired founding CEO of iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority,’ said iSimangaliso board Chairman Buyane Zwane.
Zaloumis plans to pursue his studies in sustainability at Cambridge University, UK and continue to contribute to Southern African conservation and development.
No reason was given for his sudden departure.
