New chalets opened in the Agulhas National Park

10 Dec 2014

SANParks (South African National Parks) recently launched seven new chalets in the Agulhas National Park, bringing the total to 15, which equates to 51 beds available for tourist accommodation.

Image: www.sanparks.co.za

SANParks GM: Infrastructure & Special Projects, Antionet van Wyk, said: "This development, together with the construction of a new entrance gate as well as two staff houses to support the camp, amounted to R10 million. The project has yielded 10,386 job days during the construction phase, of which 80% were sourced from local labour including sub-trades, such as electricians and plumbers."

The Agulhas National Park plays a major role in the economy of the area. Van Wyk commented: "Projects such as these are geared towards stimulating socio-economic development for the benefit of communities in the vicinity of the park. It should be noted in this regard that the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) employs 448 people and 38 SMMEs in a range of projects in the area."

Success story

The launch of the new chalets is part of a great success story that started with the democratic dispensation post-1994. South Africa is celebrating 20 years of democracy this year and SANParks must acknowledge three important initiatives from the government that have led to a massive growth in the national park system during these years:

Firstly, the Park Expansion programme to establish new national parks and increase the size of existing parks.
SANParks has expanded the land under protection in the national park system by over 700,000 hectares since 1994, with much of this being in the under conserved areas such as the Succulent Karoo and Fynbos biomes. The Agulhas National Park was proclaimed in 1999 in order to conserve components of the fynbos biome, and is one of the seven new national parks created during the past 20 years, adding 22,000 hectares of the Agulhas plain vegetation, which is an area of exceptional floristic diversity and endemism.

Secondly, Biodiversity improvement through mainly the Expanded Public Works Programme.
The core mandate of SANParks is biodiversity conservation. The government's job creation programme, the EPWP, created an opportunity to implement various programmes and projects to improve the state of biodiversity in all national parks.

The funding for the various projects is part of the Department of Environmental Affairs EPWP budget. Over the past 14 years, SANParks has implemented projects to the value of R1.9 billion, creating on average 7500 jobs per annum. SANParks implements eight different EPWP programmes to improve the state of biodiversity, including the removal of invasive alien vegetation, the rehabilitation of wetlands, the rehabilitation of land and the support and monitoring of conservation functions in protected areas.

The Agulhas National Park is one of the flagship parks within the EPWP and employs 448 people and 38 SMMEs as part of the EPWP implementation. The value of the projects is R36 million for the current financial year of which at least 65% goes directly to wages or salaries of previously unemployed people. In a social impact study done about the impacts of these projects in Agulhas, it was found that the impact of job creation projects targeting local, historically disadvantaged individuals is of high significance as it addresses a critical need of employment creation in an area with few alternatives.

At the Kamoso Awards ceremony, held recently by the Department of Public Works, the Environmental Monitor Programme implemented by SANParks won the Best National Project Award. This award is testimony to the fact that SANParks has embraced the job creation and poverty alleviation programmes of the government to provide benefits to local communities adjacent to parks, while at the same time addressing threats to biodiversity.

With the development of the rest camp, the labour-intensive requirements of the EPWP programme for construction was incorporated in the planning, and SMMEs were appointed to cut and prepare the thatch for the roofs. "Using local natural resources and creating jobs has resulted in the chalets that have now been launched," said Van Wyk. "An effort is made to invest and train local small contractors during infrastructure projects and all the boardwalks in the park were also constructed by local teams."

Lastly, Infrastructure development and investment.
The past 20 years saw the government investing in infrastructure on a scale never experienced before in the national parks system. The Agulhas National Park development is one component of a R2.4 billion investment made by the government for the upgrading and development of tourism and conservation infrastructure in national parks. Van Wyk said: "There has not been another period in our conservation history to parallel this growth and investment, and it is incumbent on all of us to see that this momentum is maintained."

SANParks is managing an estate of 4 million hectares and infrastructure plant of close to R10 billion including roads, fences, buildings and bulk services. This includes the construction of 23 new rest camps or wilderness camps adding a total of 648 new beds to our tourism inventory. The infrastructure and EPWP funds enabled the development of the Agulhas infrastructure.

"SANParks is in the 'forever' business: managing a sustainable parks system connecting to society. We remain committed to this and the launch of the seven new chalets in the rest camp is a celebration of the government's commitment to biodiversity conservation," concluded Van Wyk.