Nicola Jenvey
10 May 2005
Durban — The largest government grant for a conservation project in SA in a rural community was proving to be a success, and was likely to be expanded, an official overseeing it says.
The advances that Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, formerly the Natal Parks Board, had shown with a R53m poverty-relief grant in spreading skills and income made it likely the scheme would be widened, said Rob Faure, project manager at uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site.
"As the projects gain momentum and the people gain confidence and skill, we shall expand the programme," Faure said at the Tourism Indaba in Durban yesterday.
The grant was designed to provide skills and jobs arising from tourism opportunities in the economically depressed region.
The improvement and maintenance of park infrastructure was the project's main focus, with the local community being trained and employed to work on roads, upgrade hiking paths, control erosion, destroy alien plants, maintain the park's boundary fence and upgrade facilities.
About R18m will be spent on salaries, with preference given to women, the youth and the disabled. Emerging businesses will benefit through service, retail and construction provision.
"The park serves as a major catalyst in drawing tourists to the region, stimulating the tourism market and creating jobs and economic development," Faure said.
Preserving the resource is seen as a critical part of the wildlife authority's responsibilities.
Faure said human pressure, whether through legitimate needs or through illegal poaching, was acknowledged as the biggest threat to the well being of the park.
It was "vitally important" that the park was perceived as an income generator for people living on its boundaries, he said.
The grant funding became available late last year, and Faure said the wildlife authority would expand the project as the skills of participants improved.
Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife CEO Khulani Mkhize said the authority had to preserve biodiversity but also deliver empowerment and economic benefit.
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