"In a world where the environment and natural world and its wildlife are under increasing strain, there is fortunately an awareness that what remains of wilderness area have to be safeguarded now, if future generations are to know and experience them."

SADC countries - it seems - have fallen in love with the trans-boundary conservation concept and at the moment 14 transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) have been identified in the region as most viable for development.

This is out of 22 TFCAs mentioned in a study by the Stellenbosch-based Peace Parks Foundation (PPF), the foundation's communications manager, Irma Engelbrecht, told The Namibian this week.

She said the Foundation has been asked to assist governments in the development of 10 of these parks.

So far, 10 agreements have been signed between SADC countries for the establishment TFCAs.

Agreements have been signed between South Africa and Namibia for the establishment of the Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park and between Angola and Namibia for the Iona-Skeleton Coast TFCA. Engelbrecht said the Foundation is currently involved in the development of the Iona-Skeleton Coast TFCA.

The Kgalagadi TFCA between Botswana and South Africa opened in May 2000.

The other seven agreements has been signed on the establishment of the Limpopo-Shashe TFCA (between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe), the Maloti-Drakensberg TFCA and Development Area (between Lesotho and South Africa) and the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area (between Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland).

The agreement signed between Mozambique and Zimbabwe is for the creation of the Chimanimani TFCA, the one between Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe is for the establishment of the Great Limpopo TFCA while the one penned by Malawi and Zambia is for the creation of the Malawi-Zambia TFCA.

The Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KaZa-TFCA) between Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe is unique because five countries are involved.

Engelbrecht was quick to add that this also complicates matters, as five partner countries have to agree on matters pertaining to its development.

The KaZa-TFCA covers an area of 280 000 square kilometres, including 22 protected areas.

"Apart from government, there are also private-sector role players. In many of the TFCAs, it is not just a matter of just merging existing national parks, it could also mean the buying up of farmland to establish a national park or having private-sector landowners agree that their land will be part of a TFCA," Engelbrecht explained.

She said a further four TFCAs in the SADC region are in various stages of development. These are the Liuwa Plain-Mussuma TFCA (between Angola and Zambia), the Lower Zambezi-Mana Pools (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Niassa-Selous TFCA (Mozambique and Tanzania) and the Mnazi Nay-Quirimbas Marine TFCA (Mozambique and Tanzania).

Engelbrecht said the donor community has been tremendous in its support of TFCA development in the region.

"In a world where the environment and the natural world and its wildlife are under increasing strain, there is fortunately an awareness that what remains of wilderness areas have been safeguarded now, if the future generations are to know and experience them," she said.

On what benefits TFCAs will bring to countries involved, Engelbrecht said sustainable economic growth, based on eco-tourism, which is the fastest growing industry in the world, gives people a reason to protect their natural assets.

Engelbrecht added that TFCAs will also bring about biodiversity conservation and because technical committees and working groups - which become joint management boards once a TFCA is established - regularly meet and discus issues of mutual interest, it will also bring about good neighbourliness.

Once all 22 existing or potential TFCAs in the region are established, it will bring the total area of peace parks in the SADC region to about 75 million hectares, roughly the size of Germany, Italy and Portugal combined.

The world's first trans-boundary park was established in 1932 when the US and Canada merged the Waterton National Park and Glacier National Park. And today, the impact of that decision is still felt on every continent.