Protection of Public Goods
Project to support creating and running “Addo Elephant National Park”
Context
ADDO Elephant National Park is located near Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape province. In 1931, the first protected area of the park was created, targeting to protect elephants endangered by the deforestation phenomena.
Since the 1990s the region, one of the poorest in the country with 60% of the population living below the poverty line, is experiencing a constant slowdown causing inoccupation of the lands and unemployment in the farm hand. Ecotourism and control of the wild fauna have quickly been identified as viable economic alternatives: the region covers one of the densest biodiversities of Southern Africa. In order to promote these income-generating activities and to shelter the biodiversity, the South African government is committed to the creation of Addo National Park, extending the historically protected area. This new park will cover over 400,000 hectares, including a protected marine area, and thus constituting the third largest park in the country.
In addition to the protection of the environment, this initiative contributes to socio-economic development of local communities by creating many jobs opportunities.
This project is managed by SANParks, a paragovernmental institution responsible for the management of national parks in South Africa. SANParks operates with a state contribution of 14% of its budget. The rest is brought forth by incomes derived from tourism, public-private partnerships and national or international grants.
To support this initiative, which aims to preserve biodiversity but also to promote economic and social development, the AFD joined SANParks, alongside the World Bank, to fund part of this project through the French Fund for Global Environment. The FFGE is a bilateral fund created in 1994 by the French government in response to the Rio Earth Summit, hosted by the AFD. This fund aspires to promote environmental protection at a global scale, in a perspective of sustainable development.
Goals
The main objectives of this project are consistent with those of the FFGE:
- The protection of biodiversity in supporting SANParks in the creation and management of the third largest national park in South Africa (280,000 ha of land and 120,00 ha of marine areas)
- The fight against desertification and land degradation.
- The promotion wildlife through tourism as an alternative to breeding, a traditional activity that is losing ground in the region
The specific objectives pursued by the component financed by the FFGE are:
- Protection of the marine area of the park and its biodiversity
- Support innovative partnerships between SANParks, private landowners and local communities
- Development of local communities through the creation of 250 posts responsible for the administration of the park side structures to accommodate tourists
- Economic support to SANParks and local authorities
Project description
The FFGE contribution to the project targets:
- The development of marine protected areas
- The development of the Kuzuko plot (16 000 ha) by financing the establishment of a lodge and an ecotourism enterprise. This enterprise would be shaped in an innovative format combining the participation of both landowners and local communities. The purpose of this scheme is to fully integrate local communities in the management of the Park by encouraging the creation of micro enterprises in the field of services, tourism and agriculture.
The tested approaches are designed to be replicated in other sites in South Africa and elsewhere.
Impacts
The project will contribute significantly to the preservation of the global environment because the extension of the park will cover highly endangered ecosystems. In addition, the restoration of the land incorporated in the park (most of it has been degraded by overgrazing and invasive species) will help to improve the conservation status of threatened species. The impact of the project in terms of socio-economic development is expected to be important: since the beginning of the AE project, the level of employment in the periphery of the park has increased by 35%.This is mainly due to a remarkable increase in local tourism.