-----Original Message-----
From: Barry Downs [
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Sent: 08
March 1999 07:29
Subject: Closure of Vaalbos National
Park
DEPROCLAMATION (CLOSURE) OF VAALBOS NATIONAL PARK:
Kimberley Area, South Africa:
Please sign at the bottom for your signify
and do include your town,
country and e-mail address.
If you receive this
list and it has 100 names on it, please e-mail a
copy of it to
[log in to unmask]Even if you
decide not to sign, please be considerate and do not kill
this important
petition.
(IT IS BEST TO COPY RATHER THAN FORWARD THE PETITION, TO KEEP IT
LEGIBLE).
Thank you and kind regards.
Dirk
Potgieter
(Kimberley, South Africa.)
VAALBOS NATIONAL PARK (VNP)
was proclamated by the South African Parliment in 1986 - the primary function of
this 23 000 ha National Park was to protect a rare combination of 3 x ecotypes
and to set up a safe and secure breeding facility for the highly endangered
(desert) black rhino and several other rare species.
Larger animal species found in the park on the schedule 1 list of
endangered wild animals include the (desert) black rhino, white rhino, African
scaly ant-eater and several schedule 2 endangered wild animals!
It is
worth noting that Vaalbos National Park it is borderd on the east & west
boundaries by approx. 50 km of Vaal River frontage - this being the only section
of the Vaal River protected by National Park status and
containing rare barb,
rock cafish and the large-mouth yellowfish, not to mention birds, repliles and
insects.
The infrastructure of this uniquely diverse Park (situated 60 km
north from Kimberley) was established primarily with a local work force
("by the community for the benifit of the community") recruited from
among the
impoverished local community along the eastern boundary (Barkly
West, Longlands, Delportshoop and Gong-Gong).
It is also worth noting that
more than R4 million of local taxpayer money was invested in setting up roads
and tourist facilities within this Vaalbos National Park.
The promise was
made from the very beginning and again with the grand opening in November 1996
that Vaalbos National Park would be a major economic boost and tourism asset to
this neglected and progressively impoverished / unemployed area.
As a
young National Park, VNP was making it's mark and visitor figures steadily
increaced with the charming 3 chalets very often fully book out. But then on 24
July 1998 it was announced by Mr, Mavuso Masimang;
Chief Executive of the
South African National Parks (SANP) that the SANP in conjunction with the
Northern Cape Provincial Government (NCPG) had decided upon deproclamation of
the Park (the first Park ever in South Africa to be deproclamated) and that it
should thus lose it's National Park concervation status and legal protection.
This immediately influenced visitor figures negalively and amazed foreign
tourists!
According to a press release dated 25/07/98, Mr. Thabo Makweya
- the NCPG MEC for Agriculture, Enviromental Affairs and Land Reform, he stated
that the interests of beginner miners (small diamond miners) would receive
preferance in the area's new status of utilisation?
Deproclamate a National Park for small scale mining of unconfirmed diamond
deposits?
According to the SANP the initial aims for establishing a
larger Vaalbos National Park were not realised, partly due to the manner in
which it was done, which included threats of expropriation and
non-consultaion;
this was to be expected to lead to failure. Other excuses
such as not being having aesthetic value, nor meeting
the IUCN merit system
requirements, as well as not being able to carry and sustain the major
predators, are misleading - many Parks, even in South Africa, do not meet these
conditions and still exist.
As for SANP and NCPG themselves, there has
been very limited communication and no consultation with the neglected and
progresively impoverished / unemployed surrounding area / communities, as well
as a definite lack of transparancy and consideration in reaching this
decision.
Destroying the well-established Vaalbos National Park, taking
into considering it's much needed tourism potential for these local communities
and then attemting to establish a new National Park elswhere in the
province,
is but a futile dream. Not only would a predominantly neglected and progresively
impoverished
/underemployed community of development potential, but an
attempt would have to be launched to establish a new National Park elswhere in
the province at great (duplicated) financial cost. The loss of Vaalbos National
Park is our real issue here and this being the first National Park to be
deproclamated in South Africa, this
concervation failure would lay the
foundation for further onslaught on other National Parks, in a modern world
where concervation is fighting a losing battle in the face of .
To quote
a foreign tourist once visiting Vaalbos National Park: "Some of the finest
classic African scerery I have yet experienced!"
We hope to have a
web page up within the near future, but presently request your kind supporting
vote in our quest to retain Vaalbos National Park for concervation and as
a viable development to the benifit of the
neglected and progressively
impoverished / unemployed surrounding area / communities.
We thank you
for your time.
1.) Dirk Potgieter - Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail:
[log in to unmask]2.) Marzanne
Potgieter - Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail:>
[log in to unmask]3.) Mark Wilson -
Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail:
[log in to unmask]4.) Frans Hancke -
Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail:
[log in to unmask]5.) Anton
Smith - Bloemfontein, South Africa - e-mail:
[log in to unmask]6.) Peter Thomas -
Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail:
Petertee@global,co.za7.) Barry Downs
- Kimberley, South Africa - e-mail
[log in to unmask]8.) Dirk Coetzee -
Kimberley, South Africa - E-Mail:
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