To the attention of Mrs Barbara Creecy, Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment

And The Management of SANParks

 

The continuous expansion of development plans of SANParks inside protected parks areas must be stopped.

SANParks has passed the red line when it comes to developments inside protected national parks. It started with the new Skukuza hotel, which seems to have been a flop as no Hotel Operator has taken over the running of the facility and in the end, SANParks had to launch the hotel internally. Then they got wise and of late have let external companies do the investments under the guise of PPP programs, Public-Private Partnership:  The Selati luxury hotel-train, SPAs etc. have already opened. Fly camps are on the way and now the 123 concessions are on offer, among which quad biking trails and adventure motorcycle tours in Kruger National Park; very noisy and disturbing for the animals and for the other visitors in the park and none that actually improve the mandate of protecting the national heritage; all seem to be focused on generating income.

Already more than 60 such PPPs have been established for accommodation, restaurants, open safari vehicles and other activities, since the year 2000.

All this while the complaints about the maintenance of the accommodations and the existing service are piling up. The traffic at sightings is completely out of control and many visitors have no idea whatsoever how to behave when there are animals around. Speeding is still a major issue and nothing seems to have been done to control it.  Non-income generating activities have gradually been phased out and as staff retire they are not replaced.

While Kruger has lost the battle against rhino poaching, every new development means more unsupervised vehicles and contractors in the park, adding to security risks.

Instead of scaring away the many faithful visitors, who have been going to the parks for years and often for generations it would, in our opinion, be more sensible to fix what is wrong: Bookings, broken furniture, fridges, air condition, communal ablutions and many other things. Raising the prices to unrealistic levels does not help either. Old records on the Africa Wild forum have revealed that Kruger Park accommodation costs have increased up to 188% from 2008 to 2021.

While we believe that upgrading and modernising the existing facilities and fixing what is broken is urgently required, adding new accommodations and converting the activities of the park to the taste of new visitors will not improve the parks.  Rather make the new visitors understand what the national parks are all about and focus on educational programs and encourage young visitors and family stays, that will respect the natural environment.

According to I.U.C.N, a National Park is:

Large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible spiritual, scientific, educational, and recreational visitor opportunities.

Primary objective:

To protect natural biodiversity along with its underlying ecological structure and supporting environmental processes, and to promote education and recreation.

When did we last hear anything about conservation coming from a SANParks’ spokesperson? 

Please, sign the petition!

The Africa Wild Forum

Go wild for Wildlife and help to keep our Conservation Areas pure, natural and green.