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Media Release: South African Conservation Receives Biggest International Boost Ever

Table Mountain November 13, 1997

Conservation in South Africa has received what is probably the biggest international boost ever with the approval of a grant totalling R59 million (US$12,3 million) from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to WWF South Africa and the National Parks Board.

This breakthrough is the result of negotiations which WWF-SA initiated nearly four years ago during its 25th Anniversary year. The R59 million will be used for three major projects:

  • R24 million ($5 million) will be deposited into The Table Mountain Fund, established in 1993 by WWF-SA and officially launched in May that year by Sir Edmund Hillary. This grant brings the total amount of the Fund to R31 million.

  • R30,24 million ($6,3 million) will be employed by the National Parks Board as a contribution towards the start-up costs of the soon-to-be-proclaimed national park on the Cape Peninsula. This funding will be used over a six-year period.

  • A further R4,8 million ($1 million) will be used for an in-depth survey of the most pressing conservation issues elsewhere in the Cape Floral Kingdom.

GEF's grant was approved at its latest board meeting on 4 November 1997 in Washington, D.C. This follows three visits to South Africa by GEF fact-finding missions, hosted by the National Parks Board and WWF-SA.

According to WWF-SA's Chief Executive, Dr Ian Macdonald, clinching this deal could be regarded as one of the most important milestones in WWF-SA's 29-year history.

"When we celebrated our 25th Anniversary in 1993, WWF-SA had a proven history of exemplary smaller projects. The question we asked ourselves then was whether we could make a difference at a macro level. After consultation, WWF was requested to try to do something about the worsening plight of Table Mountain and the rest of the Cape Peninsula - an area with more species, more endangered species, and more recently extinct species than any area of comparable size anywhere else on earth.

"Apart from the fact that this area is an international conservation `hotspot', I believe the fact that WWF was able to raise R7 million locally played a key role in convincing the GEF of our determination to preserve this unique natural treasure. This also gives an indication of how well-supported conservation is in South Africa, not only by private individuals, but also by our corporate sector," said Dr Macdonald.

GEF was founded in co-operation with the World Bank, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to assist developing countries in protecting natural assets of international importance.

The grant application was comprehensively workshopped with all the relevant "interested and affected parties." In April 1996 it was approved by Dr Pallo Jordan soon after he first took office as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and immediately submitted to the World Bank for consideration by the GEF.

The proposal was finally shepherded through the GEF decision-making process by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the official South African GEF liaison body. "What pleased us most, was that there was not a single query regarding the proposal from the GEF Council," said Acting Director General of the Department, Dr Francois Hanekom.

Mr David Daitz of the National Parks Board, who was in Washington at the time of the GEF Council meeting, said the GEF was impressed with the quality of the proposal. "They said it was the best prepared application they have ever received. I believe this was due to the fact that it had been a collaborative effort between a wide range of conservation partners."

During the GEF's fact-finding visits, all role-players were consulted, including organisations such as the Peninsula Mountain Forum, the Mountain Club of South Africa, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the Cape Metropolitan Council, Cape Nature Conservation, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, the Botanical Society, the Institute for Plant Conservation at the University of Cape Town and the National Botanical Institute.

The Institute for Plant Conservation at the University of Cape Town developed the GEF proposal for a strategic framework for conserving the Cape Floral Kingdom. Prof Richard Cowling of the Institute said, "After years of decline resulting from neglect and `ad hoc' conservation planning, we at last have the opportunity to develop a logical and coherent strategy for conserving the Cape Floral Kingdom and its adjacent marine ecosystems."

"The cherry on the top will be if we now succeed in getting Table Mountain declared a World Heritage Site. And this goal is within reach after the government recently ratified the World Heritage Convention," Dr Macdonald said.

For more information, contact:

  • Dr Ian Macdonald, Chief Executive of WWF-SA, tel 27218872801 and fax 27218879517.

  • Mr David Daitz, National Parks Board, Cape Town, tel 27217629620 and fax 27217629616.

  • Prof Brian Huntley, National Botanical Institute, Cape Town, tel 27217621166 and fax 27217614687.

  • Prof Richard Cowling, Institute for Plant Conservation, University of Cape Town, tel 27216502440 and fax 27216504046.

  • Dr Francois Hanekom, Acting Director General of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in Pretoria, tel. 27123103666 and fax 27123204746.