An inspiring event! – 2018 K2C Network Day

In line with the K2C BR NPC’s mandate, Partner Initiatives in support of inclusive biodiversity conservation and economic development within the K2C Landscape were invited to participate in 2018 K2C Network Day on 28 August. The Event aimed to share information about different Role Players’ contributions, facilitate networking, create a platform for new information to be shared and design as a group a way to demonstrate and be accountable for our contributions.

Ultimately, the event attempted to provide strategic guidance in pursue of long-term sustainable outcomes, including the institutionalisation of practices within the landscape as aligned with UNESCO’s MaB principles. 

 Registration and Poster Session

Informative Poster Session 

183 stakeholders registered for the event.  Representatives of Municipalities, Tourism Associations, Provincial Departments, Business Chambers, Reserves and Conservation Authorities, NRM Projects, Tribal Authorities and CPA's, NGO's an CBO's involved in the Education for Sustainable Development; Research and Training organisations participated in the event. 

The event started with a poster session where 33 partners displayed posters that captures different organisation's contributions in terms  of their vision, activities, impact and networks. 

Registration under way

Plenary Session

Cllr Wireless Sedibeng, Speaker of the Mopane District Municipality, who did the Welcome Address with 2x of our Stalwart EMs

The Plenary session was launched with a Welcome Address by the Mopane District Municipality’s Speaker, Councillor Wireless Sedibeng. He highlighted the importance of collaboration between different sectors in the landscape. The K2C Chair, Dr John Job, briefly outlined the vision of the K2C and the importance of creating collectively social cohesion for the conservation of biodiversity and to make the benefits thereof inclusive. He alluded to the fact that a common understanding of immediate future opportunities and alignment of these have an impact. The Purpose of the Day was to build an understanding of where we are and collectively decide how the collective would like to engage with new opportunities on the horizon. 

The People and Parks National Chair, Mr Lawrence Mokgakane, shared with the participants the progressive Outcomes of the combined Biodiversity Economy and People and Parks Conferences the previous two days. The two conferences focussed on 3 biodiversity economy sectors; Eco-tourism, wildlife and bioprospecting/bio trade, where these sectors have experienced noticeable growth over the years making a contribution to Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and employment statistics of the country and in our region. The conference resolution to put the Community Property Associations and rest of the community at a 60:40 beneficiation ratio was shared.

Key Note

The Key Note Address was done by Dr Marisa Coetzee of the Kruger National Park (one of the K2C BR’s core areas).

The Presentation embedded the 2018 Kruger National Park’s Management Plan in the adjacent landscapes. The Management Plan, as a legal instrument to reconcile biodiversity conservation with the sustainable development of people, went through a rigorous stakeholder consultation and technical review process. In recognising the embeddedness of the National Park in complex socio-ecological landscapes, it is proposed that the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area concept(as been standardised by IUCN) be embraced. Taking the huge area into consideration, a cluster approach was proposed, where the K2C Landscape can potentially be one of the clusters. It was highlighted in order to achieve this, the GREATER KRUGER STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK (GKSDF)will be co-developed.

Break Away Session to engage with content

The Facilitator, Elna de Beer, summarised the “new information” around the Biodiversity Economy and People and Parks Conferences, and the cluster alignment potential with the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, where the Kruger National Park’s centrality as the key driver in integrated conservation and socio-economic development was recognised.

The Facilitator then directed 5x break away Groups (A:Municipalities, Tourism Associations, Provincial Departments, Business Chambers; B:Reserves and Conservation, NRM projectsC: Tribal Authorities and CPA’sD: NGO’s and CBO’s involved in Education for Sustainable Development and E: Research and Training Organizations) to discuss and capture responses to the following two questions: 

1. How does the information shared in this session influence your landscape? (What could be the benefits and What could be the constraints?)
2. What can K2C and partners do about this?

After the Group Discussions feedback has been given by each Break Away Groups. 

The Facilitator summarised the information generated by the Groups according to the following themes:

The Groups suggested that each GLTFCA cluster (of which K2C should be one) have a hub / co-ordinating unit that helps co-ordinate between all stakeholders across all disciplines (in terms of Policy, Beneficiation Projects, Alien Plant clearing, cattle & wildlife management, etc.)

Way Forward

The Meeting ended with a commitment to distribute the Proceedings of the day; and to give inputs into and share a further engagement road map, which will be associated with the development of the Greater Kruger Strategic Framework roll out and its associated stakeholder engagement processes.

In the closing session, Mr Pitso Mojapelo from the national Department of Environmental Affairs congratulated the K2C Board and Staff on hosting the day. “This multi-stakeholder event was a great inspiration!” Mojapelo said. “It demonstrates that people in this landscape is willing to work together.”

Informative Poster Session