MEDIA STATEMENT DEPARTMENT TO BE REPRESENTED BY 60 DELEGATES AT THE 9TH PEOPLE AND PARKS CONFENCE IN SANDTON - GAUTENG

The Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental affairs, Rural Development and Land Reforms has send about 60 delegates from across the length and breadth of the Province to attend the 9th People and Parks Conference in Sandton in the Gauteng Province - to commence on the 31st March - 02nd April 2022.

The aim of the People and Parks Conference is to draw attention to how communities can play an active role not only in protected areas of the country but also in growing wildlife economy – one of the three pillars of the biodiversity economy. It also seeks to provide an opportunity for advocacy and resource mobilization in support of both national and provincial initiatives geared towards the enhanced implementation of the People and Parks programme in South Africa.

It is a biennial event which focuses on interface between communities and conservation and is hosted by Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Ms. Barbara Greecy will officially open the conference on the 31st March 2022. The theme for this year’s conference is “Banking on Conservation for rural development for economic recovery.” The last conference was held in Limpopo in 2018 and in 2020 could not converge due to COVID 19 Pandemic.