The Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site, like many natural sites, experience challenges such as the recent devastating veldfires, water pollution as a result of contamination from upstream mining activities, and waste spillage from neighbouring settlements, uncontrolled expansion of tourism infrastructure, and theft of geological features due to uncontrolled access.

Yet the site has not been proclaimed as World Heritage Site in terms of South African law, despite being inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 2005, being the oldest, largest and most deeply eroded complex meterorite impact structure in the world.

In her message to Dome Conservancy members at their annual general meeting on Saturday 18 November, Ms Flora Mokgohloa, Deputy Director General of Biodiversity & Conservation of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, explained her Department’s involvement in the proclamation process emphasizing the need to avoid repeating the mistakes seen with the 2012 Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) of which some of the provisions were not in line with the World Heritage Convention Act No 49 of 1999.

She added that the last engagement with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre was in 2017 where the Department provided progress on engagements towards proclamation and the appointment of a Management Authority. She assured landowners of the Department’s commitment to ensure that the process of proclaiming the Site and appointing a Management Authority will be concluded as soon as all legal processes and consultation with landowners have been completed.

Appointment of a Management Authority and proclamation of the Site will alleviate the challenges that the Site is currently experiencing, she concluded.

Although the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) has been developed to provide guidance on compatible activities within the Site, it has not been adequately implemented due to lack of an appointed Management Authority. The lack of protection of the site at a national level has resulted in uncontrolled and unauthorised developments and lack of enforcement as a result of the Site not being legally protected. Without legal protection, the site is in danger of losing its outstanding universal value for which it was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

She expressed her appreciation on this new commitment and cooperation from the landowner associations and the Conservancy for the benefit of present and future generations, saying that over and above challenges, we cannot overlook the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site’s importance and value in promoting desired Tourism activities and contributing to the research by geological scientists from all over the world.
During 2023 remarkable work was done by the Vredefort Dome Conservancy after the challenges brought by Covid-19. Presenting the Dome Conservancy’s annual report chairperson, Dr Biddie Biddulph, reported on the success of information sessions held with various guest speakers including Prof Rodger Gibson who gave insight into the significance of the Dome from a geological perspective.

A lot of emphasize was given to marketting of the Vredefort Dome with the introduction of the Dome Conservancy membership notice boards with the guinea fowl as international symbol of conservation. Furthermore the Dome Conservancy’s membership to the National Association of Conservancies/Stewardship South Africa (NACSSA) will bring much needed experience and expertise for conservation projects, Dr. Biddulph said.

A site manager has since been appointed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment as link between the department and landowners.
Dr Biddulph highlighted the progress made towards proclamation of the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site, saying that once the government has accepted the MoA presented by the landowner associations, feedback will be provided to landowners. After these consultations, the intention for proclamation will be published in the Government Gazette, giving 21 days for public comment after which the long awaited proclamation can be done.

Dr. Kobus Roux of the Potchefstroom Fire Protection Association and his team ended the meeting with an insight on the challenges of fighting the devastating veldfires that were seen this year in the Northwest province and the Vredefort Dome Mountain Area. He explained how the Northwest Umbrella Fire Protection Organisation functions, the role of Working on Fire teams, and the huge cost involved in fighting fires as were seen the past months in the Parys/ Vredefort and Potchefstroom districts.

He said people making open fires on days when the fire risk is extremely high, still remains a point of concern, and explained the role trained peace officers will have in future to apprehend offenders that cause wildfires through negligent actions.

After an insightful meeting at the Kiepersol Country Retreat, Dome Conservancy members and guests were treated to a tasty ‘wildspotjie’.

* The Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site is counted amongst the 10 World Heritage sites in South Africa, and 1199 across the globe. It is among the likes of Taj Mahal in India, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Great Wall of China in China, Stonehenge in England, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and many others.

At the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in September 2023, UNESCO announced five new locations had joined the list of World Heritage Sites, taking sub-Saharan Africa’s tota lto over 100 for the first time.