Ezemvelo to draft management plan for reserves
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife hosted a stakeholder’s workshop at Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, where the processes to develop a protected area management plan was initiated on Tuesday, 26 November.
Stakeholders included members of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and various community members. Discussed in the workshop, were the vision, issues, threats and opportunities of Kenneth Stainbank and Bluff nature reserves.
The purpose of the management plans is to build accountability, motivate budget dispensation and serve as a strategic tool for management of nature reserves. The first step in the creation of a management plan is the situational analysis where key issues are identified and all relevant information is gathered. Thereafter, a draft plan is prepared which undergoes public review. Finalisation of the plan may take up to or more than six months and has to be approved by the MEC.
Within Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, issues including the pollution of rivers, vandalism, and land invasion were discussed. Values of the reserve included the protection of natural resources, recreational values and environmental education.
Alien plants, loss of grassland, siltation of wetlands were some of the threats identified at Bluff Nature Reserve. Interventions discussed included the use of signage as a way of curbing pollution and littering, increasing the number of trails and widening the channel near the bird hut to improve the line of view.
A draft management plan will be available for public review once it has been completed. For more information on the stakeholders meeting, email shiven.rambarath@kznwildlife.com.
– mbalim@dbn.caxton.co.za
