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EC communal land incorporated into provincial parks


The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency says over 30 000ha communal land on the Wild Coast will be incorporated into its expanded protected areas programme.

The Agency says it was involved in lengthy negotiations with 10 rural communities before agreement was reached on the incorporation of the land into an existing nature reserve or state forest.

"The Wild Coast Project has facilitated and provided the resources for several activities designed to establish the basic infrastructure and effective management procedures for the new proposed protected areas," the Agency said.

"These include the drafting of interim management plans; the recruitment, training and deployment of 65 community forest guards and 134 community members in alien control units; training of nine community representative forums in basic management and conservation practice, the training of 21 community members as bee-keepers, and providing ten hives each as a start-up; training of 24 community women as seamstresses and the basic training of 32 community members as tour guides."

The new proposed protected areas include Manubi Forest, Sebeni Forest (Mazeppa Bay), Nqabarha, Mpame Forest, Pagela Forest, Umgazana, Silaka, Lambasi, Mkhambathi and Mtentu.

The formal announcement of the hand over will take place in East London on Thursday.