Since 2 years, EPRU research fellow Edwin Muchapondwa has been coordinating a research programme seeking to identify appropriate economic incentives to encourage conservation outside protected areas in Southern Africa. A workshop at the Kruger National Park from the 22 to the 24th October was the occasion for the participants to share their results and to organize future academics collaborations.
EPRU and SANParks hosted a workshop on the use of economic incentives in enhancing biodiversity conservation in broader landscapes (bioregions) from 22 to 24 October 2009. The workshop participants included an EPRU researcher (Johane Dikgang), two Honours students (Timothy Harrison and Samson Mukanjari) from the University of Cape Town, two Masters students (Kamal Abdu-Raheem and Gregg Brill) from the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch respectively and a PhD student (Gladman Thondhlana) from Rhodes University who each gave a presentation of their work on the use of economic incentives in bioregions. The supervisors and resource persons in attendance were Frank Matose from the University of Cape Town, Edwin Muchapondwa and Mare Sarr from EPRU, Eric Mungatana from the University of Pretoria, Kelly Scheepers and Harry Biggs from SANParks, and Sannette Ferreira from Stellenbosch University.
Since two years ago, EPRU research fellow Edwin Muchapondwa has been coordinating a research programme seeking to identify appropriate economic incentives to encourage conservation outside protected areas in Southern Africa. So far, the programme has managed to set up a research agenda through a consultative process with key policy makers and practitioners in the biodiversity sector in South Africa. A number of research projects are already underway. These focus on conservation involving the Khomani San and Mier communities in and around the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, incentives to enhance game introductions on highly irreplaceable and vulnerable areas of the Agulhas Plain, incentives to discourage poaching from the Karbonkelberg marine sanctuary, crafting biodiversity stewardships in a communal context in the Eastern Cape. The work presented at the workshop is already proving useful to the understanding of how economic incentives could work in various configurations to enhance biodiversity conservation. The workshop also included fieldtrips in and around Kruger National Park to help broaden the participants’ horizon about more work which might be done in this area of research. The participants attended a presentation on the operation of the Kruger to Canyons Bioregion at the bioregion’s conference facility at the Blyde dam. Edwin Muchapondwa gave an overview of the intentions of the economic incentives research programme at this meeting. Several areas of possible collaboration between the economic incentives research programme team and the Kruger to Canyons Bioregion team were identified. The workshop participants also attended a presentation on the role of natural resources in rural livelihoods at the Wits Rural Facility. This work is related to the work being undertaken by members of the economic incentives research programme in Kgalagadi. Thus, the workshop also formed a platform for discussions about future collaborations. A resolution was made at the end of the workshop that the event should be held annually and be used as a platform for sharing work in progress and crafting new research collaborations.