47 3.2.3. World Heritage Convention Act (WHCA) (Act 49 of 1999)
The World Heritage Convention Act incorporates the World Heritage Convention into South African law through “the enforcement and implementation of the World Heritage Convention in South Africa and the recognition and establishment of World Heritage Sites” (RSA, 1999). It also mandates the establishment of authorities to manage South African World Heritage Sites. The WHCA is a landmark Act as it situates South Africa as only one of two countries4 in the world to reinforce the Word Heritage status of their sites with domestic legislation (Commonwealth of Australia:
Department of Environment and Heritage, 2005). It allows the South African government to conserve natural and cultural resources while simultaneously ensuring the social and economic development of the communities and areas surrounding the protected areas (Porter et al, 2003). As in Australian legislation5, this Act set up a dedicated Authority and a Board to undertake the management duties set out in the legislation. The Act also enforces the creation of a management plan for the World Heritage site, in order for management strategies to be designed and implemented by the Authority (RSA, 1999). It is in terms of this Act that the GSLWP Authority was set up in 2000 to manage the Park.
3.3. Historical overview of nature conservation institutions in KwaZulu-Natal
48 reviews the commencement and the effects of legislative reform on conservation due to the democratic changes that have happened in South Africa since the early 1990s.
a) 1895 to 1947
Although the conservation of nature in KwaZulu-Natal has been undertaken by one agency from 1947 to 1994, this does not indicate that the conservation history prior to 1947 was straightforward. The roots of nature protection in the province took hold in 1895, when Zululand was a British colony. A Government Notice (Zululand No.12, 1895) in that year formalised five areas in which there was protection of wild animals (Brooks, 2001). The prevailing philosophy of the sport of game hunting and ensuing preservationist mentality for this purpose meant that the legislation and policy enacted during this time was orientated towards game protection. Thus the initial focus of conservation was on game and not the natural environment in which they lived.
Zululand became a colony of Natal in 1897 and as a result formed part of the province of Natal when it joined the newly-formed Union of South Africa in 1910 (Brooks, 2001). From this time all provinces had a Provincial Council. ‘Game and fish preservation’ was one of the areas in which they were able to legislate, separately from state government. This allowed the Natal Provincial Council to govern the protected areas by appointing Game Conservators (as had been done since 1895), many of whom became quite prominent figures in conservation in the province (Porter et al, 1999). As their name suggests, the conservators’ work centred on the game in the protected areas. The land that the wild animals existed on was under the national Department of Lands and thus was not under provincial control (Brooks, 2001). During this phase in provincial conservation numerous threats to deproclaim the protected areas arose. The most significant threat over the 1920s and 1930s was posed by the measures taken to control the cattle disease nagana. The result of which was the brief deproclamation of some of the protected areas in Zululand (Brooks and Harrison, 1997). After failures to nationalise provincial game reserves under the National Parks Board Act of 1926 in an attempt to secure the future of the threatened protected areas, the provincial conservators turned to an alternative, which was to strengthen the provincial control over these reserves. This drive to centralise control, coupled with an increased interest in tourism potential in the area in the late 1930s, saw the creation of the Zululand Game Reserves and Parks Board in 1938. Increased powers were afforded to the Board through the Zululand Game Reserves and Parks
49 Ordinance in 1939 (Brooks, 2001). This was followed by the creation of the Natal Game and Fish Preservation Board (known as the Natal Parks Board) in 1947 as a statutory board6.
b) 1947 – 1980s
This consolidation of conservation in the province in 1947 heralded an era of stability in managing wildlife in Natal. One significant factor contributing to this stability was the freedom afforded to the NPB mainly due to less national state interference than other provinces experienced7 (Brooks, 2003). At this time apartheid policies were being put in place with the National Party coming into power in 1948, strengthening the separatist legislation put in place in the preceding decades. Thus the prevailing political climate was conducive to defence and protection of the game reserves in Natal. The Natal Nature Conservation Ordinance No.15 of 1974 further entrenched the role of the NPB. It established the NPB as the conservation agency of the province and appointed them as conservators of the fauna and flora of Natal (Porter et al, 1999). Thus their role was gradually extended from that of ‘game conservators’ to
‘nature conservators’, recognising the equal importance of the biophysical environment contained in the boundaries of the game reserves. The benefits of encouraging tourism in the protected areas continued to be acknowledged. The focus of conservators on game protection culminated in several successful conservation programmes, the most well-known of which was the programme to save the Black Rhinoceros. Accompanying the endeavours to conserve game, were numerous programmes aimed at rehabilitating degraded land across the province (Porter et al, 1999). Accordingly, during this period a rich conservation history developed in Natal.
In 1972 the KwaZulu Homeland was established in accordance with the apartheid government’s policy of separate racial development as a self-governing territory.
Thus areas in Zululand were designated to the homeland of KwaZulu. As a result, some protected areas fell within the KwaZulu Homeland regions and thus conservation in Natal and KwaZulu were managed jointly by the NPB and the newly-
6 The NPB was established through Ordinance No. 35 of 1947. The 1947 Ordinance replaced the 1939 Zululand Game Reserves and Parks Ordinance; the 1942 Natal National Parks Ordinance and all legislation regarding management of Natal's fishing stocks (Brooks, 2003).
7 This was for two reasons: (1) the Natal Parks Board was assigned executive powers, which were for (2) administering conservation areas that were already well-established and state-owned (Brooks, 2003).
50 formed KwaZulu Nature Conservation Department (Porter et al, 1999). This was the case until 1994, when homeland areas across South Africa were officially reintegrated during South Africa’s first democratic elections, thus dissolving the KwaZulu Nature Conservation Department (Porter et al, 1999).
c) 1990 - present
The change in dispensation in 1994 saw appropriate changes in all government departments. The transition into democracy was thus accompanied by transformation in environmental legislation and policy, as well as changes in the structure of conservation agencies. The NPB remained the same until the enactment of the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Management Act No. 9 of 1997. This Act formed four new authorities: (1) the Provincial Minister responsible for the environmental and tourism functions in the province, (2) the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Board, (3) the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service (NCS) and (4) Local Boards assigned to each protected area (Porter et al, 1999). Thus this Act allowed authorities to ensure effective management of nature conservation, as well as the “development and promotion of ecotourism facilities” (EKZNW, 2005: online). It also established Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (a combination of the old NPB and KwaZulu Nature Conservation Department), the body appointed to be in charge of the daily operations required for nature conservation in the province. The KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Amendment Act of 1999 that followed replaced the Natal Nature Conservation Ordinance 15 of 1974, bringing the province’s nature conservation agencies in line with national democratic reforms (Brooks, 2003). Most importantly this Act also legislated the protection of biodiversity and detailed the permit system that is in place to ensure the sustainable use of KZN’s natural resources (EKZNW, 2005: online).
The democratisation of South Africa’s legislation and policy opened up the country to international examination. Accompanying these reforms in legislation was a stream of international agreements to which South Africa became a signatory. Many of these agreements brought new ideas and methods for nature conservation. One such method of protection was that offered by the World Heritage Convention. The Convention was signed by South Africa in 1997. This commitment was entrenched in domestic legislation through the World Heritage Convention Act, No. 49 of 1999,
51 discussed previously in section 3.2.3. The legislation allowed separate authorities to be established to manage these World Heritage Sites. These are appointed to work in conjunction with existing conservation authorities, concentrating on the financial and social aspects of managing these protected areas.