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Regional conservation

By Samara on June 15, 2015

The scale of Samara’s conservation contribution is substantial. As well as encompassing critical and under-conserved vegetation types, including representative areas of four of South Africa’s nine vegetation biomes, and providing a home for countless endemic and endangered species, Samara is ideally located in the middle of a chain of conservation areas, from the Camdeboo National Park in the west, to the Mountain Zebra National Park in the east. Since SANParks scientists developed the idea of linking the two national parks in 1998, Samara has been seen as a key stepping stone in creating the corridor, and has served as important catalyst for this grand vision. The project has great potential, and would create one of the largest conservation areas in the country. This would not only create a vast mosaic of protected areas in which biodiversity could thrive, but also generate important economic opportunities in developing the region through ecotourism. Moreover, the mechanism for expansion would not be the traditional model of the state buying the land required, as this is likely to prove costly and unpopular. Instead, through an innovative incentive-based scheme, landowners would retain ownership of their properties but enter into partnership with SANParks and manage their land according to certain conservation standards. This unprecedented form of collaboration is likely to be the key to the project’s success.

 

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