11 Apr 2023

Government with the support of UNDP, is currently in the process of developing an Integrated Land Use Management Plan for the Kgalagadi District.

Minister of Lands and Water Affairs, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila told Parliament that such would be undertaken through the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) financed project entitled Managing the human – wildlife interface to sustain the flow of agro-ecosystem services and prevent illegal wildlife trafficking in the Kgalagadi and Ghanzi dry lands.

Responding to a question from MP for Kgalagadi South, Mr Sam Brooks, Minister Mzwinila explained that the project aimed to address the intense competition and conflict between the numerous land uses within the landscape and their associated stakeholders.

He said it would also address incorporating biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management and climate change adaptation into spatial development plans.

The Integrated Land Use Management Plan (ILUMP) is intended to revise or review the land area under community management, subsequently increasing the participation of local communities in natural resources management and direct benefits received by these communities, he said.

Further, the minister explained that at the inception stage of the project from September 5 to 7, 2022 introductory consultation meetings were undertaken with all the communities in Kgalagadi.

The project, Mr Mzwinila said, then moved into the Report of Survey stage and it was approved on January 31.

The project management team visited the Kgalagadi District for ground truthing of possible hotspot areas where proposals for major land use changes were being considered, he said.

He also told the House that community trusts, affected farming communities and village representatives were among those consulted and the indication was that their views were in alignment with the de-zoning proposals.

He said, the team was compiling proposals that would inform the draft plan, expected to be completed by November and be taken through the approval process, before which it would be presented to the various district structures.

Mzwinila said once approved, the plan would then move into the implementation stage.

MP Brooks had asked the minister if he was aware that following the adoption of a motion requesting government to extend communal areas into wildlife management areas nothing had been done so far.

He also wanted the minister to state how far government was with regards to consultations and the reviews that they were undertaking, and how soon the people of Kgalagadi should expect implementation of the motion. ENDS