South African National Parks (SANParks – the public institution managing South Africa’s national parks) and the Agence Française de Dévéloppement (AFD) recently launched the bipartite agreement between the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and Reunion Island National Park worth €1.5 million.
The funding is allocated to support park actions that facilitate sharing of knowledge and experiences between South Africa and Reunion Island.
“Biodiversity conservation is one of France’s priorities. Through this exemplary regional cooperation project, France is providing concrete support for the preservation of biodiversity in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean,” – Aurélien Lechevallier, Ambassador of France to South Africa.
The indigenous people of the Cape, the Khoisan, knew Table Mountain as Hoerikwaggo, ‘the mountain in the sea’. Towering mountains rising immediately adjacent to the ocean are a dramatic and remarkable feature of both parks. TMNP covers 25,000 ha of natural areas located in the heart of Cape Town, stretching to the tip of the Cape of Good Hope. Reunion National Park covers 70% of Reunion Island’s surface area, with a central zone that houses 94% of the island’s diverse endemic biodiversity. Both parks have UNESCO world heritage status and conserve highly diverse ecosystems and cultural heritage sites of great global value. Joint challenges include invasive alien species, illegal plant harvesting, protecting threatened species, climate change and restoring degraded habitats.
Both SANParks and PNR will contribute expertise and collaborate on improving park management. The project will enable new collaboration opportunities with partner research bodies including the University of Reunion, CIRAD and the University of Cape Town.
