Spotlight to fall on people and park management

COLGAR Sikopo, the Deputy Director for Parks and Wildlife Management in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, will give a presentation tomorrow on the collaborative management of parks.

Linda Baker of the Ministry’s Strengthening of Protected Areas Network (SPAN) project said the presentation will take place at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) at 18h00. Baker said Namibia’s national parks, though managed by the State, do not exist as islands.”They are part of wider ecological biomes and ecosystems which in most cases also include rural communities and more recently communal conservancies,” said Baker.She said the joint management of wildlife and plant resources inside and outside parks have always been seen as a distant dream, which over the past two years has become a reality.Sikopo will present the merits and opportunities of co-management and also address some challenges of this management style.His presentation is organised by Park Talk, a bi-monthly public discussion forum of the SPAN project.Baker said Namibia’s national parks, though managed by the State, do not exist as islands.”They are part of wider ecological biomes and ecosystems which in most cases also include rural communities and more recently communal conservancies,” said Baker.She said the joint management of wildlife and plant resources inside and outside parks have always been seen as a distant dream, which over the past two years has become a reality.Sikopo will present the merits and opportunities of co-management and also address some challenges of this management style.His presentation is organised by Park Talk, a bi-monthly public discussion forum of the SPAN project.