SAEON Snippets

Education outreach

SAEON’s education outreach programme has an exciting year ahead. The big challenge for 2006 is to introduce and implement the programme at the new SAEON nodes.

Exploring the rocky shores …

The second week into the new year SAEON’S Education Outreach Coordinator, Sibongile Mokoena packed her bags for the MCEN (Marine and Coastal Educators Network) Conference in Cape Town, with her sights firmly set on networking with role players in marine and coastal education and receiving input into her education outreach strategies for SAEON’s new nodes for the coastal-inland and marine-offshore zones.

Sibongile describes the conference programme as “informative, with lots of fun and hands-on experience”. Part of the week’s activities was the SANCOR Communicator of the Year Awards. The awards recognise the efforts of people who are making an exceptional contribution to marine and coastal education. Sibongile was one of the six judges on the panel.

... while back in the bush ...

The SAEON Ndlovu Node education outreach programme is showing good progress and is ready to roll out its school monitoring projects.

SAEON welcomes new National Park for South Africa

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, recently announced the proclamation of the country’s 22 nd national park at Graaff-Reinet. The park is situated on almost 14 500 hectares of land donated by World Wildlife Fund SA.

Following a public consultation process, it has been decided that the new park will be called Camdeboo National Park . Camdeboo is the name of the hilly section of the Graaff-Reinet district adjoining the Sneeuberg (“ Snow Mountain ”) Range. Camdeboo is a Khoi word, signifying green hills. This area was formerly forested and noted for a species of indigenous stinkwood tree.

Johan Pauw, head of SAEON, sees the proclamation of this new national park as significant in the light of the International year of Deserts and Desertification. “The Camdeboo National Park has evidently experienced environmental change over time and should serve as important reference for the node that is planned for the arid regions,” he said.

World Wetlands Week

On the first week in February each year the wetlands community celebrates the value of wetlands as contributors to livelihoods. World Wetlands Week commemorates the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in Iran in 1971.

The focus is not only on mainstream economic contributions such as tourism, conservation and water provision, but also on wetlands as important sources of wild food, grazing, cultivation land and materials for crafts. Although not always sources of hard cash, the livelihoods values of wetlands are irreplaceable in many rural households.

South Africa has been signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands since March 1975 and to date has registered 17 sites on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

SAEON has resolved to establish a joint node for wetlands, grasslands and forests within the next two years.