Swaziland Protected Areas PRODOC
PROJECT DOCUMENT Kingdom of Swaziland United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility Strengthening the National Protected Areas System of Swaziland GEFSEC PROJECT ID: 5065; GEF AGENCY ID: PIMS 4932; AWARD ID: 00081957 Brief Description: Swaziland lies between latitudes 25° and 28° south and 31° and 32° east in the south eastern part of Africa. The country is a landlocked country covering an area of 17,364 km2, with South Africa in the north, west and south, and Mozambique in the east. Although Swaziland is small in size, it has great variation in landscape, geology, climate, ecosystems and species that make up the four physiographic regions. Despite the global significance of its biodiversity, Swaziland’s formal Protected Area (PA) estate is comprised of relatively small and vulnerable PAs, covering only 3.9% of the country and inadequately representing the countries varied ecosystems. There is therefore a need to expand the PA estate, while strengthening PA management competencies. This will in turn require the participation of a broad range of stakeholders, including private landholders, local communities and the tourism industry, to establish new State PA, private and community managed reserves. A landscape approach is needed, to strategically place these different PAs in proximity to one another, and manage land in immediately adjacent areas to reduce threats to biodiversity and improve connectivity between the PA sites. The long term solution is that Swaziland adopts a landscape conservation paradigm that allows a broader range of stakeholders to work together to manage biodiversity more effectively. Under this approach, PAs will be established and managed in critical biodiversity areas as clusters—different sites managed by the State, private landowners and communities in proximity to one another.
[Show full text]