MOKALA NATIONAL PARK JUNE 2008 PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN South African National Parks would like to thank everybody who participated and had input in the formulation of this document This plan was prepared by Earnest Daemane and André Spies, with significant inputs from Deon Joubert, Eddie Ubisi, ARK MANAGEMENT PLAN Abel Ramavhale, Marna Herbst and Alexis Symonds and wider support within SANParks. ARK • P TIONAL P MOKALA NA 3 This management plan is hereby internally accepted and authorised as the legal requirement for managing Namaqua National Park as stated in the Protected Areas Act. DATE: 30 JUNE 2008 ______________________________ Deon Joubert Park Manager – Mokala National Park AUTHORISATION ______________________________ Dries Engelbrecht Regional Manager – Arid Parks ______________________________ Paul Daphne Managing Executive ______________________________ ARK MANAGEMENT PLAN Sydney Soundy Chief Operating Officer ______________________________ ARK • P Dr David Mabunda Chief Executive Recommended to SANParks Board Name: _____________________________ Date: __________ Ms Cheryl Carolus Chairperson – SANParks Board Recommended to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism MOKALA NATIONAL P MOKALA NATIONAL Name: _____________________________ Date: ___________ Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk Minister – Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism 45 3.2 HERITAGE CONSERVATION . .44 3.2.1 Cultural heritage resource programme . .44 3.3 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM . .48 3.3.1 Mokala NP Zoning Plan . .48 3.3.2 Tourism Programme . .51 3.4 BUILDING COOPERATION AND CONSTITUENCY . .57 3.4.1 Stakeholder Relationship Management Programme . .57 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.4.2 Environmental Interpretation Education Programme . .61 3.4.3 Local Socio-Economic Programme . .64 3.5 EFFECTIVE PARK MANAGEMENT . .66 3.5.1 Environmental Management Programme 3.5.2 Security and Safety Programme . .67 3.5.3 Infrastructure Programme . .69 3.5.4 Staff Capacity Building Programme . .72 AUTHORISATION 3.5.5 Corporate support . .75 i. Table of Contents . .6 ii. List of Acronyms and Abbreviations . .7 4. ADAPTIVE AND INTEGRATIVE STRATEGIES TO SUSTAIN THE DESIRED STATE . .76 iii. Executive Summary . .8 iiv. Process Overview . .10 5. HIGH LEVEL BUDGET . .78 1. INTRODUCTION . .12 6. CONCLUSION . .78 1.1 Location . .12 1.2 Extent . .12 7. REFERENCES . .80 1.3 History . .12 1.4 Climate . .12 APPENDIX 1: ZONING PLAN . .82 ARK MANAGEMENT PLAN 1.5 Topography, Geology and Soils . .13 1.6 Hydrology . .13 APPENDIX 2: MAP BOOK . .92 1.7 Vegetation . .13 1.8 Fauna . .13 1.9 Alien Biota . .13 2. PROTECTED AREA AND MANAGEMENT PLANNING FRAMEWORK . .14 LIST OF ACRONYMS ANDABBREVIATIONS GLOSSARY OF SELECTED WORDS ARK • P 2.1 Desired State . .14 2.2 Vision of the Park . .14 DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Balance Scorecard – The performance management tool used 2.3 Operating Principles . .15 Tourism by SANParks to ensure feedback and effective implementation 2.4 Vital attributes . .15 EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme of various management objectives. 2.5 Threshold of concern . .17 IUCN The World Conservation Union Objectives hierarchy – most important, high level objectives at Mokala NP Mokala National Park the top, cascading down to objectives at finer levels of detail, 3. GUIDELINES AND PROGRAMMES TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED STATE . .20 SANBI South African National Biodiversity Institute and eventually to operational actions at the lowest level. 3.1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION . .20 SANParks South African National Parks Desired state – the full V-Steep range) that stakeholders desire. TIONAL P 3.1.1 Park expansion programme . .20 TOPS Threatened or Protected Species Mission – An articulation of the Vision that describes why the 3.1.2 Sustainable natural resource use programme . .23 TPC Threshold of Potential Concern park exists and its overall philosophy on how to achieve its 3.1.3 Herbivore management programme . .25 V-Steep The values (social, technological, economic, desired state. 3.1.4 Carnivore species management . .28 ecological and political), used to under Threshold of Potential Concern – Concern are upper and lower 3.1.5 Reintroduction programme . .28 stand, with stakeholders, the social, eco levels along a continuum of change in selected environmental or 3.1.6 Impact mitigation programme . .29 nomic, ecological context of the system to biodiversity indicators. When this level is reached, or when 3.1.6.1 Disease management programme . .29 be managed, and the principles/values that modelling predicts it will be reached, it prompts an assessment 3.1.6.2 Damage causing animal programme . .31 guide management. These are used to of the causes of the extent of change. 3.1.7 Species of conservation concern programme . .33 develop a broadly acceptable vision of the Vision –A word “picture” of the future, or what the stakeholders MOKALA NA 3.1.8 Water management programme . .35 future. see as the future for the park. 3.1.9 Rehabilitation programme . .39 Vital attributes – Unique or special characteristics of the park, 3.1.10 Fire programme . .42 the determinants of which management should strive to protect, and the threats towards which management should strive to minimise. 67 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY okala National Park (Mokala NP) is a new national park that is situated within the A set of appropriate programmes has been set up to achieve Generic guidelines for the all-important learning pathways, rep- MKalahari bushveld Bioregion. The name mokala means camel thorn tree (Acacia eriolo- the desired state. It is primarily set around the conservation of resented by the various feedback mechanisms in the adaptive ba) in the Setswana language and it is the characteristic tree in the area. The major biodiver- the unique biodiversity characteristics of the area with the management cycle, are presented. These needs to be made sity characteristics are the interesting habitat with the diverse ecosystem processes within a ecosystem processes and functions as the central components more explicit for the likely scenarios that unfold as SANParks transition zone between the Karoo biomes and arid savanna bushveld, including seven major with a strong emphasis on building cooperation between stake- manages Mokala NP. vegetation habitat units. A variety of herbivore species are found in Mokala NP, the dominant holders and good neighbourliness. species are gemsbok, springbok and wildebeest. Mokala NP also has high value species such as black rhino and a population of disease free buffalo. A number of rare or high value species such as roan, sable and white rhino as well as the endangered tsessebe are also ARK MANAGEMENT PLAN found in Mokala NP. An important objective for SANParks is to promote all possible opportunities for visitors to appreciate and value national parks. Each park should be a priority for the conservation of biodiversity but also a nature-based tourism destination of choice, thereby constituting an economically and culturally valuable.