Programme Director(s): SANParks Board Chairperson, Ms. Pam Yako
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), Dr. Dion George
Members of the Provincial Executive Council, present
Chairperson and Members of the SANParks Board
Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Cllr. Babalwa Lobishe
CEO and Board Members of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA)
Chairperson of the EC HT&KL, Nkosi Mpumalanga Gwadiso
Traditional Leaders
Community Representatives
Stakeholders in Conservation, Tourism, Business and Academia,
Distinguished Guests,

Good afternoon.

It is my honour to welcome you all to the Eastern Cape and to extend our gratitude to SANParks and the Ministry for convening this important Vision 2040 Indaba here in Nelson Mandela Bay.

We gather at a pivotal time in our country’s journey, when climate change, biodiversity loss, and economic inequality demand that we do things differently.

The SANParks Vision 2040, under the theme: ‘People in Harmony with Nature Championing Prosperity’ and its bold shift towards Mega Living Landscapes, represents precisely that different path: a path that integrates ecological resilience with human well-being, conservation with livelihoods, and nature with the economy. For the Eastern Cape, this vision is not abstract. It is a lived reality.

Ours is a province of extraordinary natural wealth. We are the only province where all seven of South Africa’s large naturally occurring flora and fauna (biomes) are found, occupying significant portions of habitat.

We are home to world-renowned protected areas like the Addo Elephant National Park and the Wild Coast, as well as unique grasslands and coastal forests.  We are also a province with deep social and economic challenges, where communities living adjacent to conservation areas must see tangible benefits from our natural endowment.

That is why Vision 2040 resonates so strongly with us. It is about conservation that is not exclusionary, but inclusive. It is about protecting ecosystems not as islands, but as interconnected living landscapes that sustain people and the planet.

Here in the Eastern Cape, the identification of two Mega Living Landscape sites: the Eastern Grasslands and the Greater Addo, signals our central role in piloting and advancing this new approach. These sites are more than conservation zones. They are spaces where tourism, sustainable agriculture, cultural heritage, and community enterprise must thrive alongside biodiversity protection.

They are living laboratories of sustainable development. Colleagues, while conservation towards sound biodiversity management, improved ecological resilience and environmental sustainability are critical in the arsenal of tools required to mitigate climate change and its impact.

Conservation can no longer be used as a tool to deny the Eastern Cape and its inhabitants economic and development opportunities. Beneath the ground in parts of our province are some of the minerals considered to be rare earth minerals, which are key to some manufacturing innovations and production supply chain systems across the globe.

The extraction of these minerals can be done in a safe, responsible, and environmentally sustainable manner, ensuring that conservation and development do not stand in opposition, but work together for inclusive growth.

Programme Director, the 7^th Administration in the Eastern Cape has also identified the green economy as key to our provincial priorities as it supports both inclusive development and sustainability goals.

Economic Reconstruction and Inclusive Growth

The green economy has the untapped potential of opening new industries and job opportunities in renewable energy (wind, solar, ocean energy), as well as sustainable agriculture, ecotourism, biodiversity-based enterprises, and the responsible extraction of critical minerals.

By positioning the Eastern Cape as a hub of the green economy, we not only diversify growth but also ensure that communities benefit from local value chains.

Sustainable Human Settlements and Basic Services

Green economy approaches enable climate-smart housing, water efficiency, waste management, and renewable energy integration in urban and rural settlements.

This ensures that human settlements are more resilient, affordable, and sustainable, improving the quality of life while reducing the environmental impact.

Transforming and Modernising the Rural Economy

The green economy enhances sustainable agriculture and agro processing, supporting rural livelihoods. Rural communities benefit from nature-based tourism, conservation-linked enterprises, and ecosystem restoration projects, which create alternative income streams.

Renewable energy investments in rural areas also reduce energy poverty and unlock development.

Education, Skills Development and Innovation

The green economy requires new skills in renewable energy, climate science, green engineering, sustainable farming, tourism management, and biodiversity conservation. Training young people and women in these sectors addresses youth unemployment and equips the province for the future of work.

Building a Capable, Ethical and Developmental State

Green economy planning demands integrated governance, ethical management of natural resources, and transparency in partnerships with business and communities. It also builds capacity for government to align conservation, climate action, and development objectives, ensuring that growth is inclusive and sustainable.

In short, the green economy is not just an environmental agenda, it is a developmental and economic strategy that enables the Eastern Cape to meet its 7th Term priorities while addressing climate change, creating jobs, and ensuring resilience for future generations.

Equally, Local Economic Development (LED) will be realised in a sustainable and meaningful manner when the Mega Living Landscapes are interconnected to protected parks. We hope the tourism nodes that will further emerge out of these will be operated, managed, and directly benefiting local communities.

Vision 2040 must therefore translate into tangible empowerment, enabling people in villages and towns across the Eastern Cape to become active custodians and beneficiaries of conservation. As we meet here today the Southern African Wildlife Management Association is having a conference at Mphwekweni Resort discussing issue of transformation and protection of wild animals. As the Eastern Cape we are proud to share with this audience that we have provided land to historical disadvantaged people so that they participate in the game industry. So far, we have 8 sites in the province, and we donated a total of 1300 game to those sites in the past five years. This year we are adding 2 sites with a donation of 348 animals.

The Ramsar site declaration of Mkhambathi Nature Reserve, the first in the Eastern Cape was done during the Wetlands day this year. These further positions the reserve as an iconic tourism attraction where already a boutique hotel and chalets have been built with an investment of R250 million.

Since 2016, the Eastern Cape Province, through the ECPTA has been leading the declaration of the Maloti Thaba Tsa Metsi Protected Environment communal land owned by 6 Chiefs in the upper uMzimvubu catchment. The 6 Chiefs want to have their land protected for biodiversity, collaborative governance and land use and water security for the people living the broader Matatiele and Tlokweng region. I am talking about 70 000 hectares of land that will be reserved for conservation.

I am sharing this to indicate that real work is happening on the ground with exciting initiatives that are changing people’s lives.

The Eastern Cape as a pilot-partner province in this historic initiative that we are launching today through collaborative efforts between SANParks and the Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA), we have defined clear areas of collaboration, ranging from:

1. Cooperative Governance and Stakeholder Engagement, to
2. Socioeconomic Transformation,
3. Skills Development,
4. Tourism growth, and
5. Financial resilience.

This alignment is not coincidental; it reflects a shared conviction that our province must be at the forefront of building a nature-positive economy. Colleagues, when we speak of Vision 2040 in the Eastern Cape, we speak of:

• Thriving communities, who see direct economic benefit from conservation, tourism, and biodiversity-based enterprises.
• Empowered youth and women participating fully in the green economy.
• Resilient ecosystems that provide clean water, fertile soils, carbon storage, and protection against climate shocks.
• Sustainable tourism that draws the world to our province while preserving our heritage.
• Innovative partnerships that ensure the financial sustainability of conservation.

This agenda ties directly into the priorities of the 7th Term of Administration, where we are working to accelerate:

Ladies and gentlemen, Vision 2040 complements and strengthens these priorities, especially in ensuring that communities are not passive observers of conservation, but active participants in shaping and benefitting from it.

This is why the Eastern Cape is such an important partner. Our landscapes are vast and diverse, our communities are resilient and aspirational, and our provincial government is deeply committed to aligning conservation with inclusive development. As we look to 2040, we do so with the conviction that the Eastern Cape will not only host, but also lead, some of the flagship initiatives that will define South Africa’s conservation future.

Minister, our call is simple: let us make Vision 2040 real for the people of our province.

Let us demonstrate, together, that conservation is not a burden but a catalyst for growth, jobs, dignity, and sustainability. The Eastern Cape stands ready to walk this journey with SANParks, with ECPTA, with all stakeholders, and most importantly, with our people.

I thank you.