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Boundless Southern Africa is an umbrella marketing and investment promotion unit working on behalf of 9 SADC countries across 7 Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). A catalogue of 51 bankable tourism investment opportunities in the region's TFCAs was launched at an investment conference in Sandton in 2008. A number of these have secured investors, a number have been withdrawn to be reconfigured and others are still available to interested investors.
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INVESTMENT IN TRANSFRONTIER
CONSERVATION AREAS (TFCAs)
SETTING THE SCENE
01 September 2014
DEFINITIONS
Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA)
An area straddling across two or more international
borders where the natural and cultural resources are
collaboratively managed by the Governments and/or
Authorities involved.
Transfrontier Park (TFP)
An area where two or more protected areas are adjoined and
collaboratively managed across the international borders
The terms are used interchangeably with TFCAs being the
common one
WHY TFCAs?
International boundaries were set without taking into
consideration the ecosystem boundaries as a result they
have had the effect of:
• Dissecting natural ecosystems into unsustainable
components which are restrictive to the movement of
wildlife and tourists; and
• Compromising the well-being and resilience of
ecosystems due to incompatible management systems
across the borders
TFCAs and TFPs are designed to bring the effect of
restoring these ecosystems and their functions as well as
enabling the free movement of wildlife and tourists.
OBJECTIVES OF TFCAs
ECOLOGICAL
Promote trans-national
collaboration in the
management of shared
ecosystems in the process
securing the integrity of the
region’s major ecosystems
Re-establish ecological
functions such seasonal
migration routes for wildlife
and habitat connectivity
Create an enabling
environment for dealing with
issues of transboundary
significance (pollution, AIS,
Wildlife Crimes, Fires etc)
GOVERNANCE
Deepening
regional
integration and
cooperation
Promote peace
and harmony
Enhance Law
Enforcement
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Promote growth of the
tourism sector specifically
cross-border tourism
Create employment in
geographically remote areas
with limited employment
opportunities thereby
serving as nodes for rural
development (tourism
related SMMEs)
Promote cultural linkages
between countries in the
region. People are often
linked across borders by
kinship, language and
culture
TFCAs IN SADC REGION
• Development of TFCAs started in 1999 with the
establishment of Kgalagadi Tranfrontier Park (Botswana
and South Africa)
• Since then significant strides have been made across the
region to establish additional TFCAs.
• Currently there are 18 TFCAs across SADC region that
are in different stages of development.
• The legal foundation for the establishment, development
and management of TFCAs is the SADC Protocol on
Wildlife and Law Enforcement Article 4(f). All
international agreements establishing the TFCAs are
based on that Protocol
•
TFCAs IN SADC REGION
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN TFCAs
In addition to conservation, TFCA Programme is promoting
development of tourism in TFCAs. Why?
• Tourism is a prominent ecosystem service of
conservation areas and point of convergence between
the economy and environment.
• Key and well known tourist destinations in the region are
located in TFCAs therefore efforts to coordinate
conservation across boundaries are being
complemented by initiatives to boost tourist arrivals.
• TFCAs are located in rural areas often surrounded by
disenfranchised communities with limited employment
opportunities. Tourism development, investment and
rehabilitation of ecosystems in TFCAs contribute to
poverty reduction in these areas
•
FOUNDATION FOR TOURISM IN TFCAs
• TFCAs are about looking after the natural and cultural
attractions that create the basis for tourism development
• Diverse Fauna and Flora, vast landscapes, rivers,
mountains, oceans, sand dunes, canyons (Key and well
known destinations in the region are located in TFCAs)
• Rich and diverse cultural heritage e.g. historical sites
depicting early civilization and art
• Geographical overlap between TFCAs and World
Heritage Sites. Combining TFCAs and WHS elements,
where applicable, will add value to tourism products in
the region.
•
FOUNDATION FOR TOURISM IN TFCAs
• They offer multiple destination experiences that are
favoured by long-haul visitors
• Increasing demand sustainable tourism products. TFCAs
are about conservation and all development activities in
TFCAs are required to embrace sustainable practices in
order to support the economy while maintaining the
integrity of resource base.
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Development Challenge:
Lack of investments in tourism facilities and supporting
infrastructure has been identified as a major barrier to tourism
growth in the SADC region.
Root Causes:
• Limited awareness among the investor community about
tourism investment opportunities in the region; and
• Lack of packaged and ready-to-go investment projects.
Investment and infrastructure development is one of key
priorities of the TFCA Programme
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Investment and infrastructure programme for TFCAs
Goal: To improve the supply and quality of tourism
experiences and complementary services in TFCAs
Objective: To increase investment in tourist facilities and
supporting infrastructure in order to enhance tourism
attractiveness of TFCAs.
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Approach
• Identify and package investment projects in TFCAs (51
projects packaged);
• Identify potential investors and generate their interest;
• Introduction of projects: Investment promotion process to
raise awareness among potential investors about available
projects;
• Facilitating linkages and engagement between the
investors and project owners/authorities;
• Source funding to support the implementation of projects
(financial institutions, public, private, PPP); and
• Monitoring and evaluation
• 11 projects valued at USD 25 Mil have secured investors
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Development of supporting Infrastructure
• Identify critical infrastructure projects in TFCAs
• Inclusion of infrastructure projects in TFCAs into SADC
Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP)
to elevate fund raising efforts. The tourism chapter of
RIDMP focuses on infrastructure development in TFCAs
• Projects promoted at the SADC Infrastructure Investment
Conference in June 2013 and have been included in the
EDF 11.
• RIDMP is complementing on-going infrastructure
development efforts for TFCAs
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Lessons Learned
• Investment projects in TFCAs fall under a distinct niche
within the broader Tourism Hospitality Investment
Promotion portfolio (safari sub-sector).
Unique features of projects in TFCAs:
• Size: Most projects are relatively small size (safari
lodges) making them less attractive to investors
• Geographical location: Remote areas presenting access
and logistical challenges
• Strict environmental requirements as projects are
located in ecologically sensitive areas
•
INVESTMENT IN TFCAs
Lessons Learned (cont.)
• Local/regional investors are more likely to invest in TFCAs:
They are familiar with the landscape; and understand the
needs and challenges of operating in this sub-sector.
• Infrastructure projects are capital intensive - difficult to
raise funds for their development
Conclusion: Need to find a formula/recipe bespoke of
investment projects in TFCAs taking into consideration these
lessons, as well as relevant experiences and best practices
from Southern Africa and elsewhere
•
THE WORKSHOP
Objectives
• Share experiences with regards to investment in tourism
related accommodation establishments in Protected Areas
(market trends, barriers, incentives, financing mechanisms,
strategic partnerships, business/investment models, salient
features of successful projects)
• Brainstorm on concrete investment options/strategies and
contribute to the process of developing the investment
roadmap (identify logical steps to be followed and
implementable actions aimed at increasing investment in
TFCAs).
• Contribute to the development of guidelines for tourism
concession and investment in TFCAs
•
THE WORKSHOP
Participants
Government Institutions, Private Sector, Financing
Institutions, Protected Area Managers (responsible for
commercial activities), TFCA Practitioners and relevant
Communities
Partnerships
• SADC Secretariat
• GIZ Transboundary Use and Protection of Natural
Resources Programme
• Boundless Southern Africa
;
•
THANK YOU