Cape Town - Following concerns raised by a number of public lobby groups with the management of Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) over crime, poor maintenance and alien vegetation, the much-awaited TMNP Park Forum has been established.
The forum is made up of 29 members and classified in three working committees: Recreational Users and Previously Disadvantaged Groups; Safety, Security and Partnerships; and Maintenance and Permit system.
TMNP manager Frans van Rooyen said this was a momentous event in the recent history of TMNP. He said park forums were established to encourage the building of partnerships in support of natural and cultural heritage conservation goals of SANParks.
Van Rooyen said they were a means of providing a legitimate platform to communicate park, SANParks and stakeholder issues to ensure participation on matters of mutual relevance.
“It is expected that the Park Forum will allow for stakeholders to become informed about a range of views on issues which will ultimately result in better decisions that are more sensitive to stakeholder concerns and values,” said Van Rooyen.
"We are truly grateful that the Park Forum re-establishment is finally under way and we're looking forward to engaging with the forum to assist with the effectiveness of the stakeholder engagement process and create good working relations."
Parkscape’s Nicky Schmidt said that with many stakeholders deciding on the structure of the forum and its members, the process was always going to be fraught.
“SANParks proposed a model based on an amalgamation of the six Ministerial Task Teams and other proposals were received from the floor, with the majority electing to go with SANParks model. It will be interesting to see how the Park Forum process plays out. There is no question that different groups have different objectives, and it will take a strong chairperson to manage the forum.
“There is concern among all, including, I believe, SANParks, that the risk of another failed forum exists. SANParks was adamant that it didn't want to make the same mistakes of previous forums by electing members itself – yet, ironically, when the first notification for nomination and selection went out, it was on exactly that basis. Clearly SANParks has since shifted its position,” said Schmidt.
Friends of Table Mountain (FoTM) chairperson Andy Davies said the pressure group has been requesting the reinstatement of the forum since 2020.
“However, at least we are moving in the right direction and hopefully the new TMNP forum will mature into an organisation that is able to represent TMNP stakeholders appropriately.
“Unfortunately formation of the TMNP forum results in the six Ministerial Task Teams being dissolved, just when we were starting to see some results. However, this will not stop FoTM communicating directly with Minister Barbara Creecy if we feel that our demands for a well-managed park are not being considered,” said Davies.
He said the formation of the Park Forum did not absolve SANParks of its responsibilities and obligations to manage the park appropriately.
Van Rooyen said the next engagement meeting would take place in the next few weeks, where office-bearers consisting of a chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretariat and the leaders of the sub-committees would be nominated by the members.