Lost domestic tourism associated with 4x4 ban still a problem.

The closure of all beaches in South Africa in terms of legislation passed way back in 2002 needs to be revisited as it caused many job losses with TKZN (Tourism Kwa Zulu Natal) issuing a document ( Ocassional Paper 20 ) suggesting that more than 20 000 economic opportunities were lost  along the Elephant Coast of KZN as a knock on impact of the 4x4 ban.

We would like to have this issue revisited, and properly addressed. In the past the IWPA used all kinds of devious political tricks to side step the issue. We now need to open the debate about the extreme economic impact of these issues on the domestic tourism industry of St. Lucia and surrounding rural areas.  see  OCCASIONAL PAPER 20 by KZN

this issue of low tourism numbers has many knock on impacts, which are very difficult to overcome without serious government support.  There has been very little visible government support within the rural areas of Mtubatuba local municipality and surrounding rural areas of the other local municipalities in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality.  domestic tourism is still very poor and has not recovered at all since the 4x4 ban.  International tourism has however increased significantly, and the tourism  consumer pattern within the Umkhanyakude district municipality has changed drasticaly, but the rural folks are still excluded some how......

WE thus wrote an OPEN LETTER  to the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority ) out lining the problem and requesting assistance  to solve the problem.   this fell on closed ears and blind eyes....  so we need to take further steps and  bring the matter before the public, and then take legal action if the IWPA still shows us the middle finger...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx2QSHFfEjk2TTcyTHpjeWZZMUk/view?usp=sharing

the 4x4 ban was the start of many problems that followed.  bad management of the lake along with its tourism potential followed and also needs serious high level government  interventions.   lake St. Lucia and associated estuary is ( was )  the primary  breeding ground for many marine species, and the fact that the lake is still dysfunctional is a real concern, which should be elevated to a national disaster #NATIONALDISASTER

what to do and which way to get the right folks to see the problem is not as easy as it appears to be.  your help in talking about these issues and sharing this post within the social media space, asking for alternative views or open honest discussion around these very thorny issues  will be appreciated.


#4x4ban
#Frankie2socks

The IWPA needs to please explain their esturay managment strategies

Please sign our petition

The St. Lucia Estuary is currently ( SEPTEMBER 2017 ) a disaster zone, and the ecological biodiversity within the Lake St. Lucia and the St. Lucia Estuary system has collapsed. The Estuary Management  plan for the St. Lucia Estuary as is mandated in the Integrated Coastal Management Act is not in the public zone, and we need to know why. 

Please sign our petition so we can have a mandate from the public to take some actions at the local Municipality level to have the issues of bad management within the IWPA addressed.

 

The IWPA or iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority has not held proper public participation process meetings within the Mtubatuba Municipality, and the tourism associated with the St. Lucia lake and estuary systems  has not been included in the economic development forums of the Mtubatuba municipality Local Municipality IDP as id mandated in many different laws and legislations associated with the management of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park such as the 4x4 ban  and the Integrated Coastal Management Act.

to download this letter as a PDF file click here

Start quote of letter to iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority

Old School Birding Club <marketing.osbc@info4u.co.za>

water flow issues within the lake St. Lucia system. 1 message

Old School Birding Club <marketing.osbc@info4u.co.za>

Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 4:26 PM To: info@isimangaliso.com

OPEN LETTER addressed to info@isimangaliso.com and published to 4x4ban.blogspot.com then shared on social media.

info@isimangaliso.com is the registered email address for the IWPA --- iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority see their web site at www.isimangaliso.com

attention administrative staff at the IWPA

Hi

Many thanx for your post on FB https://web.facebook.com/iSimangalisoWetlandPark/posts/ 896067270542666

I have a few questions but am not sure where or who to ask. Can you link me up with the correct folks ?

I received an email containing a news flash from newsflash@isimangaliso.com on 10 September 2017 (covering the same subject matter) and this seems to be rather confusing info. Either the scientists concerned are trying to fool us as the general public, or they are not qualified to do the job, as the info put forward is rather incorrect in many aspects.

lets start with the issue of the water flow between the ocean and the estuary....

does the estuary system include the lake or is it only the Umfolozi river flood plains ?

I was always under the impression that the estuary system included the water flow in and out of lake St. Lucia. If this is wrong then I apologise. If this is right, your scientists need a slap on the ear, and a rather tight solid one that makes their head spin... so that they can catch a wake up!!!!

From the article it is clear that they talk of the lake, but they deliberately neglect to discuss the water flow patterns which are needed to scour the estuary mouth clean, along with the water volume flow measurements, which keep the lake system from silting up.. they keep discussing the water flow of the Umfolozi river as if this is the only issue at stake. The Umfolozi river only really comes into play when there are drought conditions, and the mouth to the estuary system is closed to prevent the lake from becoming a salt pan, which nature takes care of itself. . Water evaporation is the issue here, as sea water would replace the evaporated water in the lake system, and cause ultra high salt level problems very soon, leaving the lake as a salt pan. This was close to happening, and we had a total fish die out when the lake actually dried up. This has not been declared an international disaster zone, in my mind due to tourism issues, with the IWPA fearing a collapse in tourism due to the bad publicity, and that is a major threat to the future of our tourism associated with lake St. Lucia. If the lake is not part of the tourism picture we will all be in trouble, coz the beaches are already out of the picture due to the 4x4 ban and the subsequent job losses where KZN tourism estimates more than 20 000 job losses in the formal tourism sector as in their occasional paper 20, found here http://www.zulu.org.za/userfiles/1/file/ ForIvestorandResearcher/Research/Occ%20Papers%20PDFs/Occ%20paper%2020% 20Legislation%20on%20the%20Use%20of%204X4's%20on%20Beaches%20.pdf see last paragraph on page 2

Who can I speak to so that I may find out more, and where may I find the IWPA input to the Integrated Estuary Management Plan as is mandated by the ICMA (Integrated Coastal Management Act 2008) chapter 4 sections 33 and 34

From the news flash article it is clear that the scientists in question who put this plan together have an agenda other than the natural rehabilitation of the lake and related estuary system. This needs to be explained at the PPPM (Public Participation Process Meetings) which are mandated in terms of the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act) and these issues also need to be included in both the Mtubatuba Local Municipality IDP, and the UMkhanyakude District Municipality IDP, so that these can then be included in the Provincial IDP and then pushed to the central Government IDP. This is essential as the estuary management is not exclusive to the St. Lucia estuary mouth, but also includes the lake systems, the fresh water catchment zones and the subsequent silt flow patterns that are in place due to a host of different reasons including but not limited to

bad agricultural practices in the estuary catchment zones bad land management in state owned lands in the estuary fresh water catchment zones over grazing in rural farm lands, which fall within the estuary fresh water catchm3ent zones bad land management in game parks (Hluhluwe / Umfolozi parks) and poor information flow patterns between the IWPA and the rest of the world, which are stilted and often not inclusive of the bad community impacts associated with the IWPA decisions.

Many of these estuary fresh water catchment zones are not even in the UMkhanyakude District Mu8nicipality, which compounds the need to have this addressed at provincial level through the provincial IDP

see these video discussing the missing silt traps along the Umfolozi River and related problems which your scientists are apparently sidestepping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGMpYyg5wt0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwpQE_tdp-Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpDp-s4EZHY

this is a serious matter, and somebody needs to be held accountable.

your help in assisting me to find the required information, and who to speak to , so as to evaluate an amicable way forward will be appreciated.

I used the email address admin@info4u.co.za to request registration with the IWPA integrated management plan, which is the equivalent of the municipal IDP , but for some reason this has not been activated and I do not receive the necessary invites or updates to these management plans. It is my opinion that this email address admin@info4u.co.za has been blacklisted, or labelled as spam by the IWPA administrative system. This is a problem in my mind....

Your advice of what my next step should be, before legal action is taken to force the issue will be appreciated, as I would prefer to solve these problems without legal actions which will be very bad for tourism within the area as a whole. We all rely on tourism, so when this dries up there will be other problems... no tourists in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is not a good thing for anybody. the 4x4 ban has already cost us dearly with KZN TOURISM in their occasional PAPER 20 (see link above)

estimating job losses in excess of 20 000 way back in 2004. Many things have changed since then, but domestic tourism has not recovered, and the IWPA are not doing anything visible to get domestic tourism numbers back up to where they were prior to the 4x4 ban. The recent destruction of perfectly functioning infrastructure which is mainly used by domestic tourists at the St. Lucia Estuary Mouth, and the extreme bad parking planning, along the St. Lucia beach front adds to this perception that the IWPA are anti domestic tourists within the park as a whole. see http://zululandobserver.co.za/ 153111/demolition-works-st-lucias-estuary-beach/ a clear way forward where information flow between the park and concerned citizens is addressed at the mandated public participation process meetings will be truly appreciated. If this is not activated soon, we will be forced to take alternative actions which include legal steps to force the issue. these will give out such a vastly negative vibe that tourism within the area will be drastically affected. We wish to minimise this impact, so please help us to connect with the right folks who can ensure that our concerns are addressed in an open and transparent manner where all will be happy..

looking forward to your response.

FRANKIE2SOCKS

End quote of letter to iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority



Please sign our petition

Please sign our petition so we can have a mandate from the public to take some actions at the local Municipality level to have the issues of bad management within the IWPA addressed.

Issues with the IWPA and their PPP (IWPAPPP)

I was in St. Lucia along the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa for a few days from Wednesday 24 September 2014 to Saturday 27 September 2014 to visit the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the Elephant coast to go fishing with a few friends.  We had a great trip, even though there was no water in the town, as there is an issue with the municipal water supply in the area, which is apparently politically motivated, but we were not there long enough to get to the bottom of the issue.

Read about the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority public participation procedure meetings where this issue should be addressed and solved, but has  not been evaluated yet

WE stayed at a spot called BUDGET BACKPACKERS and they had a 5000 liter JOJO tank which they kept full,  so we had water to shower and clean, as well as flush the toilets.  We were rationed with water and the showers were only turned on for one hour in the morning, and one hour in the evening.

During our stay in St. Lucia I met up with many old friends, as I used to live in Mtubatuba which is just 25 Km to the west of St. Lucia, and many of those who I met up with asked why I had abandoned my fight with the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) around the 4x4 ban issue and the many job losses associated with this.  Well this fight caused me many economic losses and cost me an awful lot more than most will realise, and is one of the primary reasons why my business went bankrupt, along with many others who were dependent on the local tourism industry along the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa as a knock on impact of the 4x4 ban.

Unfortunately my business was very informal, and I never kept any records, at that time in my life I also had a DRINKING PROBLEM, and spent an awful lot more money in the pubs than I should have.  I used to make and sell a CHILLI PASTE that was marketed under the brand name of FRANCO's HOTSTUFF which was quite well known by locals and domestic tourists within the area.  I would never leave home without a bottle or twenty and sell these during the day and spend the money on beers or what ever took my fancy.

 At one stage I had three women working for me who cleaned chillies, peeled onions and garlic as well as ginger and other ingredients for my chilli paste.  I would spend a few days at home cooking and preparing so that these three women who did all the dirty work could be managed and understand what they needed to do for the next few days, as when I went out DRINKING,  I sometimes stayed away for a week or more, and only popped in to the house to catch a splash (TAKE A SHOWER) get some fresh supplies of chilli paste and a change of clothes.

During those years life within the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park was like living in paradise. The domestic tourists who frequented the Elephant Coast Beaches spent large sums of money on arts and crafts and in the local pubs, restaurants and shops, but this was a short lived issue, as the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) took a very dim view of domestic tourists and started calling them visitors, instead of tourists.  The IWPA also made things increasingly difficult for the domestic tourist to enjoy the wetland park, and supported the closure of all the beaches within the  park in terms of the 4x4 ban, and have done nothing to alleviate the huge loss of jobs and associated revenue caused by the fact that the domestic tourism market had a partial collapse, where KZN tourism estimated that 20 000 or more people lost their economic opportunities within the St. Lucia region. see http://bit.ly/ocasionalpaper20

I left the Mtubatuba area in 2010  and have since then not been that active in the fight to open the Elephant coast beaches to reasonable motor vehicle traffic.  There has been a call by some to get me back into this fight, but i am not willing to step into this fight untill such time as I get a public mandate and proper support from the ARBU (Association of Recreational Beach Users) to this end I have established a petition with the AVAAST community and would appreciate it if you took the time and effort to sign that petition, as well as s hare it with your friends, your customers and your online audience.

AVAAZ Community petitions

Once there are enough signatures on this petition I will truly pick up the fight and put pressure on the IWPA to come clean and do what needs to be done to fix the issues associated with the 4x4 ban.  These are difficult issues that have many thorny aspects that most are afraid of tackling due to the divisions within the public on the 4x4 ban issue which is as a result of the pressures of the mining industry on theSouth African Government to get mining permits for the area between Cape St. Lucia Light House and the Mozambique border at Kozi bay.

This in itself is another controversial issue that needs to be addressed with the idea that the rehabilitation of the land after mining is the primary issue.  The area is already in great ecological distress from poor management of the environment for a number of decades, and  lake St. Lucia is no longer  functioning as the fish breeding grounds that it was once world famous for.  Global warming and changing rainfall pattens as well as the poor agricultural management of the catchment area are issues that need to be mitigated and some form of relief for the past damages as associated with the drought in the late 1950's and the subsequent floods in 1963 which caused major disruptions in the ecological functioning of lake St. Lucia and the St. Lucia estuary system.  In the late 1960's there was an opportunity to dredge the lake back to its former glory, as the Dutch government had made some offers to assist in this regard, but politics got in the way and this project (DREDGING THE LAKE) was shelved, and forgotten.

These issues are still with us and are now even more vital to fix.  The only way that this will happen is if these issues are addressed at the mandated public participation process meetings, which the IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) has been mandated to conduct in terms of the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act) and its subservient legislation such as the ICMA (Integrated Coastal Management Act) and the  ROD that closed all the south African beaches to motor vehicle driving, and many others.  The IWPA (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority) has also been mandated by the MSA or Municipal Systems act to have zoning maps and related issues in place, all of which have mandated Public participation process procedures that need to be done during the implementation phases of these laws and associated legislation.

I have personally had great difficulty in discovering when and where these PPPM's (Public Participation Process Meetings)  will be held, and have sent email to the registered email address for he IWPA as per their web site and other official publications and had a ZERO response from them.  these emails are available upon request, and are my leverage when it comes to going to court because the IWPA have failed to implement the law, and the subsequent court cases that will be following in the not to distant future, as I have intentions of pushing these issues untill the courts either force the IWPA to comply, or the IWPA is replaced by a competent organisation that will run the IWP (iSimangaliso Wetland Park) as is deemed appropriate by the WHC (world heritage Council) at the UN (United Nations)

.

Your moral support is required for us to proceed.

During our stay within the St. Lucia region we also learned that there were very serious allegations of further mismanagement of the esturay, when the IWPA dug a trench which linked the Umfolozi River mouth to the Lake St. Lucia Estuary, which has since silted up and closed up further due to wind erosion which has made this trench ineffective and meaningless in terms of water management within the lake St. Lucia water systems.

There will be a follow up post discussing this just as soon as I am able to confirm things and have spoken to the sponsors of this action.

We as the ARBU managment require your input and you may send email to us at arbu@info4u.co.za

If you have any information that may shed extra light on these allegations of mismanagement of the St. Lucia water flow issues, please forward them to us at arbu@info4u.co.za or see our Google plus page 

this is part of the 4u2gofishing project which uses the hashtag #4u2gofishing

The ARBU needs a mandate to take up the 4x4 ban issue

The association of recreational beach  users ( #ARBU)  has been around for some time, but has never really got popular with the masses because we were seen as "ECO TERRORISTS" who wanted to invade the beaches of the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa and destroy all the sand dunes by driving where no person should.

help us fix the problem : view our petition and then decide

It is just not true that our members are "ECO TERRORISTS" , and we as responsible naturalists and environmentalists  understand that our beaches need protection from hooligans and irresponsible people. Unfortunately there are some who just do not understand reason, or are not connected with the true spirit of conservation through sustainable utilization.

Most of the people who have supported the closure of all beaches to reasonable motor vehicle access are city dwellers who have no perception of the vast open spaces of the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa, nor the huge tourism potential of this region. The closure of the Elephant Coast beaches has resulted in Huge job losses in the region of 20 000 (twenty thousand) way back in 2004, as outlined in a report by KZN Tourism found here 

These job losses associated with the decline in domestic tourism numbers along the Elephant Coast have put an awful lot more pressure on the environment, as the rural people affected by these job losses are now more reliant on the environment to supply their daily needs, and so use more local natural resources in inappropriate ways to feed their families and pay their daily bills. These impacts are very extreme in some areas where the rural people involved in the manufacture and sales of arts and crafts to the domestic tourism industry have congregated due to the tourism flow patterns which have been established over time.

For us as the management of the Association of Recreational beach users to take up the fight and rectify these issues we need the support of the general public.  To get the support of the public we have established this blog, a web site at http://arbu.info4u.co.za and some social media profiles. 

These issues are not just about physical driving on beaches with 4x4 vehicles, but about access to remote areas in a sustainable manner to benefit the largest portion of the South African public, and the sustainable tourism that is associated with the use of the Elephant Coast beaches tourism potential as a natural resource as well.

The 4x4 ban put a stop to this use of the Elephant Coast beaches as a natural tourism resource, and the consequences are very evident with the large drop in domestic tourism numbers and the associated job losses which the 4x4 ban has caused.

Please view our petition and consider signing it

visit our web site at http://arbu.info4u.co.za

see our social media links at social.me/arbu

 

The purpose of the ARBU

The purpose of the ARBU  or Association of Recreational Beach users is to bring together like minded people, and gather public support to challenge the 4x4 ban and all subsequent legislation which has a negative impact on the coastal Environment within the Elephant Coast of KZN south Africa.

History has clearly shown us the very negative impact of the closure of the Elephant Coast beaches to the regional economy of the Umkhanyakude district Municipality, with KZN Tourism estimating 20 000 (twenty Thousand) plus job losses and large scale economic losses associated with this legislation  as in their occasional paper no 20 which was published and circulated within the KZN tourism web site.

The comment period for the new draft legislation closed on Sunday 31 March 2013 and our comment that we emailed to the advertised email address did not elicit a response of any kind, not even an acknowledgement of receipt.

The Association of recreational beach users has a social media profile that can be found here

The ARBU has a web presence and this blog is in place to boost that web presence and help the management of the ARBU to gain support from the people on the ground, and a mandate from our supporter base to take the 4x4 ban issue up at the political level.

To contribute to this blog or our collective efforts to have the 4x4 ban issue addressed in a manner that best suits the majority become a supporter and register here or to offer us your personal mandate to take up the issue on your behalf here 

Looking forward to keeping you informed and  working with you and your friends to solve the many thorny issues of recreational beach access to the Elephant Coast beaches.

Please share and advise others of our need for public support to address the 4x4 ban issue.