The heat is about to be turned up, and there is a new leadership at the IWPA

Andrew Zaloumis has run away from his responsibilities as CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, and we have a new fella in charge of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority.

Let's hope the new guy has a fresh attitude, and appreciates DOMESTIC TOURISTS.........

The 4x4 BAN ISSUED is a out to get more attention, and our petition at AVAAZ needs your signature.

We also have pages at 4x4ban.blogspot.com

Your support in signing our petition will  be appreciated

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.

public rights in terms of the Integrated Coastal managment act

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

When discussing the 4x4 ban and its negative implications for the Elephant Coast Tourism Industry I am often confronted with the question "what right do you have to challenge the 4x4 ban?"

We need to confirm these negative implications, and I feel the best way to do that is to reference an occasional paper issued by KZN Tourism in 2004  where KZN tourism alleges that more than 20 000, thats right "TWENTY THOUSAND" people lost their jobs as the result of the knock on impacts of the 4x4 ban.

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

Next we need to do an insitu evaluation of the folks who lost their economic opportunities, and what they can do to mitigate their situation.  The vast majority of the 20 000 plus people who become indigent due to the knock on impacts of the 4x4 ban come from the local indigenous Zulu / Tsonga people who relied a great deal on the tourism trade associated with recreational use of the Elephant Coast beaches. Many within this sector were associated with the arts and crafts industry, in one of the following areas:
a) collection and gathering of relevant raw materials for the manufacture and distribution of local arts and crafts industry
b) the actual manufacture of the arts and crafts
c) sales and distribution of locally produced arts and crafts

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

The next sector where there were big losses is those who provided tourism services and labor to the tourism sector.  Here we are talking of :
a) waiters, and other staff  at restaurants
b) maids and cleaning crews at lodges,B+B's , self catering establishments, camp sites,  hotels and guest houses
c) Gilly's, boat crews,  divers assistants, Tour guides,  drivers, gardeners and other official laborers
d) shop assistants, petrol attendants, front end staff, and managers of tourism businesses.

So you may ask how did the 4x4 ban cause these losses? and you would have a very valid question that is easily explained, though the explanation is complex, and has many strangely related issues. Tthe basics is that those who used to come along with the fisher folk for an outing  suddenly were asked to walk great distances to preferred fishing spots, and they rebelled against this idea, as they were along for the experience, and were not into the serious walking issue that they were suddenly confronted with.

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

Simple solution, these tourists who were just along for he ride suddenly disappeared off of the Elephant Coast Tourism industry's radar, along with their vast spending power as tourists or weekenders . This did not just impact on one or two areas, but was wide spread over the entire South African coastline.  Some areas were affected more than others, but I can only speak for the Elephant Coast, as I lived in the town of Mtubatuba during this time period where the Elephant Coast Tourism Industry had a very serious collapse, with the resort of Mapelane allegedly loosing more than 95 % of their annual turnover.

These statistics can easily be confirmed by the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority (IWPA) as  they are the legal successors of the GSLWPA (Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park Authority) who is the South African Government body appointed to manage the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Park World Heritage Site which includes the Elephant Coast of KZN south Africa within the Umkhanyakude district Municipality.

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

Exactly how many would be recreational beach users stopped visiting the Elephant Coast is still a mystery, even after there were numerous government studies done, which were submitted to parliament, but never discussed at local municipality level, as well as the many PPP (Public Participation Process) meetings for the IWPA IMP (iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority Integrated Management Plan) and the IWPA submissions in terms of ROD a25/7/8/3/2/4 or the 4x4 ban in both sections A (6) as well as B (6) which would need to be conducted in terms of the National Environmental Management Act  (NEMA)  and associated legislation.

So we have established that in our opinion the 4x4 ban has caused a serious and very negative economic impact within the Elephant Coast of KZN South Africa. The exact size of these losses has never been discussed within the Mtubatuba local municipality during any of their annual reviews of the Mtubatuba Local Municipality Integrated Development Plan Public Representatives Forum meetings, nor at any of the WPA IMP PPP meetings.

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

What to do now?

Firsts we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

next we need to attend the Mtubatuba IDP PRF meetings and present this petition along with some requests for inclusion of issues into the Mtubatuba Local Municipality IDP.

During the last few weeks starting in late October 2013 many people have been asking me to get involved in these issues once more, and I really would love to go fishing along the Elephant Coast of KZN in comfort and style, so I have opted to take up the issue as requested.

So from Jan 2014 you will start seeing  and hearing more about the ARBU and its related efforts to have the Elephant Coast tourism issues addressed at the correct political levels including the local municipality IDP and its subsequent elevation to the provincial legislature then the national legislature.

we need some moral support from the public  see http://bit.ly/4x4ban-petition

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