SPEECH BY HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, MR. VILJOEN MOTHIBI

BIRD-GUIDE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

KIMBERLEY ROAD LODGE

31 AUGUST 2003

Programme Director

Management of De Beers and Road Lodge

BirdLife South Africa’s Representative

Management of the Department

Representatives of various Stakeholders

Distinguished Guests

Distinguished Future Bird Guides

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed an honour to address this august occasion on behalf of the MEC, Mr. Dawid Rooi. As you would know the aim of this morning’s gathering is to wish Kimberley’s future bird guides a save journey to Wakkerstroom and success with their four-week long course at the BirdLife South Africa facility.

This is truly a great venue for this morning’s festivities, especially as we have an outstanding view of Kamfers Dam and its flamingos. This wetland supports the largest permanent population of flamingos in southern Africa and three months ago 38,000 birds were counted at the dam! Kamfers Dam is potentially one of Kimberley’s most important ecotourism destinations and we anticipate that this site will feature as one of the bird guides’ most prime bird-watching sites.

For the past few months, representatives from BirdLife South Africa and the Department have been working hard at setting various steps in place for the selection and subsequent training of five bird guides. A well considered process was followed during which applications were invited through articles in newspapers and interviews on radio, a meeting of interested and affected parties was convened and an advisory committee was established. This committee, with representatives from tourism and industry, has subsequently met on several occasions and its responsibility has been to steer the project. I wish to extend my endless gratitude to you all for harnessing an investment in conservation.

It is for this reason that I would like to thank various people and organisations that have played a very active part in getting this project to where it is today. These include Graham Main and Morgan Hauptfleish of De Beers, Hennie Swart of Wildebeestkuil, David Allen, Herman Brits of the Road Lodge, the MEC’s office and Albert Mabunda of the Department. My salutations also go for the pointsmen of the project Duan Biggs and the Department’s ornithologist Mark Anderson for capably coordinating the initiative. Then, without funding this project would not be possible and we are particularly grateful to The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund for the generous financial support.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This project has the Department’s full support as it fits in well with the Government’s goals of attaining visible and explicit actions in conservation benefits for vulnerable and marginalized groups. The ultimate aim of such bold moves is to bring about a world that values and conserves the diversity of nature. In conserving and enhancing biodiversity we will be allowing the bird-guide development project to create jobs, build capacity and advance ecotourism and conservation.

Kimberley’s accommodation establishments, such as the Road Lodge and various guest houses also stand to benefit from this project, and it is encouraging to know that the city and Province’s tourism sector are playing an active role in getting the initiative off the ground. We have undertaken a major step in bolstering stakeholder relationship through a shared conviction of conservation beneficiation for our marginalized groups. These are the issues that will be fiercely debated at the forthcoming World Parks Congress where benefits from biodiversity conservation would be on top of the global agenda. A route of action will be adopted to ensure that such initiatives do succeed.

The question I ask myself, however, is will this project succeed? We have to make it succeed and by working together we will ensure that it does. Kimberley has all the credentials necessary to become an important bird-watching destination. We have first-class accommodation facilities, an airport, good road infrastructure, friendly people, a wonderful climate, minimal crime, and important we are centrally located in the country.

Kimberley of course also has a wide diversity of birds, with the main attractions being Kamfers Dam’s vast flamingo population, various bird species which are restricted to the arid parts of southern Africa, such as Burchell’s Courser and Bradfield’s Swift, and the 300 White-backed Vultures that breed literally on the doorstep of the city. The two species of pipits that were described by world-renowned Kimberley ornithologist Dr Richard Liversidge are only found in the Kimberley area and already bird-watchers are flocking, excuse my pun, to see the Kimberley and Long-tailed Pipit. The Kimberley bird guides will provide an important service to Kimberley’s tourists, by guiding them to the best places to see Kimberley’s famous birds. Please do note that we have close to twenty bird-watching sites around the city.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have been very encouraged by the enthusiasm of the applicants and I am told that the five bird guide trainees have all the qualities that will make them first class ecoguides and ambassadors of our city and country. Importantly these guides have no formal employment, so this opportunity will provide them with a much-needed work opportunity.

I would like to once again take this opportunity to thank all the people who are involved in this project. Your efforts and hard work are not going unnoticed. I would also like to wish the five-bird guide trainees well on their travels to Wakkerstroom and all the best for their course. I look forward to the day that you are qualified because I would like to be one of your first clients and I look forward to learning from you about the city’s magnificent birds.

I wish you all prosperity and a life of good living.

I thank.