The Project
The Biodiveristy Conservation and Participatory Project (BCPD) a Swaziland Government project managed by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Communications. It aims at taking an ecosystem management approach to biodiversity, conservation and socio-economic development within broad spatial corridors known as Biodiversity and Tourism Corridors (BTC's). |
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Project Location
The project area includes a northern BTC, stretching east-west across northern Swaziland, and an eastern BTC stretching north-south along the Lubombo hills. Both corridors include "hot spot" areas of globally significant biodiversity and represent a progression of ecosystems along a continuous altitudinal gradient. The two corridors also represent important tourism routes, offering the potential for creating and marketing a unique and substantial tourism product.
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BCPD Objectives
Focusing on two BTCs linking Swaziland with South Africa and Mozambique, achieve the following:
- integrated land-use planning based on an ecosystem management approach;
- conservation of important biodiversity assets;
- stimulation of private sector driven tourism development;
- empowerment of rural people to improve their livelihoods through sustainable natural resource management.
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Project Status
The BCPD project is currently under preparation and has been since September 2001. Preparation will be complete by June 2004, whereafter implementation will begin. Project implementation should last for seven years. |
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Project Funding
$350,000 has been granted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for project preparation and is currently being used. Following approval of the Project Brief by the GEF council in May 2003, $5,500,000 has been committed by the GEF as a grant for project implementation. A further $6,500,000 is urgently needed for project implementation. Donors/funders interested in contributing to this financing gap are request to contact the project office (details at the page bottom).
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Preparation Objectives
The following are the objectives of the preparation for the BCPD project:
- identify areas of importance, approaches and opportunities for biodiversity conservation and tourism development;
- identify threats to biodiversity conservation and constraints to tourism development as well as actions to overcome these and promote more sustainable livelihood practices;
- design the project;
- identify institutional structures, clearly defined participatory strategies, policies and capacity to implement the project;
- identify and bring on board stakeholders and co-financiers, and raise awareness of the project at global, national and local levels.
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How can the project benefit stakeholders?
Stakeholders can benefit in the following ways:
TOURISM:
- A rise in tourism investment
- Linkages with other regional attractions
- Marketing of a unique and substantial attraction
- A rise in the number of tourists
- An improvement in tourism infrastructure
- Increased tourism related business opportunities.
CONSERVATION:
- Increased investment in conservation
- Linkages with regional conservation initiatives
- Increased size, number and diversity of conservation areas
- Improved conservation of biodiversity, natural heritage and cultural heritage
- Better management of natural resources
SOCIALLY:
- Improved livelihoods for rural people
- Community empowerment to manage resources
- Increased opportunities for rural income generation
- Improved ecosystem goods and services.
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