SOUTHERN AFRICAN PEACE PARKS

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Kgalagadi is Africa's first peace park - officially opened by the presidents of Botswana and South Africa in May 2000. To date it is still the only peace park that is open in the true sense of the word - where tourists can move freely across the international border within the parameters of the park. Kgalagadi has become a popular destination for tourists and lovers of its 4×4 wilderness trails wishing to experience the Kalahari's tranquillity. At 37256 km², it represents a large ecosystem relatively free of human interference - an increasingly rare phenomenon in Africa. The name Kgalagadi is derived from the San language and means ‘place of thirst'.

The vastness of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park allows the nomadic ungulate populations and their predators to stay in balance with their environment, consequently there is little need for extensive management intervention.

The Twee Rivieren Joint Access Facility has removed the last vestiges of two separate national parks, and tourists now enter at a single facility to visit the entire park spanning the border between Botswana and South Africa. The Mata-Mata Tourist Access Facility allows access via Namibia.

Current projects

The Namibian Government requested Peace Parks Foundation's assistance with the funding and construction of their immigration facility at Mata-Mata and WWF-Netherlands agreed to be the sponsor of this project. The Namibian facility was completed in time for the official opening on 12 October 2007. The facility on the South African side had already been built thanks to the South African government's poverty relief fund. View video clip

The design of a joint entrance facility at Twee Rivieren that will serve both Botswana and South Africa was supported by Peace Parks Foundation.

Although the Transfrontier Park has seen a steady increase in tourism numbers since its opening in May 2000, it was nevertheless felt that a tourism plan would optimise the park's potential. Work on an integrated tourism development plan, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery was therefore completed.

For further news on progress made, go to Progress Report