Celebrating A Legacy For Conservation In Southern Africa

The picturesque Eikendal Winery in Stellenbosch was once again the backdrop for the annual Peace Parks Foundation Legacy Society luncheon that took place on 26 March 2015 and saw 23 loyal donors honoured for their long-standing and continued support.

The Peace Parks Foundation Legacy Society, established in 2013, provides the ideal platform to keep a legacy alive, and invest in a brighter future for the development of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) throughout southern Africa. Society members have the opportunity of including the foundation as a beneficiary of their estate, or of establishing a living legacy whereby annual contributions are made to the foundation’s operational expenses or to a specified project or programme.

This year’s luncheon saw the Legacy Society members treated to a gourmet three-course meal with wine pairing, as personally selected by the Eikendal winemaker. It was not all just food and merriment though, as table conversation soon turned to serious topics such as wildlife crime, energy consumption and the effect of the ever-growing human population on global conservation efforts.

To this end, Peace Parks Foundation CEO, Werner Myburgh, presented the guests with powerful information about the foundation’s increased focus on community development in and around the TFCAs, and the projects being implemented that are already having a positive impact.

‘We have to address the needs of the people by promoting economic growth and development for local communities living adjacent to the TFCAs, based on the sustainable use of natural resources. If we manage to positively affect the human impact, nature will – in time – heal itself’, said Mr Myburgh.

He went on to thank the guests for their unwavering support: ‘It is only with the support of people such as those sitting before me – our donors, our ambassadors – that we are able to take on the challenges of conservation and development that we come face-to-face with every day.’

That afternoon, guests departed with a gift bag in one hand, and a renewed commitment to conserving our natural heritage in their hearts.

Peace Parks Foundation would like to extend a special thank you to the chairman of the Legacy Society, Hansjürg Saager, and his wife Francesca, who have been major supporters of the foundation since inception and, as owners of Eikendal, also kindly sponsored the luncheon.