The proposed 50 000ha national park will be located in the north-east escarpment and central Lowveld bioregion of the province.
It will be proclaimed early next year.
Van Schalkwyk said the proposed park held the potential to improve the lives of the rural people by promoting rural economic growth.
"This signing ceremony is a milestone in the irreversible process to consolidate the idea of a national park in this area. The proposed park therefore serves as an exciting pilot project for restoring ecological integrity," he said.
The minister added that his department was developing a national biodiversity strategy and action plan. The area was on the top of his priority list.
The park will be managed and administered by the Mpumalanga Parks Board, the first in South Africa to be managed by the province.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga MEC for Agriculture and Land Administration Nomsa Mtsweni said the proposed new park was a momentous achievement for the local community.
"When we won political freedom in the first non-racial and democratic elections in 1994, we set out to make drastic legislative and policy changes which saw the birth of the Protected Areas Management Act and the Biodiversity Management Act. Both these Acts are biased towards the plight of our communities," she said.
The identified area for the park includes the Blyde Canyon which is the third largest in the world.
The area is a biodiversity "hotspot" of grassland and montane forests species. – BuaNews.
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