Deputy President Jacob Zuma says the fifth World Parks Congress has clearly outlined new and complementary roles protected areas play in reducing the scourge of poverty and underdevelopment in the world.

The ten-day event held at the International Convention Centre saw over 2 500 conservationists and nature experts thrashing a road map for protected areas for the next ten years.

Speaking during the closing of the ten-day event yesterday, Zuma said the congress laid a foundation that would see the conservation of natural resources that enriched the human experience.

“The congress has laid the foundation for this new paradigm and ... has defined the priorities and set out actions for the next decade,” said Zuma. “However, this congress has clearly outlined a new and complementary role that protected areas play in reducing pervasive poverty and catalysing local and national social and economic development,” said Zuma. The Deputy President also acknowledged African initiatives to conserve the continent's rich bio-diversity saying it is one of the priorities of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). “As African we recognise and embrace our global custodianship role of this bio-diversity. The Nepad African Protected Areas Initiative and the WPC 10 point Agenda for Action on African Protected Areas, developed by this congress, sets a clear agenda for strengthening the work within the continent on protected areas,” said Zuma. Organised by the World Conservation Union (ECU) with the aim of sustaining protected areas, the once-in-a-decade congress was hosted by the department of environmental affairs and tourism and the SA National Parks. The conference resulted in the adoption of the Durban Accord and the Durban Action Plan, which set specific actions by different role players of conservation to ensure that protected areas are adequately conserved and managed for future generation. The action plan has ten outcomes and key targets that deal amongst other with rights of indigenous people and PAs, the empowerment of youth to contribute towards management of PAs and PAs playing a vital role in sustainable development. Environmental affairs and tourism minister Valli Moosa said the Congress made decisive key targets that were far-reaching and would influence the cause of conserving protected areas for the next decade. He also added that it brought 'tremendous' boost for Durban and country's economy as it had put South Africa as the top tourist destination. “This World Parks Congress is a tremendous boost to Durban and the country at large and I think we have found a happy medium. This is global recognition of what we are doing,” said Moosa. However, the turning point for the Congress with the theme' Benefits Beyond Boundaries' lived up to promise when indigenous people, an active voice throughout the congress, welcomed the action plan particularly Outcome 5, that recognises the rights of indigenous people to protected areas which they owned. “We welcome the recognition and guarantee in the Durban Action Plan, in particular Outcome 5, on the rights of indigenous peoples, mobile peoples and local communities in the relation to natural resources and bio-diversity conservation,” said Victorino Saway, secretary general of United Indigenous Nations of Mindamao, Philippines. – BuaNews.