Accomplishments of the 7th
World Wilderness Congress
 With 700 delegates from over 44 nations, the 7th World
Wilderness Congress (Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 2-8
November 2001) was incredibly productive. Opened by the minister of
environment of South Africa, the host country,
the 7th WWC achieved a number of practical accomplishments.
Just a few of the major achievements were:
Global Environmental Facility announces two new
grants to assist wilderness and wildlands conservation
$1,000,000 to South Africa for the Baviaanskloof ("Baboon's
Ridge") Wilderness Area - $1,000,000 to Angola to help
the Kissama Foundation to rehabilitate Angola's Kissama
National Park
 Private Sector Wilderness
The first wilderness area on private property in Africa -
legally declared and with a wilderness management plan -
was announced by Adrian Gardiner, owner of Shamwari Game
Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province near Port Elizabeth. Mr Gardiner put 16% of his land, over 3,000 hectares (7,500
acres), under legal servitude to the Wilderness Foundation of
South Africa, founded by Ian Player and headed by Andrew
Muir.
New Wilderness Legislation and Protected Areas -
Namibia announces:
New national wilderness legislation.
Proposed plans for a new wilderness national park in SW
Namibia.
Proposed three-nation, transfrontier desert wilderness
stretching from Northern Cape Province of South
Africa all the way through Namibia and into Southern Angola.
 Two new fundraising strategies for African Protected
Areas
My Acre of Africa. - A new
internet-based, public fundraising strategy for Southern
African parks, protected areas and local communities.
(http://www.myacreofafrica.com/)
African protected Areas Initiative - A new strategy announced, to be developed and launched at 5th World Parks Congress
in Durban in June 2003. This is an initiative of numerous
internationals agencies, funders and NGOs to address the
need for more finance for all African protected areas.
 Conservation Education, Private Sector Support
Johnnic Holdings Ltd, South Africa's media giant and largest
black-controlled company, announced that conservation
education is now one of only two top priorities in its
corporate social and community outreach program.
Professional Training
20 wildlands managers and wardens from 13 countries
graduated from a special training course on wilderness
management, associated with the 7th WWC.
Tropical Forests
US Congressman E. Clay Shaw announced the imminent
introduction into the US Congress of a bill addressing the
need to stem the tide of unsustainable logging of tropical
forests, using a number of different financial mechanisms
such as debt swaps, buy-back of logging rights, etc.
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Learn about past congresses:
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Summary
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USA - Alaska, 2005
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South Africa, 2001
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India, 1998 |
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Norway, 1993 |
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USA - Colorado, 1987
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Scotland, 1983
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Australia, 1980
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South Africa, 1977
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During the course of a week of presentations, consultations,
debates and decisions by a diverse array of people,
cultures, professions and perspectives, covering both
challenges and solutions, some certainties were confirmed,
namely that:
Wilderness, wildlands and wildlife -on land, in the sea and
in the air -are a resource of fundamental, irreplaceable
value and substance in all human endeavor; and
Wild nature is essentially more than a resource, rather
being The Source of a singular gift of strength, sanity and
inspiration in a modern and
fragmented world; and further,
Wilderness -all of its many services and values -undeniably informs and supports human communities and is an
essential element of the spirit and practicality of the 21st
century.
read the Port Elizabeth Accord and the Congress's
resolutions >
view photos from the Congress >
view resolutions >
 Proceedings
from the 7th World Wilderness Congress Now Available
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