The evaluation team visited the /Ai/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park in Au-gust 2014 in order to evaluate the GIZ funded pilot project Desert Kayak Trails. During data collection, interviews were conducted with the project implementers (project coordinator, Namibian Wildlife Resorts, acting park manager of the /Ai/Ais Hot Springs Game Park, park manager of the Richtersveld National Park), community guides, park management staff, community representatives, the mar-keting manager of Boundless Southern Africa, canoe tour operators, tourist agen-cies and other tourism experts.

This is the report of the SLE team evaluating the project in September 2014.

The Promise of Sydney is a commitment to transforming perspective, policy and practice to enhance protected areas as one of the best investments in our planet’s and our own future This Vision articulates a set of high-level aspirations and recommendations, emerging from the World Parks Congress 2014, for the change we need in the coming decade to enhance implementation of conservation and development goals for parks, people and the planet.

Objective of SOP

The SADC Treaty, the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement, the SADC Protocol on Forestry and the Forestry Strategy, have all clearly recognized the strategic and practical importance of multi-country efforts to boost intra-regional management of shared natural resources, and therefore form the basis for justification of establishing Standard Operating Procedures for fire management in TFCAs.

This is the final draft evaluation report of an independant team from Humboldt University Berlin.

In the last two decades uncontrolled fires have become a major concern in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Each year uncontrolled wildfires spread throughout the region having serious consequences including environmental degradation, negatively impacting on land use and community livelihoods and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. These cross-sectoral issues highlight the importance of socio-economic factors in the management of fire and the necessity to engage public, private and civil society stakeholders.