The Roles of Interpretation in the Management of National Parks in South Africa

Abstract

National parks and protected areas are under dichotomy of pressures. On the one hand, they are faced with increasing economic burdens to become independent from state and donor grants, and on the other hand, they need to fulfill their mandate of conserving the environment for future generations. The South African National Parks (SANParks) is no different. Operating costs for managing 19 national parks are roughly 1 billion rand and requires management to generate 80% thereof in order to meet their primary mandate, i.e., conservation. The question thus arises how to balance these important yet opposing priorities. Interpretation is mooted as a possible solution to strive toward this balance. Through interpretation knowledge is instilled in visitors, attitudes and behaviors are changed, and tourists are encouraged to take care of the national parks and to become more responsible citizens. Added to this, interpretation services add to the visitors' enjoyment, create loyalty, extend stays, and increase expenditure and revenue for the park. Interpretation is therefore no longer seen as a 'luxury' but an essential management function of national parks worldwide and this is also the case in SANParks. This chapter reviews recent developments relating to the renewal or redevelopment of interpretation programs within SANParks.

Interpretation needs and preferences of visitors to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

“…The second aspect, activity involvement, refers to cuisine experiences, events and local culture and therefore indicates that visitors to KTP require interpretation services that focus on the heritage and culture within the park. This was confirmed by Mearns and Botha (2017), who explain that heritage and culture form part of natural area interpretation.…”

“…Customising interpretation services to the tourists' needs and preferences may add to the visitors' enjoyment, create loyalty, extend stays, and increase expenditure and revenue for parks (Mearns & Botha 2017). Interpretation is therefore no longer seen as a 'luxury' service but is rather viewed worldwide as an essential management function of national parks, and this is also the case in KTP.…”

“…When considering the preferred mediums, it is evident that the visitors are in need of technological forms of interpretation (audio and visual), which are currently not on offer in the limited interpretation offerings (Mearns & Botha 2017;Moore 2017). It is also evident from the results that careful consideration should be given to the delivery of information.…”

Heritage interpretation as a catalyst for sustainable ecotourism in protected areas: A systematic literature review

“…Seven (12%) studies examined heritage interpretation contextually, while four studies (7%) identified new concepts in heritage interpretation and 7% linked heritage interpretation as a tool for sustainable development. Role of interpretation in protected areas Moscardo et al, 2004;Trobec, 2015;Mearns & Botha, 2018;Klitsounova, 2020 7% Interpretation planning, management, and evaluation Orams, 1996;Archer & Wearing, 2001;Wearing & Archer, 2003;Ham & Sandberg, 2012;Robert et al, 2014;Quetel-Brunner & Griffin, 2014;Krisma & Marhaento, 2021;Juma & Khademi-Vidra, 2022;Maringer & Blank, 202316% Environmental interpretation Obua, 2003Munro et al, 2008;Xu et al, 2013;Shittu, 2013;Ren & Folta, 2016;Phan & Schott, 2017;Dussler & Deringer, 2020;Tang et al, 2022;Zhang et Next, the content of each grouped deemed most pertinent to the current or potential role of heritage interpretation in stimulating ecotourism in protected areas was identified, analysed, and synthesized based on a narrative or thematic approach proposed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005), to present a narrative justification of the existing research:…”

“…Many authors point to the role of interpretation in PAs and how through interpretation, visitors gain knowledge, people's attitudes and behaviours are changed, and tourists are encouraged to take care of the PAs and become more responsible citizens (Klitsounova, 2020;Mearns & Botha, 2018;Trobec, 2015). Furthermore, heritage interpretation can be used to solve key challenges facing PAs, such as effective management of national parks, increasing popularity, implementing sustainable tourism, and raising public awareness of the importance of parks' natural and cultural heritage (Trobec, 2015).…”