THE STEERING Committee of the Baviaans Mega Reserve Project has set itself the target of determining the final borders of the mega-reserve by “early 2004”. The Reserve, to the west of Port Elizabeth, will cover an estimated 500 000 hectares and will create new opportunities for tourism and other environmentally sustainable activities. The target date is set in the draft constitution of the committee, which says that the “goal of the Baviaanskloof Steering Committee is to oversee, advise and facilitate the implementation of the process called the Baviaanskloof Mega-reserve Project. “This project aims to effectively conserve the biodiversity of the Baviaanskloof Mega-reserve by 2020, and through it to deliver significant benefits to the people of the area,” says the constitution. In order to achieve this goal the Baviaanskloof Steering Committee will assist the Baviaanskloof Mega-reserve Project to: Expand the protected area network to an estimated 500 000 hectares, which is believed to be the area required in the region to conserve the unique biodiversity as well as the ecological and evolutionary processes required to do so: Ensure that the people of the area benefit from the development of the “biodiversity economy” of the region; and develop co-operative governance structures that will promote the sustainable. Management of the area (i.e. between government, civil society and private sector). The committee is chaired by the Eastern Cape Provincial Government department of Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism (DEAE&T) due to the fact that it is the statutory authority charged with the responsibility of managing the current protected area. It is one of the most representative committee of its type for any major conservation project in South Africa, according to Wilderness Foundation ceo Andrew Muir. “This is a true people’s project. Other projects and other provinces want to know how we are getting it right,” he says. The Wilderness Foundation is responsible for managing the Baviaanskloof mega reserve project. Organisations on the committee include the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism; the Eastern Cape Tourism Board; the Cape Action for People and the Environment; the Table Mountain Fund; Conservation International; Land Affairs; the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture; the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry; the Department of Housing and Local Government; the municipalities of the Nelson Mandela Metropole, Cacadu, Kouga, Eden, Baviaans and Koukamma; the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts & Culture - Albany Museum; the Gamtoos Irrigation Board; Agric Eastern Cape; the South Cape Land Committee; and WESSA / FOBWA. Ex-officio members include the University of Port Elizabeth’s Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit, the Wilderness Foundation, and the management staff of the Baviaanskloof Reserve. The constitution is designed to ensure that the organisations involved will ensure that they are properly represented at the three-monthly meetings. Decisions will be made by a majority vote of those present at meetings. “It is up to organisation to ensure they are represented at the meetings,” says the constitution. Should any member organisation not be represented at 75 per cent of the meetings within a calendar year this organisation’s membership to this committee will lapse automatically, unless motivated by exceptional circumstances to the chairperson. “There is still a long road ahead of us, but we are satisfied that we have a fully representative committee steering the process. If any organisations feel that they should be represented, they are welcome to approach us,” says Muir.