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4.1 Background
On 1 August 2003, his Excellency, President Sam Nujoma of Namibia and, his Excellency, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa signed an international treaty establishing the !Ai-!Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. Extensive community consultations were conducted beforehand, as the Richtersveld National Park in South Africa is owned by the Richtersveld community and managed on a contractual basis with South African National Parks (SANParks).This allows the full participation of the local community through elected members representing the four towns in the area, Kuboes, Sendelingsdrift, Lekkersing and Eksteen-fontein, including local pastoralists. These communities would all benefit from increased tourism to the area, while at the same time conserving its unique biodiversity. In addition, a transfrontier park would help maintain the cultural heritage and traditional lifestyle of the Nama people. Various bilateral committees, as well as national working groups on community development, planning and management, security and customs, and finance were constituted to formalise the establishment of the transfrontier park. The signing of the international treaty effectively transformed the bilateral technical committee into a Joint Management Board (JMB) and the working groups into management committees. A comprehensive consultative process was initiated in June 2002 and drafts of the treaty, as well as integrated tourism and management plans were discussed over the ensuing months. To assist in the process, Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) funded workshops, as well as the appointment of an international coordinator and a community liaison officer. PPF also assisted with its GIS laboratory in the drafting of land-use and tourism plans
4.2 Description of the area
The !Ai-!Ais/ Richtersveld Transfrontier Park measures 6 045 km² and span some of the most spectacular arid and desert mountain scenery in southern Africa . It incorporates the 4 420 km² area of !Ai-!Ais Hotspring Game Park in Namibia and the 1 625 km² area of Richtersveld National Park in South Africa . It features the world's second largest canyon, the Fish River Canyon , which meanders for 161 km between the steep, spectacular cliffs that divide the Nama plateau. In places, the canyon floor is more than 550 m below the plateau, exposing rock of up to 2 600 million years old. Other areas will eventually be added to the park. The idea is to link the transfrontier park with the Namib Desert belt along the Namibian coast and the Lona National Park in Angola . This area will measure some 180 000 km² and will incorporate a wide range of community-based natural resource management programme.
 
4.3 Major features
Two major climatic regions meet within the transfrontier park, namely; the warm temperate winter rainfall area, characteristic of the Succulent Karoo biome and a non-seasonal rainfall region to the east, akin to the Nama-Karoo biome. The rainfall in the winter rainfall area (May – September) varies from 15 mm per annum in the valleys to 300 mm on the mountain tops. Chilly misty conditions are often caused by the Benguela anti- cyclone. In winter the temperature can drop to below 0°C, while in summer it can soar to 52°C, hence the appropriate name of the area: !Ai-!Ais, meaning hot, very hot.
The !Ai-!Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is a renowned geological classroom, featuring many distinct periods of geological history that span some 2 000 million years. Complex, intensely folded, fractured and actively uplifted landmasses are now heavily eroded. The Orange River mouth is a Ramsar site, and the 350-million-year-old erosion-rich lower Orange River gorge abounds with history, folklore and grandeur. The area is renowned for housing most of the richest succulent flora of the world. The Orange River is characterised by striking endangered riparian bush.
The Gariep centre of plant endemism, with the Transfrontier park at its core, has at least 2 700 species of plants, 560 of which are endemic or near endemic. A soft, but regular and therefore effective rainfall is mainly responsible for this abundance of plant life. Many of the endemic plants are limited to small areas, mostly on mountains where the rainfall is higher and habitat diversity is greatest. The best-known endemic plants are the stem succulents known as the ‘' halfmens'', pachypodium namaquanum, and the giant tree aloe, Aloe pillansii . The animal species found in the area are adapted to withstand the harsh, arid climate. Other species are concentrated in the denser vegetation bordering the Orange River , including 56 species of mammals and 194 bird species. Furthermore, a large variety of lizard (35 species) and snakes (16 species) is found in various microhabitats.
 
The four main landscapes include lowland plains savannah in the majority of the area, a somewhat hilly granite plateau in the western portions, the Lebombo Mountains that rise to an average of only 500 m above sea level, and the floodplain riverbank areas along the Save, Changane, Limpopo , Olifants, Shingwedzi and Komati rivers.There are five major types of vegetation, namely Mopane woodlands and shrubveld in the northern portions, mixed bushveld in the southern half, sandveld in the southeastern areas of Mozambique, riverine woodlands mostly in Kruger and Gonarezhou, and seasonally flooded and dry grasslands in and around Banhine National Park.
The vast numbers of wildlife and plant species found here are the building blocks of successful ecotourism. These include at least 147 mammals, 116 reptiles, 49 species of fish, 34 different species of frogs, and an incredible 500 or more species of birds. In addition, at least 2 000 species of plants have been identified.
4.4 Tourism opportunities
Desert tourism is set to bloom with the implementation of the transfrontier park in this once remote corner, especially given the increasing demand for adventure activities. At present, this transfrontier park has limited visitor facilities. The Richtersveld National Park has three wilderness camps, five serviced campsites and an overnight camp for hikers. Each of the four nearby community settlements has a small rest camp with 8-12 beds. The South African government has allocated R11 million to upgrade tourist infrastructure and accommodation. On the Namibian side, the !Ai-!Ais Hotspring Game Park and Hobas, offer more extensive tourist accommodation and camping facilities, with extensive luxury accommodation available at a number of adjacent privately managed lodges. Well-known state and privately run 5-day hiking trails are on offer in the cooler season. The opening of the traditional pontoon in the park will greatly facilitate cross-border tourism.
4.5 History
Documents
Media statements
Speeches
4.6 Map
2.7 Related Websites
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