Outgoing iSimangaliso CEO speaks of proud moments
The outgoing CEO of iSimangaliso Wetland Park says ongoing community involvement and tourism development will ensure the area remains a proud heritage site.
Andrew Zaloumis has stepped down after 20 years in the conservation field to study overseas.
He has told Newswatch he's proud of how the park has transformed lives in the surrounding poor communities as well as its contribution to the economy.
"The highlight for me was Nelson Mandela being there when we released elephants after nearly 100 years of absence and knocking down apartheid military bases. On the peoples side, it's seeing 80 or 90 youngsters graduate with university degrees that are from the area - something unheard of in the generation before. From an economic point of view, there are 8000 direct tourism jobs today in an area that when we started there were 350 tourism jobs," he says.
Among other things, Zaloumis played a key role in having iSimangaliso declared the country's first World Heritage site in 1997. He'll be studying for a Master's degree in Sustainability at Cambridge University in the UK.