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

**The Roles of Interpretation in the Management of** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72782

Kevin Mearns and Elricke Botha Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Kevin Mearns and Elricke Botha

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72782

#### **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.

**Keywords:** interpretation, Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Addo Elephant National Park, responsible tourism

## **1. Introduction**

Internationally, governments are under tremendous pressure to balance social, economic and environmental expenditure this often results in national parks and conservation areas to often receiving reduced government allocations and subsidies. National parks are under extensive financial pressure to become self-sustaining in terms of their operational expenditure. Tourism is seen as an important means to bolster revenue generation within national parks and conservation

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© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

areas in an attempted to achieve long-term economic sustainability [1]. Incredible increases in tourist visitation to natural and cultural protected areas has been observed and in fact encouraged. This increase has created the notion of tourists 'loving national parks to death' and if not managed carefully tourism is in danger of becoming a self-destructive process leading to the destruction of the resources upon which it is based. As far back as 1992 the World Tourism Organization (WTO), realized that growing tourism numbers would become an important problem that conservation areas would need to cope with [2]. Park managers are becoming concerned about increased visitation to fragile conservation areas and national parks as they may severely affect the natural and cultural heritage [3]. Interpretation is proposed as an important solution to mitigate some of the undesirable consequences of tourism in national parks [4, 5]. Not only does interpretation potentially reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with high-levels of tourism it also leads to more satisfied visitors, increase knowledge gains and pro-environmental attitudes and behavior amongst tourists [6–10]. A study conducted in the Canyonlands National Park (Utah) found that interpretation foster intellectual, emotional and stewardship connections [11]. Interpretation may be seen as a form of entertainment or enlightenment that encourages visitors to visit a site, to stay for longer or even to return to a site multiple times [12]. Moreover, interpretation services (depending on their quality) directly affect the psychological experience of visitors. An even more astounding result is the fact that interpretation seemed to have a net positive impact on satisfaction whereas other facilities and infrastructure can only break even or even lead to dissatisfaction [13].

recommending national parks to other potential visitors (economic outcomes) and can enhance understanding and lead to pro-conservation behavior (environmental outcome) [17]. Strong criticism of many interpretation programs has been raised indicating that interpretation programs have predominantly western Eurocentric approach and focus primarily on ecological aspects [18]. Greater sensitivity to culture, a wider range of historical western and nonwestern contexts as well as a focus on sociocultural and ecological heritage in interpretation programs has been proposed [18]. While the basic principles of interpretation are applicable to most circumstances and setting, the cultural appropriateness and inclusivity of interpretation needs to be considered in the implementation of interpretation initiatives.

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

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72782

145

Interpretation is seen as an important link between the conservation and tourism priorities of national parks (**Figure 1**). Based on the numerous examples provided earlier, this link can be explained as follows: the most important aim of national parks is to conserve the natural and cultural heritage. Interpretation helps the tourists to learn about the park's conservation efforts and in turn creates pro-conservation behavior. The other part of the link is that interpretation satisfies the visitor's need to learn through various innovative mediums and

Within South Africa, national parks, along with (special) nature reserves and protected environments fall within the scope of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM:PAA) (no. 57 of 2003) [20] since these protected areas are organs of state. The South African National Parks Board (SANParks) which is a public entity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) manages national parks. In total, SANParks manages 19 national parks within seven of the nine provinces of South Africa (**Figure 2**). This totals to over 4 million hectares or 67% of protected areas under state management [21].

Due to declining state funding, SANParks is primarily a self-funding entity that has three operational core pillars, namely, conservation, responsible tourism, and socio-economic development [21]. It costs approximately 1 billion rand (i.e., approximately 60 million euros) to run these parks of which 80% of these funds are self-generated through primarily tourism activities offered in the national parks [22]. If the 14% increase in tourist numbers over the 2016/2017 financial year [23] is any indication to go by the need for sustainable practices is

enhances the visit to the park.

desperately needed for the future.

**2. Interpretation and South African national parks**

**Figure 1.** Interpretations link between the tourism and conservation functions of a national park [19].

Interpretation has been defined by various authors, however the most widely accepted definition of interpretation is that of Tilden often considered to be the father of interpretation, as 'an educational activity which aims to reveal meaning and relationships through the use of original objects, by first-hand experience, and by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information' [14]. Tilden's definition emphasizes that interpretation is about communicating meaning and relationships rather than just the transfer of scientific facts. Since Tilden's definition of interpretation, various organizations have embraced their own understanding and definition of interpretation. There is, however, consensus that interpretation is a process of communicating the significance of a place so that visitors will enjoy it more, understand its importance and develop a positive attitude toward conservation. Many national parks historically focused on environmental education over interpretation this is specifically the case in South Africa. Environmental education generally focusses on formalized learning and environmental awareness creation amongst primarily scholars [15]. Interpretation however is aimed at providing visitors first-hand enlightening experiences that lead toward greater understanding, appreciation and protection of park while contributing to greater visitor satisfaction and fulfilled expectations.

Interpretation can be both a program and an activity. 'As a program, it establishes a set of objectives for the things a visitor should understand, and as an activity, it requires skills and techniques to create understanding' [8]. Two types of interpretation exist guided and nonguided or otherwise stated, attended or unattended interpretation [14, 16]. Guided interpretation included guided walks, lectures, discussions and living interpretation, while non-guided interpretation includes self, guided trails, signboards, displays, exhibits and visitor centers.

High quality interpretation has been found to greatly enhance visitor's enjoyment and experience of national parks (experiential outcomes), leading to satisfied visitors returning and recommending national parks to other potential visitors (economic outcomes) and can enhance understanding and lead to pro-conservation behavior (environmental outcome) [17]. Strong criticism of many interpretation programs has been raised indicating that interpretation programs have predominantly western Eurocentric approach and focus primarily on ecological aspects [18]. Greater sensitivity to culture, a wider range of historical western and nonwestern contexts as well as a focus on sociocultural and ecological heritage in interpretation programs has been proposed [18]. While the basic principles of interpretation are applicable to most circumstances and setting, the cultural appropriateness and inclusivity of interpretation needs to be considered in the implementation of interpretation initiatives.

areas in an attempted to achieve long-term economic sustainability [1]. Incredible increases in tourist visitation to natural and cultural protected areas has been observed and in fact encouraged. This increase has created the notion of tourists 'loving national parks to death' and if not managed carefully tourism is in danger of becoming a self-destructive process leading to the destruction of the resources upon which it is based. As far back as 1992 the World Tourism Organization (WTO), realized that growing tourism numbers would become an important problem that conservation areas would need to cope with [2]. Park managers are becoming concerned about increased visitation to fragile conservation areas and national parks as they may severely affect the natural and cultural heritage [3]. Interpretation is proposed as an important solution to mitigate some of the undesirable consequences of tourism in national parks [4, 5]. Not only does interpretation potentially reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with high-levels of tourism it also leads to more satisfied visitors, increase knowledge gains and pro-environmental attitudes and behavior amongst tourists [6–10]. A study conducted in the Canyonlands National Park (Utah) found that interpretation foster intellectual, emotional and stewardship connections [11]. Interpretation may be seen as a form of entertainment or enlightenment that encourages visitors to visit a site, to stay for longer or even to return to a site multiple times [12]. Moreover, interpretation services (depending on their quality) directly affect the psychological experience of visitors. An even more astounding result is the fact that interpretation seemed to have a net positive impact on satisfaction whereas other facilities and

Interpretation has been defined by various authors, however the most widely accepted definition of interpretation is that of Tilden often considered to be the father of interpretation, as 'an educational activity which aims to reveal meaning and relationships through the use of original objects, by first-hand experience, and by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information' [14]. Tilden's definition emphasizes that interpretation is about communicating meaning and relationships rather than just the transfer of scientific facts. Since Tilden's definition of interpretation, various organizations have embraced their own understanding and definition of interpretation. There is, however, consensus that interpretation is a process of communicating the significance of a place so that visitors will enjoy it more, understand its importance and develop a positive attitude toward conservation. Many national parks historically focused on environmental education over interpretation this is specifically the case in South Africa. Environmental education generally focusses on formalized learning and environmental awareness creation amongst primarily scholars [15]. Interpretation however is aimed at providing visitors first-hand enlightening experiences that lead toward greater understanding, appreciation and protection of park while contributing to

Interpretation can be both a program and an activity. 'As a program, it establishes a set of objectives for the things a visitor should understand, and as an activity, it requires skills and techniques to create understanding' [8]. Two types of interpretation exist guided and nonguided or otherwise stated, attended or unattended interpretation [14, 16]. Guided interpretation included guided walks, lectures, discussions and living interpretation, while non-guided interpretation includes self, guided trails, signboards, displays, exhibits and visitor centers. High quality interpretation has been found to greatly enhance visitor's enjoyment and experience of national parks (experiential outcomes), leading to satisfied visitors returning and

infrastructure can only break even or even lead to dissatisfaction [13].

144 National Parks - Management and Conservation

greater visitor satisfaction and fulfilled expectations.

Interpretation is seen as an important link between the conservation and tourism priorities of national parks (**Figure 1**). Based on the numerous examples provided earlier, this link can be explained as follows: the most important aim of national parks is to conserve the natural and cultural heritage. Interpretation helps the tourists to learn about the park's conservation efforts and in turn creates pro-conservation behavior. The other part of the link is that interpretation satisfies the visitor's need to learn through various innovative mediums and enhances the visit to the park.

**Figure 1.** Interpretations link between the tourism and conservation functions of a national park [19].
