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SANParks board chairperson, Pam Yako, said their guiding document, Vision 2040, was about redefining the role of conservation in South Africa.

Yako was speaking on Wednesday afternoon on the opening day of SANParks's three-day Vision 2040 Indaba underway in Gqeberha.

In her address, Yako said Vision 2040, which SANParks unveiled last year, called for a decisive shift towards an inclusive, people-centered model anchored on three core pillars.

These, she said, were bio-diversity conservation, preservation of cultural heritage and sustainable development and community empowerment.

"Our approach is rooted in the landscape model. This means looking beyond the physical boundaries of national parks and integrating them with surrounding communities, ecosystems, and economic activities.

"By doing so, we can maximize development, strengthen inclusivity, and amplify impact.

Together with our partners, we will pursue initiatives that expand conservation areas, enhance ecotourism, pilot regenerative aquaculture projects, and drive both skills development and job creation.

"Vision 2040 is bold and ambitious, but it is also achievable if we act collectively and decisively," Yako added.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dion George, said the SANParks indaba was more than a meeting but a celebration, reflection, and a declaration of intent.

He said stakeholders attending the three-day Indaba at Running Waters were gathering not just to discuss strategies and frameworks, but to reaffirm a bold vision.

George said the future of conservation in South Africa is integrated, inclusive, and transformative.

"Twelve months ago, SANParks unveiled Vision 2040, a strategy that marks a decisive shift in how we see conservation and the role of protected areas in our society. Vision 2040 is not simply about preserving land or counting species.

"It is about integrated conservation. It is a deliberate, holistic approach that links ecological integrity, climate resilience, and human well-being.

"It is about reimagining landscapes as Mega Living Landscapes, where protected areas, agricultural land, communal spaces, and private holdings come together in a network that supports biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, and cultural heritage," he said in a wide-ranging speech.

In his address, Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, described SANParks' Vision 2040 as "not being abstract, but a lived reality".

He told delegates that the Eastern Cape is a province of extraordinary natural wealth.

Mabuyane said the Eastern Cape is the only province in South Africa where multiple naturally occurring biomes converge, and has vast and diverse ecosystems that occupy significant portions of habitat.

"This is precisely why Vision 2040 is so important. It calls on us to ensure that our natural endowment is not only conserved but also shared, that communities benefit tangibly, that livelihoods are created, and that prosperity flows as much from our biodiversity as from our economy.

"Vision 2040 resonates deeply with us as a province. It represents a collaboration that is not exclusionary, but truly inclusive," Mabuyane added.