Crisis planning and government liaison highlighted at African Resilience Summit

The need for effective crisis planning and better liaison between governments, businesses and local communities were highlighted at the African Resilience Summit.

The summit was part of the Africa Tourism Association’s world tourism conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The event – held at Constitution Hill, the former prison which held Nelson Mandela – emphasised the need for resiliency planning for crisis and sustainability issues.

This featured a debate on the lessons learned from the Cape Town water crisis, which resulted in a 60% reduction of local water usage.

Dr Lee Miles, professor of crisis and disaster management at Bournemouth University, led a session on the importance of planning to manage a crisis, be it man-made or natural disaster.

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This reinforced the need for adapting plans to individual markets, training and community engagement.

The need for further collaboration from governments across Africa to develop funding mechanisms and policies was emphasised.

That would help showcase cultural heritage, create people-to-people programmes and encourage public-private partnerships.

A presentation of the work being conducted by the all-woman Black Mamba anti-poaching unit in South Africa was a key part of the conference.

With wildlife interests accounting for 90% of all tourism to Africa, six members of the unit were forthright in their warnings about the future of the continent, the need for community engagement and educational initiatives.

International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPTT) Awards winners were also presented after 60 companies were nominated.