Committing Private Land To Conservation : Advice To Avoid Future Pitfalls

Our national parks, managed by SANParks, and Provincial Nature Reserves, operated by state-owned Entities, such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Cape Nature, form part of the national conservation initiative and tourism offering, as do many private nature reserves that have been established by private landowners. These private reserves are found in areas that are ecologically unique, including mountainous, and coastal areas and the Lowveld. They are of critical importance to national conservation efforts, supporting the survival of complex and intricate systems of the natural world, and endangered species such as African wild dog and rhinoceros.

Private nature reserves are established by agreement between the landowners and essentially involve removing fences between the separately owned properties to create larger conservation areas. The landowners act as custodians of the land for the benefit of conservation.