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SA’S NATIONAL PARKS ARE GROWING
Four of South Africa’s national parks have increased in size, thanks to the work of the National Parks Trust of South Africa (NPTSA) and WWF South Africa. The former helps South African National Parks to acquire land to expand national parks to meet conservation targets and create spaces where the country’s fauna and flora can thrive.
The most recent expansion of the Namaqua National Park covers an array of threatened veld types and will help protect rare, threatened and endemic plant species, among them the iconic kokerboom (quiver tree). In addition, it encompasses a 6km stretch of the Buffels River and the upper catchment of the Swartlintjies river system, both of which are important for the overall ecological functioning of the park.
The Karoo National Park is home to Cape mountain zebras, 20 pairs of breeding Verreaux’s eagles, and 864 plant species, while the Agulhas National Park features threatened habitats of the Cape floristic region.
CEO of WWF, Dr Morne Du Plessis, says that their work brings some of South Africa’s most threatened habitats and species under the umbrella of SANParks as the custodian of the country’s natural heritage. All this contributes towards South Africa’s commitment to the Global Biodiversity Framework to protect 30% of the planet’s terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030.
Photo by Katherine Forsythe, WWF SA
