South Africa’s (SA) Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, David Maynier, has officially declared the establishment of the Grasslands National Park in the Eastern Cape highlands, creating a major new protected area spanning more than 10 200 hectares.
Published in the Government Gazette, the declaration incorporates 18 properties situated between Nqanqarhu and Rhodes. The new park is designed to protect under-represented high-altitude grassland ecosystems and safeguard critical catchments within the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area. Notably, it stands as SA’s first national park established primarily through an innovative biodiversity stewardship model, allowing sustainable, conservation-aligned agricultural activities to continue alongside formal ecological protections.
Maynier highlighted the park’s establishment as a landmark achievement for inclusive partnership models, spotlighting its key role in securing water security, protecting vulnerable species, and creating ecological corridors to help regional biodiversity adapt to climate change.
–ChannelAfrica–
Asanda Zondi
www.channelafrica.co.za
