New national park declared in Eastern Cape highlands

The Grasslands National Park will protect more than 10 225 hectares of grassland and an important water source area in the Eastern Cape, while allowing compatible agricultural activities to continue.

 

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister David Maynier has declared 18 properties in the Eastern Cape, covering 10 225.9242 hectares, as the Grasslands National Park.

The declaration was published in Government Gazette No. 55531 under Government Notice No. 8002, formally establishing the park after the completion of the statutory process under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003.

Located in the Eastern Cape highlands between Nqanqarhu and Rhodes, the park will help conserve grassland ecosystems that are underrepresented in South Africa’s protected areas network. It will also protect part of the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, which is important for water security, biodiversity and the livelihoods sustained by the region’s agricultural land.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has been assigned responsibility for managing the park in terms of section 38(1)(aA) of the Act.

The declaration follows the publication of a notice of intention in 2025, moving the initiative from a proposed protected area to a formally established national park.

CONSERVATION AND AGRICULTURE SIDE BY SIDE

The park was established primarily through biodiversity stewardship, an approach that allows landowners to retain ownership of their properties while committing to agreed conservation and management measures.

This model also allows conservation-compatible agricultural activities to continue, providing an opportunity to protect sensitive ecosystems while supporting local livelihoods and productive land use.

“The declaration of the Grasslands National Park is an important step in protecting one of South Africa’s least-protected biomes and a strategic water source landscape. It also demonstrates how conservation and compatible productive land use can reinforce one another through voluntary, long-term partnerships,” Maynier said.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and SANParks worked alongside WWF South Africa, which played a leading role in coordinating the establishment of the park, together with a wide range of other partners.

Maynier said the initiative was the first national park in South Africa established primarily through a biodiversity stewardship model.

“This initiative is an example of how inclusive partnerships can drive large-scale conservation success,” he said.

(Source: https://www.sanparks.org/)