Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

(1) (a) CapeNature developed the 2025 Western Cape Protected Areas Expansion Strategy (WC PAES), as adopted in June 2025, which guides the expansion, conservation, collaborative and effective management, and equitable governance of the network of protected areas in the Western Cape Province. The recent declaration of the Wilderness Nature Reserve in Heidelberg is the result of the implementation of CapeNature’s Biodiversity Stewardship process, which enables private landowners to contribute to the Province’s conservation estate, following thorough site assessment and review by the Western Cape Protected Area and Stewardship Review Committee.  This committee is comprised of officials from CapeNature, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) and non-government conservation agencies that are active in the Western Cape.  Private landowners are assisted by CapeNature with legal administration, agreements, legal notices, adverts, management plan compilation, review and recommendation to the provincial minister and annual site visits and regular audits.  A provincial task team with representatives from CapeNature, DEA&DP and the Department of the Premier supports and facilitates the protected area declaration process and ensures compliance with National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM: PAA).

(b) The regulations for the Proper Administration of Protected Areas, published under section 86(i) of the NEM: PAA (Government Notice 99 of 2012), provide rules for the administration and management of nature reserves and their natural resources.  These regulations are, unless specified otherwise, applicable to all nature reserves.  The regulations also set out functions and powers of management authorities in respect of nature reserves.  Compliance with regulations contributes to improved management practices that protect biodiversity.

Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) refers to how well the management of a protected area is conserving the values and ecological integrity of the protected area as relating to the Protected Area Management Plan goals and objectives.  To assess and monitor PAME, South Africa’s Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT-SA) is used.  CapeNature completes biennial assessments using the METT-SA for provincial nature reserves.  The assessment focusses on various elements of protected area management such as governance, planning and design, management and conservation outcomes.  The systematic evaluation of these elements and the drafting of intervention reports following assessment, aims to improve management and reporting in terms of the Norms and Standards for the Management of Protected Areas in South Africa.

For privately owned nature reserves, Annual Plan of Operations (APO) implementation reports are prepared annually, and audits are undertaken by CapeNature to monitor progress towards management objectives. The Department is committed to its legislative mandate for the proper administration of protected areas, development, and the implementation of management plans.  This ensures the long-term sustainability of protected areas in the Western Cape Province.

(2) The Western Cape protected area estate remains unrepresentative of approximately half of the ecosystems contained within the Province.  The identification of new protected areas is guided by Biodiversity Priority Areas, based on a systematic conservation planning process and the resultant 2023 Western Cape Biodiversity Spatial Plan (WC BSP). This is to ensure improvement in the representivity of ecosystems protected across the Province thus contributing positively towards the achievement of provincial and national biodiversity targets in the short to medium term. To achieve a protected area network reflecting a representative suite of the ecosystems, the protection of an additional 11.5% of the Province is required.  The 2025 WC PAES guides the identification of private and state land required to meet this target. The WC PAES provides the framework enabling contributions from all partners in the environmental sector. The WC PAES implementation plans at landscape level are informed by the 2023 WC BSP Spatial Informants Map and are prepared annually to direct implementation to integrate and co-ordinate the establishment of new protected areas in under-represented ecosystems.