South Africa has 1,580 protected areas covering 102,060 km2 of the land and 224,640 km2 of the ocean (UNEP-WCMC & IUCN, 2019s). In October 2018, South Africa’s cabinet approved the declaration of 18 new protected areas, thus increasing the network of protected areas. There are nine provincial conservation authorities and the South African National Parks Agency who manage protected areas and implement conservation of plant diversity outside of reserves.

Protection level is not evenly spread across South Africa’s nine biomes, with a few (desert, forest and fynbos) having more than 17% of their area protected, while the remaining six all have far less than 17% of their area protected. Of particular concern are the grassland and Nama-Karoo biomes which have less than 5% of their areas protected. With regards to the marine environment, MPAs around mainland South Africa cover approximately 0.4% of the marine area around South Africa. There is also a large offshore MPA around the Prince Edward Islands Exclusive Economic Zone. Altogether, the total protected coastal and marine area is over 10%.

Transboundary protected and conserved areas

South Africa includes part of six transboundary conservation areas, namely /Ai/Ais-Richtersveld TFCA, Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and Conservation Area, Greater Mapungubwe TFCA, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Lubombo TFCA, and Maloti Drakensburg TFCA, which is also a transboundary World Heritage Site. 

Policy context

A comprehensive report on legislation and policy related to protected area management, governance and equity was undertaken by the BIOPAMA programme. It identified 158 relevant laws and policies in South Africa (Tessema, 2019). 

Key species

South Africa is considered one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. It has a high rate of endemism and diverse ecosystems. While it occupies only 2% of the world’s land surface area, South Africa is home to over 95,000 species, contributing a significant proportion to world plant species (6%), reptile species (5%), bird species (8%) and mammal species (6%), with more species regularly discovered and described. Furthermore, it harbours around 15% of the world’s marine species. Endemism rates reach 56% for amphibians, 65% for plants, 49% for freshwater fish, 48% for reptiles, 36% for sea breams, and up to 70% for invertebrates.