South Africa's provincial nature reserves, vital for biodiversity conservation, are deteriorating due to underfunding, poaching, and mismanagement. A recent report highlights systemic failures across provinces, threatening ecological and economic potential. Urgent reforms are needed to meet national and international obligations.
South Africa's provincial nature reserves, once key protectors of the country's rich biodiversity, are now in freefall amid chronic underfunding, collapsing infrastructure, and staff shortages. The EMS Foundation report details how roads have become impassable, fences have collapsed, and accommodations are rotting, leading many reserves to shutter indefinitely. Some exist only on paper, overrun by illegal grazing, settlement, poaching, and invasive species like black wattle and Port Jackson.
Poaching and snaring are rampant, worsened by unemployment and weak enforcement. In Limpopo and Mpumalanga, staff report months without pay; KwaZulu-Natal's Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife faces mismanagement and rising rhino killings. North West and Free State provinces have shifted focus to commercial hunting and auctions, suspending public access during seasons and prioritizing revenue over ecology. Specific cases include Modjadji Nature Reserve, closed since 2019 and now poacher-infested, and Akkerendam and Hans Merensky reserves with no staff.
Community tensions exacerbate the issues. Unresolved land claims have sparked conflicts, such as violent disputes at Dwesa-Cwebe in the Eastern Cape and the 2021 burning of Mthethomusha's lodge in Mpumalanga. Land invasions plague Ndumo in KZN and Songimvelo in Mpumalanga. The report stresses that without shared benefits, communities see no incentive to protect reserves.
Financial mismanagement, including irregular expenditure and corruption, compounds the problem, with funds often diverted. A 2018 review noted budget shortfalls, but conditions have worsened. As the report states: “Without urgent, coordinated intervention and reform, South Africa’s conservation targets will not be met.”
Success stories like Madikwe in North West and Goegap in Northern Cape show potential through partnerships and funding. Proposed fixes include stabilizing finances with performance-tied grants, rehabilitating infrastructure, rebuilding staff, resolving community disputes, and strengthening national oversight under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act.