Please note: Draft management plans that can be downloaded and review of the Letter of Intent to review properties designated as nature reserves for the public under subsection 23(1) of the National Environmental Management Act, 2003: Protected Areas, by the MEC of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs: A: No, but the terms of access can be negotiated under the agreement. It is important to know that stewardship agreements are relevant for any type of land or property, including: legislation is the fundamental element of conservation measures, and new environmental laws in South Africa provide the platform to ensure the long-term security of biodiversity and natural resources and promote the management of biodiversity and natural resources. However, legislation alone is an inadequate and incomplete instrument and needs to be complemented by additional measures, regulations and implementation policies. that all areas of high biodiversity value outside officially protected areas enjoy secure legal protection through conservation stewardship agreements and are linked to a network of other protected areas in the landscape. This will be based on strong partnerships between conservation authorities and landowners, which will lead to good biodiversity management practices and tangible benefits for landowners. The development of stewardship agreements with landowners requires a legal process and significant commitment from the landowner and the provincial conservation organization. Therefore, it is important to focus these efforts on the most important biodiversity areas of the province and thus contribute to the achievement of national and provincial targets. The province of KwaZulu-Natal, which covers about 92,000 square kilometres (7.6% of South Africa), has two World Heritage sites and more than 100 official protected areas. It is also the central element of the Maputoland – Pondoland – Albany hotspot identified by Conservation International. However, less than 47% of the more than 4000 species found here, not to mention the diversity of landscapes and vegetation types, are preserved in the current system of protected areas. Most of these areas are rapidly changing or deteriorating at an alarming rate, as the province has heavy rainfall and extensive, well-drained deep soils that are ideal for intensive agriculture. Many of these sectors need to be secured in the short term if we are to meet our obligations to maintain a representative sample of the diversity of life or to maintain the functioning of the ecosystem that provides essential ecosystem services to the people of the province.

In addition, 1.4 million hectares, or 14.5% of the province`s land area, are needed to ensure representative protection of the province`s biodiversity. For example, the KZN Nature Conservation Council, as the KZN State Authority and Body responsible for leading the management of the natural environment (including biodiversity) inside and outside protected areas, is the legal body responsible for promoting biodiversity conservation in KwaZulu-Natal – in partnership with other public landowners, private and municipal and civil society. It is therefore the responsibility of the Governing Council to supervise/direct the biodiversity administrators of States in cooperation with these partners. The Biodiversity Stewardship South Africa (BSSA) programme is an initiative of the National Ministry of Environment and Tourism (DEAT) in partnership with key conservation organisations. The BSSA programme was designed in 2005 by a coalition of non-governmental organizations at an exploratory workshop. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) then turned to DEAT`s Biodiversity Conservation Directorate with the proposal to further develop the concept of stewardship. The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding and EWT began Phase 1 of the programme in August 2006. The National Law on Environmental Management expands the management of biodiversity in its principles, the most important of which are: “The environment is maintained in public trust for people, the beneficial use of environmental resources must serve the public interest and the environment must be protected as a common heritage of people”. This principle strikes a balance between use and protection. The use of the natural environment must be in the interest of all South Africans and must not benefit a few at the expense of others.

Protection, on the other hand, is assumed because the use of biodiversity can lead to some loss. As a result, components of biodiversity may need to be protected, and this protection should be facilitated by both the state and landowners/land users. Landowners who establish a biodiversity conservation site on their land generate credits for sale to developers or landowners to balance their activities in other locations The current institutional structure of the BSSA program is presented in the diagram at the end of this section. During Phase 1, the programme was led by an executive reference group composed of representatives from the Botanical Society, EWT, WWF-South Africa, the Maloti Drakensberg Transboundary Project and deAT`s Biodiversity Conservation Directorate. A national advisory committee ensures that the development of the initiative is in line with provincial biodiversity objectives, drawing in particular on the experience of KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The KwaZulu-Natal Biodiversity Stewardship Programme (KZN BSP) adopted a pilot approach in the early years of operation. During this period, the program will focus on eight pilot sites with different ownership and land uses to develop the program`s methodology and learn more about issues related to stewardship implementation. At the end of the pilot phase, the program will be extended to the entire province. The type of protection that can be granted to the different areas/parts representative of biodiversity in the province focuses mainly on Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, which enters into a partnership with the landowner. .

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