The Namaqua National Park is among four of South Africa’s national parks that have been expanded by more than 20 000 hectares to improve conservation. (Katherine Forsythe/WWF South Africa)
In four years, South Africa has increased the number of protected areas by 89, increasing the amount of land under protection by around 11 500 square kilometres, a report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found.
Among the sites that have been added since 2020, are three marine protected areas, three Ramsar sites (wetlands site), 47 nature reserves, seven botanical gardens and 10 biosphere reserves, according to the second edition of the State of Protected And Conserved Areas (SoPACA).
In 2020, South Africa had 102 060 square kilometres of its land under protection, which grew by around 11% to 113 601 square kilometres in 2024.
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