Nature Reserves – Provinces – Infographic

Together, the provincial management authorities are responsible for managing 322 protected areas totalling 3 million hectares, or 7.8% of South Africa’s total conservation estate. A PER of six provinces was commissioned but an absence of reserve-level data inhibited analysis. Of the six provinces, three manage their parks through provincial departments, while three use public entities to manage them. Abut R2.3billion was spend on the reserves in the six provinces in 2015/16, up from R1.9 billion in 2013/14, but there were significant declines in the resources allocated to PNRs in all provinces except Gauteng and Limpopo (where rapid growth in capital spending led to an overall rise in budgets). Reserves vary considerably in their size and nature, and costs per hectare and staffing per hectare vary considerably: from R374 per hectare in the Western Cape (with 1 staff member for every 3,350 hectares) to nearly R5 000 per hectare in Gauteng (with only 215 hectares per employee).