The Protected Environment is situated in the Eastern Cape and falls between 4 towns namely; Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda, Cradock and Pearston. It was formally declared in April 2016 by the Minister of Environmental Affairs for the purpose of maintaining the landscape in terms of its scenic, biodiversity and landscape value through collective action by the private landowners and to protect the area from detrimental developments. The protected environment is located in a transitional area between four biomes: Grassland, Nama Karoo, Thicket and Savanna. All of the major vegetation types are currently very poorly conserved elsewhere in South Africa. Being a transition area between biomes allows for an interesting mix of flora and fauna, as well as important ecological and landscape processes. Climate change, detrimental development, mining, inappropriate historical management of herbivores, and the risk of fire present the biggest threats to the protected environment’s vital attributes.
The Protected Environment is situated in the Eastern Cape and falls between 4 towns namely; Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda, Cradock and Pearston. It was formally declared in April 2016 by the Minister of Environmental Affairs for the purpose of maintaining the landscape in terms of its scenic, biodiversity and landscape value through collective action by the private landowners and to protect the area from detrimental developments. The protected environment is located in a transitional area between four biomes: Grassland, Nama Karoo, Thicket and Savanna. All of the major vegetation types are currently very poorly conserved elsewhere in South Africa. Being a transition area between biomes allows for an interesting mix of flora and fauna, as well as important ecological and landscape processes. Climate change, detrimental development, mining, inappropriate historical management of herbivores, and the risk of fire present the biggest threats to the protected environment’s vital attributes.
