ID: 1292

Ukuwela Conservancy

Wild Tomorrow Fund have successfully secured a 500 hectare plot of riverfront wilderness in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, creating a new protected area called the Ukuwela Conservancy. Ukuwela is located in the center of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot, one of the world’s biologically richest and most endangered land-based ecoregions. It is surrounded by prestigious wildlife reserves, including Mkuze, St Lucia, Sodwana Bay, South Africa's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, and the Phinda Private Game Reserve, with which Ukuwela shares a river border. These nearby reserves provide vital habitat for rhinos (including the critically endangered black rhino), African wild dogs, elephants, lions and other vulnerable, threatened and endangered species. In addition, South Africa's most endangered habitat type, the sand forest, is found within this ecoregion. Land rehabilitation at Ukuwela has already begun, with a program in place to remove alien plant species, old fencing and plastic pollution on the riverbank. An international group of volunteers headed to the Ukuwela Conservancy and worked alongside local staff and community employees on land rehabilitation projects, biodiversity surveys and other land management tasks. Working with local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations, Wild Tomorrow Fund plans to reintroduce species to Ukuwela, including giraffe, wildebeest and impala. Wild Tomorrow Fund also facilitated the acquisition of four small land parcels by conservation-friendly private investors, adding an additional 80 hectares to the protected area, including an additional portion of Mzinene riverfront. Wild Tomorrow Fund’s long-term vision is to form a regional conservancy, working together with neighbouring landowners who share common conservation aspirations, with fences removed to further expand wild habitat.

Planned actions

Management of land/water

Protection of land/water

Species management