South Africa is globally recognized for its exceptional biodiversity, hosting high levels of species richness, endemism, and ecosystem diversity across three global biodiversity hotspots. But 36% of the country’s terrestrial ecosystems and 65% of inland aquatic ecosystems are threatened. Declining government budgets and competing socio-economic priorities demand innovative, cost-effective conservation solutions.
Biodiversity Stewardship emerged in the early 2000s as South Africa's response to these challenges — enabling conservation authorities to enter into voluntary agreements with private and communal landowners to secure biodiversity priority areas. Two decades later, it has become the country's primary and most effective mechanism for expanding protected and conservation areas, delivering measurable ecological, economic, and social results at scale.
This World Bank report, Analysis of 20 Years of Implementing South Africa's Biodiversity Stewardship Program, developed in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and with technical support from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), presents the first comprehensive 20-year assessment of the program. It analyzes its development, impacts, lessons learned, and future requirements — and demonstrates why Biodiversity Stewardship stands as a South African innovation with strong potential for global replication. The report was prepared by experts from Conservation Outcomes, and reflects feedback from a substantial consultation effort, drawing on 71 direct interviews, engagement with 11 traditional communities across four provinces, and five structured workshops/technical sessions with DFFE, SANBI, the National Biodiversity Stewardship Technical Working Group, and the Legal Reference Group.
Key Findings
● Nearly 2.8 million hectares have been secured across 469 sites, representing approximately 90% of South Africa's protected area expansion since the promulgation of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM:PAA).
● It is cost-effective conservation: Biodiversity Stewardship delivers conservation outcomes at 6–25% of the cost of traditional state land acquisition and management.
● Inclusive growth on communal and reform land: The program delivers strong outcomes on communal land, land reform sites, and rural landscapes — supporting jobs, enterprises, and inclusive development.
● Climate and water resilience: The program protects over 650,000 hectares of Strategic Water Source Areas and extensive areas of threatened ecosystems, safeguarding ecosystem services valued at hundreds of billions of rand annually.
● Global scalability: Biodiversity Stewardship, similar to Community Based Natural Resource Management, offers a scalable pathway for achieving the global 30×30 target through other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), partnerships, and innovative governance.
● Investment leverage: The program has enabled $64.5 million in multilateral funding (Global Environment Facility (GEF), Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)) and R179.3 million from local conservation funds, alongside significant unquantified private investment from corporate and individual landowners.
hy Biodiversity Stewardship Works
The program's success rests on a flexible, "building block" approach that accommodates all land ownership types — from formally-declared nature reserves and national parks to partnership-based conservation measures. Key drivers of its effectiveness include:
- A strong NGO–government partnership model at its core;
- Clear, standardized national guidance that improves credibility and consistency across actors;
- A people-centered approach built on long-term relationships with landowners;
- Proven capacity to attract donor and private sector investment by reducing risk and strengthening governance in communal and rural landscapes.
Beyond conservation, Biodiversity Stewardship functions as a key policy enabler, underpinning South Africa's commitments under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (Target 3), the National Development Plan, and the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy.
Recommended Actions
The report identifies ten priority actions to strengthen and sustain Biodiversity Stewardship. Immediate priorities include:
- Establish strong national leadership — DFFE must play a stronger coordination role, lodging Biodiversity Stewardship at an appropriate level within departmental structures;
- Improve legal and policy coherence — including reform of NEM:PAA, finalization of OECM norms and standards, and streamlined protected area declaration processes;
- Build and retain dedicated capacity — with locally embedded, experienced, and continuously resourced Biodiversity Stewardship facilitators in both government and NGOs.
Medium-term priorities include deepening cross-sectoral integration with water security, climate adaptation, land reform, and rural development programs — and significantly scaling up community inclusion to unlock the full socio-economic potential of the program.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.
