South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal gets 26 more legally recognised Nature Reserves!

KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa gets 26 more Nature Reserves. The Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) World Wildlife Fund of South Africa (WWF South Africa) and Conservation Outcomes as well as legal firm Ndlovu de Villiers Attorneys together cleared the path for these areas in KwaZulu-Natal to be legally recognised as Nature Reserves. All 26 areas are important for biodiversity and consist of a mixture of communal, private and state-owned land. They are all now receiving South Africa's unique biodiversity tax incentive, section 37D of the Income Tax Act, to support their conservation efforts through Wilderness Foundation Africa's Environmental Tax Services.
Although the 26 reserves were originally gazetted, legal omissions in the title deed endorsement process meant that none had been properly registered at the National Deeds Office. As a resulst, they were unable to access the biodiversity tax break. The omissions also meant that these properties were not secured in perpetuity, as is required for nature reserve declarations in South Africa. All the reserves have now been provided with the correct legal paperwork needed for their title deed endorsements.
As of 03 Jun 2020, 18 nature reserves have completed and finalised the declaration process. This amounts to some 21 600 ha and includes the popular Karkloof Nature Reserve near Howick, unique Red Desert Nature Reserve near Port Edward (billed as the world’s smallest desert), and the Ncandu Private Forest and Grassland Reserve near Newcastle – with another 50 000 ha pending finalisation.