CapeNature has added 44 231 hectares to the Western Cape’s protected areas and recorded its tenth consecutive clean audit, according to its 2025/26 Annual Report, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Picture: CapeNature / Facebook
The expansion, driven largely by extending Knersvlakte Nature Reserve and signing 16 biodiversity stewardship agreements with private landowners, exceeded the 5 000-hectare target. CapeNature manages 872 384 hectares across 31 protected area complexes.
Western Cape Minister Anton Bredell said the clean audit reflected financial controls and teamwork. ‘Sustained clean audits reflect CapeNature’s commitment to clean governance,’ he said.
He added that the results included ‘more than 44 000 hectares added to the conservation estate, and work created in the communities that live alongside it’.
Water security remained central. CapeNature cleared 23 309 hectares of invasive alien plants and maintained 205 firebreaks.
Acting CEO Mbulelo Jacobs said the work benefits communities beyond reserve boundaries. ‘Clearing invasive alien plants and maintaining firebreaks in our mountain catchments protects the water supply for towns and cities,’ he said.
CapeNature met its performance targets and assessments rated 99,7% of its estate as effectively managed. Researchers confirmed a slender redfin distribution record in the upper Doring River and found more than 50 tadpoles of a previously undescribed Capensibufo toad species.
This article was previously shared by Cape Etc.
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