The Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA) is an area in which 25 private landowners and local communities work together to collectively manage our land for conservation.

Through this unique conservation model, some 46,000 hectares of often critically endangered habitat is now protected on the Agulhas Plain - at the southernmost region of Africa.

The primary goal of the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA) is to protect - and use - the land included in the Special Management Area sustainably, according to triple bottom line principles.

We aim to find the balance between environmental integrity, human wellbeing and economic efficiency within the area.

While biodiversity and wetland conservation is promoted, so too are sustainable farming practices. As such, farming and conservation work hand in hand. Endangered plants and animals are protected. At the same time, food security from farmland in the Nuwejaars Wetland Ecosystem is not threatened.

This collaboration between landowners and local communities is the first of its kind in South Africa. It required significant commitments from all landowners and communities involved.

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