Corporate

Ezemvelo’s mandate is derived from the KwaZulu- Natal Nature Conservation Management Act (Act No.9 of 1997), which is to direct the management of nature conservation within the province including protected areas (PAs). This includes the development and promotion of ecotourism facilities within the PAs.

Ezemvelo, as a state-owned entity, remains committed to deliver on the priorities of Government which include job creation. This is achieved by the organisation either entering partnerships or implementing programmes that enable job creation. These programmes are also aligned to further conservation efforts.

Community development has been high on Ezemvelo’s agenda as conservation must create tangible benefits to people, especially for those who reside in the buffer zones i.e. adjacent to PAs.

Management plans continue to be implemented by Ezemvelo to stabilise key species, many of which have been considered vulnerable or were once on the brink of extinction. Examples of such species include vultures, white and black rhino, loggerhead turtles and wattled cranes.

Ezemvelo is entrusted with the responsibility for managing the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site as well as performing conservation and ecotourism activities within the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park World Heritage Site. The organisation also manages several Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance), such as Ndumo Game Reserve, Kosi Bay and Lake Sibaya.

Ezemvelo is considered one of the leading conservation authorities in South Africa by its peers.

Ezemvelo is forging a distinctive identity in the field of Community Conservation as part of its integrated approach to enable job creation, community development as well as environmentally sensitive land use activities.

Ezemvelo is cognisant that conservation is a land use in direct competition with other land uses.