WILDLANDS

Greater eThekwini & Durban Port

BuffeLsdraai Restoration Project

Through the Buffelsdraai Reforestation Project, established in 2008, this 800-hectare buffer landfill site which was previously sugar cane land is being rewilded and restored into a natural mosaic of forest, woodland, and wetlands. In addition to the biodiversity conservation value, the restored habitat is sequestering carbon to offset the climate change impact of Durban hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

KwaZulu-Natal Midlands

Dartmoor Nature Reserve Project

The Dartmoor project, started in 2009, is an integral part of the Karkloof Nature Reserve, owned and managed by WILDTRUST, protecting 700 ha of important grassland and wetland habitat for all 3 Crane species and Oribi.

UKhahlamba - Drakensberg World Heritage Site

Upper uThukela Project

The WILDTRUST Upper uThukela project is an ongoing ecological restoration and rangeland management initiative (initiated in 2013 and set to end in 2026), working with the amaNgwane and amaZizi communities to improve the grasslands and reduce the anthropomorphic pressure on the strategic water source. The uThukela catchment, while contributing significantly to KZN’s water supply is also one of the primary sources of water for Gauteng through an inter-basin transfer into the Vaal River. The primary activities to improve water retention in the system and reduce the impact of human development in the area include invasive alien plant removal (primarily woody vegetation, which has the highest impact on water reduction), improved rangeland management through better burning practices and rotational grazing and donga/erosion rehabilitation. In contribution to the global 30x30 target, the community have also set aside 32 000 ha of pristine mountain area to be proclaimed as a formal Protected Environment, to be realised over the next three years.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

iSimangaliso MPA EbA Project

The iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area (MPA) Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Project is a 4-year (2023 – 2027) initiative, driven by WILDTRUST. The project seeks to improve the natural environment in and around the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site MPA, through a series of interventions that will make the region more resilient in the face of the devastating impacts that come with climate change.

The project is uniquely founded on the understanding that the success of the implementation of marine interventions also rests on the successful protection and restoration of estuaries and the natural environment along the coastal belt of the MPA.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Living Lakes Biodiversity & Climate Project (LLBCP)

The Living Lakes Biodiversity and Climate Project (LLBCP) was started in August 2022 to improve the conservation and restoration of wetlands and the protection of related biodiversity in the long term. Through the LLBCP, successful practices and strategies for sustainable wetland management will be implemented, documented, and mainstreamed by local communities and organizations in 10 project countries and beyond. With the support of this project, WILDTRUST will focus on restoring some of the ecosystem function of the Mkuze floodplain through agro-forestry, using trees nurtured by our local Tree-preneurs. This, together with other climate and biodiversity friendly agriculture techniques, will result in improved productivity, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and protection of this strategic water resource.

Zululand & Maputaland Wildlife Zones

Somkhanda Community Game Reserve

The WILDTRUST supports the development and management of this 12000ha community owned Big 5 reserve. Thus, providing economic opportunities for the local Gumbi community while protecting thriving populations of African Wild dog, and Black and White rhino. While reserve operations are increasingly being managed directly by the Gumbi community and local enterprises, WILDTRUST continues to support the anti-poaching and rhino conservation work.

Zululand & Maputaland Wildlife Zones

Bhekula Biodiversity, Stewardship & Sustainable Livelihood Project

Bhekula-Tshanini is an important community owned section of the Usuthu-Tembe-Futhi Transfrontier Park. WILDTRUST is working with these communities to maintain, expand, restore, and formally protect this reserve. Through this project, started in 2022 ending in 2025, this community is conserving the sand forest and associated savanna while developing eco-tourism based economic opportunities through the community hub. The project contributes to increasing the resilience and adaptation to global climate change of rural communities in the Tembe area through the sustainable protection and development of social, environmental, and economic livelihoods. This project is part of the larger initiative supported by BMZ, focusing on enhancing the socio-ecological resilience of rural communities in the Maputaland area.

uThukela

uThukela MPA EbA Project

The 5-year uThukela Marine Protected Area (MPA) Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Project seeks to improve the social and ecological resilience in and around uThukela MPA, addressing threats to both biodiversity and the people that depend on it.

FERNCLIFF NATURE RESERVE

The Ferncliff project started more than a decade ago; working with like-minded organisations and the residents. WILDTRUST has taken on the task of restoration of biodiversity for this precious mistbelt forest in KwaZulu-Natal, by clearing the alien plants and planting indigenous trees where the forest would have previously existed. Some key species that can be found in forest are Bush Blackcap (Sylvia nigricapillus) Dark-footed Forest Shrew (Myosorex cafer) and Midlands Dwarf Chameleon (Complex Bradypodion melanocephalum).

UKhahlamba - Drakensberg World Heritage Site

IUCN GIANTS CUP TRAIL MAINTENANCE AND RIVER CROSSING

Working with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, WILDTRUST implemented a COVID-relief project to maintain one of the hiking huts on the iconic Giants Cup Hiking Trail in the Southern Drakensberg, as well as to construct a river crossing. The hut is one of 5 sets of huts available within the reserve for hikers, which are used extensively by individuals and groups utilising the trail and are all in need of repair and maintenance. The river crossing (a pedestrian suspension bridge over the Mlambonja River), replaces one that was washed away in a flash flood, and provides for the permanent re-routing of the trail to exclude approximately 5km of hiking along a tarred road.