Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve | |
---|---|
Location | Baviaanskloof Valley |
Nearest city | Willowmore |
Coordinates | 33°30′S24°8′E / 33.500°S 24.133°E Coordinates: 33°30′S24°8′E / 33.500°S 24.133°E |
Area | 500,000 Ha |
Governing body | Eastern Cape Parks |
Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is a protected area in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
The Baviaanskloof - (Dutch for "Valley of Baboons") - lies between the Baviaanskloof and Kouga mountain ranges. The easternmost point of the valley is some 95 km NW of the coastal city of Port Elizabeth.
The Baviaanskloof area includes a cluster of formal protected areas managed by the Eastern Cape Parks Board totalling around 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres), [1] of which the most well-known is the 184 385 ha Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve - the third largest protected area in South Africa. The Baviaanskloof Forest Reserve was established in 1920. [2] It also includes the Groendal Nature Reserve and Formosa Nature Reserve, [3] and encompasses private land.
The Baviaanskloof area is one of outstanding natural beauty, owing to its spectacular land forms, a diverse array of plants and wide variety of animals. [4] The area is part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site as of 2004. [5]
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over 14,763 km2 (5,700 sq mi). It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over 15,000,000 hectares of virgin savanna.
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves.
Wilderness or wildlands, are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness. Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean, with only 13.2% free from intense human activity.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Their headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park situated on the northern slopes of Pietermaritzburg, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial capital. Prior to 1994, it was known as the Natal Parks Board.
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects the oldest living trees in the world. The forest, encompassing much of the Owens Valley, was established by Theodore Roosevelt as a way of sectioning off land to accommodate the Los Angeles Aqueduct project in 1907, making the Inyo National Forest one of the least wooded forests in the U.S. National Forest system.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was amalgamated with the Wilderness National Park and various other areas of land to form the Garden Route National Park.
The Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.
Sundays River Valley Local Municipality is a local municipality in Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has a total population of nearly 70,000 people. This area is one of the key production areas for citrus in South Africa. It also encompasses the Addo Elephant National Park and other significant areas of nature conservation.
South African National Parks (SANParks) is the body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks. SANParks was formed in 1926, and currently manages 19 parks consisting of 3,751,113 hectares (37,511.13 km2), over 3% of the total area of South Africa.
Eastern Cape Parks are the national parks, marine protected areas, nature reserves and other nature conservation areas in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) is the governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in the Eastern Cape, based in East London.
Mpofu Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Amatole district of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks.
The Garden Route National Park is a national park in the Garden Route region of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. It was established on 6 March 2009 by amalgamating the existing Tsitsikamma and Wilderness National Parks, the Knysna National Lake Area, and various other areas of state-owned land.
Malolotja National Park covers 18,000 hectares of mountain wilderness on Eswatini's northwestern border with South Africa. The park includes Ngwenya Mountain, Eswatini's second highest mountain, and Malolotja Falls which drop 89 metres (292 ft), the highest in Eswatini. Habitats include short grassland to thick riverine scrub, bushveld and Afromontane forest.
The Albany thickets is an ecoregion of dense woodland in southern South Africa, which is concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape.
De Hel Nature Area is a 21.3-hectare (53-acre) nature reserve protecting a river valley and indigenous forest on the lower eastern slopes of Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa.
Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa.
Cecilia is a section of the Table Mountain National Park on the lower eastern slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, located just to the south of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. It was previously used for commercial logging and known as Cecilia Forest or Cecilia Plantation, but has now been given protected status and integrated into the National Park.
The Biodiversity of South Africa is the variety of living organisms within the boundaries of South Africa and its exclusive economic zone. South Africa is a region of high biodiversity in the terrestrial and marine realms. The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries, and is rated among the top 10 for plant species diversity and third for marine endemism.