More land under protection in the Free State
The Sneeuwberg Protected Environment, a 17 456 hectare grassland area in the North-Eastern Free State in Memel, is making history after the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environment Affairs, World Wildlife Forum South Africa, Birdlife South Africa and eleven landowners recently declared the area a protected environment for its exceptional natural beauty, species diversity and significance as a water source area.
The purpose of the declaration of Sneeuwberg Protected Environment is to regulate the area as a buffer zone for the protection and conservation of the provincial Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve, to enable landowners to take collective action to protect unique and threatened grasslands, wetlands and the associated animals and to ensure that “ecosystem services” derived from the area (such as water production) are sustained.
This additional land under conservation in the Free State put the total land under conservation to 407 865 hectares, a handsome effort towards the target of 1.2 million hectares.
Enquiries:
Lebogang Maloale
Tel: 051 400 9550/9548
Email: maloalel@detea.fs.gov.za
Moloko Setshogo
Cell: 072 018 8098
Email: molokos@detea.fs.gov.za
