Earlier this year, Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell declared the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve a protected area per the National Environmental Protected Areas Act.
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The declaration provides the highest level of legal protection under the act. It ensures that the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Nature Reserve will continue conservation efforts, while allowing for scientific research, habitat restoration and low-impact eco-tourism activities.
“We have excellent environmental legislation in South Africa, but without passionate and dedicated stakeholders, it would mean very little. I am especially proud of the work CapeNature continues to do to expand the conservation estate in the province. We know that healthy biodiversity is key to protect and buffer us against extreme weather and climate change. But more than that, we owe it to future generations to protect our unique and precious natural environment,” said Bredell in April 2025.
The reserve is owned by WWF South Africa and managed by the Overberg Renosterveld Trust (ORT), a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring the renosterveld ecosystem.
Bertie Jacobs, North-West University (NWU) 12 Jun 2025
Located between Swellendam and Bredasdorp in the Overberg region, Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Nature Reserve spans 547ha of critically endangered Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld. It’s home to a diversity of endemic and rare plant species; threatened bird species such as Black Harrier and Cape Vulture; and secretive mammals, including Aardwolf and Aardvark.
CapeNature facilitates the legal administrative process to declare these sites as protected areas in terms of the act.
CapeNature CEO Dr Ashley Naidoo said CapeNature, the ORT, and WWF South Africa have a long-standing relationship with each other.
“This declaration is an acknowledgement of the ongoing and admirable conservation efforts that the ORT is carrying out in the Overberg. CapeNature supports these efforts through assessing and reviewing the biodiversity value of these important biodiversity areas. Through stewardship facilitation, legal support and on-the-ground collaboration, CapeNature continues to assist in securing the future of some of the Western Cape’s most vulnerable ecosystems.”
Renosterveld is part of the Cape Floristic Region, which is a global biodiversity hotspot and one of only six floral kingdoms in the world. Despite its ecological importance, renosterveld has received far less attention and protection than its fynbos counterpart, largely because it occurs on fertile soils that have been extensively converted to farmland.
For Dr Odette Curtis-Scott, CEO and founder of the ORT, the declaration marks a milestone in the journey to protect this irreplaceable landscape.
“Renosterveld is one of the most threatened vegetation types in South Africa, with an estimated 5% of its original extent intact. Much of it has been ploughed for agriculture, and what little remains is highly fragmented, making the formal protection of Haarwegskloof as a nature reserve really important.”
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