WATERBERG BIOSPHERE TODAY

In 2001 the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve recieved international status under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program in recognition of the area's considerable conservation value and support of a large range of stakeholders.   Ten years later...

In 2011 an application will be made to UNESCO to enlarge the biosphere from its current size of 654,033ha to 1,727,614ha and to rezone the Biosphere's core, buffer and transition zones on a more scientific basis.

The reasons for the proposed changes are as follows;

In accordance with the recent Environmental Management Framework (EMF) of the Waterberg District, it is appropriate that the proposed future biosphere reserve encompasses as much as possible of the EMF Zone 1 (Conservation focus) and EMF Zone 2 (Tourism focus) within the Waterberg.

Whereas the existing biosphere merely transects the Waterberg massif in order to connect Marakele National Park in the south west to Wonderkop Nature Reserve in the north east, the proposed biosphere reserve largely incorporates the entire Waterberg Mountain Complex.  This change makes sense not only from a conservation view point, but also from a marketing view point.  The proposed zones are in line with the EMF zones and represent a strategic spatial land-use plan based on sound environmental and socio-economic criteria.

Waterberg Biosphere Today - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve - aloe | valley & river - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, Vaalwater, Limpopo, Waterberg, South Africa [© 2009 PaulGodard.com]

The proposed Waterberg Biosphere Reserve will cover a contiguous wildlife area of approximately 100km by 100km.  As such it has the potential to form an extremely important part of South Africa's expanding conservation network.  In addition the biosphere is able to provide critcally important ecosytem services, to an increasingly water-scarce, polluted and developed province and country.

Waterberg Biosphere Today - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve - elephant walking - Waterberg Biosphere Reserve, Vaalwater, Limpopo, Waterberg, South Africa [© 2006 unknown]