Colchester Zoo is delighted to report that UmPhafa Reserve in South Africa has been officially declared a Nature Reserve

The UmPhafa Nature Reserve, situated in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, is a 6,000 hectare reserve comprised of a number of farms previously managed for cattle and encompasses a wide range of habitats from acacia savannah and bushveld to mountainous terrain. Due to previous agricultural practices many of the natural inhabiting species had been lost. Colchester Zoo and its charity, Colchester Zoological Society, assisted in the set-up of this conservation project and have supported it since 2005.

Colchester Zoo are excited to share the news that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 2023 have officially declared UmPhafa as a Nature Reserve. This is a wonderful step forwards for UmPhafa and this formal declaration as a protected area, highlights the true value of the reserve and the work the team do.

UmPhafa began the process of declaration back in late 2022. The first step in initiating the process was to present the area to the KZN Biodiversity Stewardship Working Group for approval to proceed, which formally triggers the process for the site to be assessed and a suitable protected area category to be determined. Once the approval was obtained, a detailed site assessment was undertaken including a field assessment with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife biodiversity stewardship staff, district conservation staff and ecologists.

Some of the key findings in the site assessment confirmed that UmPhafa has significant biodiversity value and conservation importance:

• A significant proportion of the area falls within Critical Biodiversity Area 1 of the KZN Systematic Conservation Plan, which is the highest priority for protection in the province
• A significant portion of the area falls within the Critical Biodiversity Area (Optimal). Critical Biodiversity Areas are the sites that are required to meet a region’s biodiversity targets and need to be maintained in the appropriate condition for their category.
• The UmPhafa area plays an important role in buffering and protecting the catchment area of the Thukela River and protects a significant portion of the catchment of the Thukela River which is a National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Area (NFEPA)

This site assessment was presented to the KZN Biodiversity Stewardship Working Group, and a recommended biodiversity stewardship category was agreed upon. The categories range from a nature reserve, declared in terms of the Protected Areas Act through to biodiversity agreements, which are agreements between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the landowners, prepared in terms of contract law. In the Society's case, UmPhafa was to be declared as a ‘Nature Reserve’.

Developing a management plan was key to the next phase, with this being the primary tool for Colchester Zoological Society, the landowner, and other partners in the future management of the reserve, ensuring that it is managed appropriately in the years to come to further the conservation value of the reserve.