South Africa has 11,280,684 hectares or 9.2% of its total land area is catagorised as Protected Areas which include nineteen National Parks, forty-two Marine Parks, five UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, twenty-seven Ramsar sites and a number of Transfrontier Parks.

Protected areas in South Africa are managed by the national government, public nature reserves are managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves are managed by private landowners. National parks are maintained by South African National Parks (SANParks).

This biodiversity wealth gives our people tangible benefits like food, clean water, medicine and materials; it supports agricultural and fisheries production and helps protect us from natural hazards like floods and droughts; and it provides the basis of a vibrant tourism industry while offering natural spaces for recreational and cultural activities.

Historically, local communities have often been only minor recipients of benefits generated by protected areas, as in most cases they have not been owners of either the protected area land or the tourist facilities on that land. The opportunity now exists for local communities, as potentially major landholders through the land reform process, to have full access to the economic opportunities associated with ecotourism.