South Africa is globally recognized for its exceptional biodiversity, hosting high levels of species richness, endemism, and ecosystem diversity across three global biodiversity hotspots. But 36% of the country’s terrestrial ecosystems and 65% of inland aquatic ecosystems are threatened. Declining government budgets and competing socio-economic priorities demand innovative, cost-effective conservation solutions.
Biodiversity Stewardship emerged in the early 2000s as South Africa’s response to these challenges — enabling conservation authorities to enter into voluntary agreements with private and communal landowners to secure biodiversity priority areas. Two decades later, it has become the country’s primary and most effective mechanism for expanding protected and conservation areas, delivering measurable ecological, economic, and social results at scale.
This World Bank report, Analysis of 20 Years of Implementing South Africa’s Biodiversity Stewardship Program, developed in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and with technical support from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), presents the first comprehensive 20-year assessment of the program. It analyzes its development, impacts, lessons learned, and future requirements — and demonstrates why Biodiversity Stewardship stands as a South African innovation with strong potential for global replication. The report was prepared by experts from Conservation Outcomes, and reflects feedback from a substantial consultation effort, drawing on 71 direct interviews, engagement with 11 traditional communities across four provinces, and five structured workshops/technical sessions with DFFE, SANBI, the National Biodiversity Stewardship Technical Working Group, and the Legal Reference Group.
