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National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003)

Chapter 3 : Declaration of Protected Areas

17. Purpose of protected areas

 

The purpose of the declaration of areas as protected areas are—

(a) to protect ecologically viable areas representative of South Africa’s biological diversity and its natural landscapes and seascapes in a system of protected areas;
(b) to preserve the ecological integrity of those areas;
(c) to conserve biodiversity in those areas;
(d) to protect areas representative of all ecosystems, habitats and species naturally occurring in South Africa;
(e) to protect South Africa’s threatened or rare species;
(f) to protect an area which is vulnerable or ecologically sensitive;
(g) to assist in ensuring the sustained supply of environmental goods and services;
(h) to provide for the sustainable sue of natural and biological resources;
(i) to create or augment destinations for nature-based tourism;
(j) to manage the interrelationship between natural environmental biodiversity, human settlement and economic development;
(k) generally, to contribute to human, social, cultural, spiritual and economic development; or
(l) to rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of endangered and vulnerable species.