To provide for the protection and conservation of ecologically viable areas  representative of South Africa’s biological diversity and its natural landscapes and  seascapes; for the establishment of a national register of all national, provincial and  local protected areas; for the management of those areas in accordance with  national norms and standards; for intergovernmental co-operation and public  consultation in matters concerning protected areas; for the continued existence, governance and functions of South African National Parks; and for matters in connection  therewith.

[Long title substituted by section 29 of Act 31 of 2004]

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of South Africa as follows:—