Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

Description

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organization responsible for wildlife conservation and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is officially named the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Board.

The organization was known as the Natal Parks Board before 1994, when it merged with the KwaZulu Department of Nature Conservation formed under apartheid. Its headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park in Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital.

The organization manages more than 120 protected areas across KwaZulu-Natal, from small urban reserves to large wilderness areas across the province. These include two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Its flagship reserve, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, is Africa’s oldest proclaimed game reserve, established in 1895.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife played a central role in saving the southern white rhino from extinction and now works to conserve the black rhinoceros. It also protects marine turtle nesting sites and coelacanth habitat within the many ecosystems it manages.