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the secretary bird . Mountain reedbuck are found in this area .
“ We ’ ve got very special geology , like what you see in Golden Gate , beautiful mountains and rock art paintings on both the communal and private lands . Every winter , the mountains are covered in snow , and in December , there are waterfalls everywhere ,” Nsibande said .
The park is still at the early stages of planning and feasibility , said Kristal Maze , the general manager of park planning and development at SAN- Parks .
“ We ’ re finalising our planning to see where exactly would be suitable for this new national park .”
It is a “ national park with a difference ”, Maze said . “ This is because we ’ re really looking at working with landowners and communities as a foundation for this park … where landowners and users are the main custodians for biodiversity . This is about recognising that this is a working landscape and that there are agricultural activities and livestock grazing by the communities and private landowners .”
People on communal land have thrown their weight behind the project , as have “ quite a few private landowners . Quite a lot of this park is going to depend on landowner willingness and enthusiasm for conservation objectives .”
The project aims to raise significant government funding for the restoration and maintenance of the landscape for water security and creating jobs in alien plant clearing and wetland restoration .
Grasslands are poorly protected in South Africa , Maze said .
“ What we ’ re needing to do as a country is improve the protection of the grasslands biome as a whole which is very rich in species , both threatened and endemic , and is also very important from an ecosystems perspective as well as ecosystem services .”
As a strategic water source area , the region is critically important and underpins a range of production sectors and economic development .
“ So what we ’ re wanting to do is to foster good management of the ecosystems in this area to secure the waterrelated benefits that the area provides ,” she said .
The goal is that by the end of 2022 , the first set of people on communal land and private landowners will be ready to sign an agreement with SANParks .
“ I imagine that by 2023 if we work very well , we ’ ll have some of the first areas declared ,” Maze said , adding that SAN- Parks would be involved in a limited number of land acquisitions .