DISCOVER
Restoring and rewilding the Nuwejaars Recognising the region’ s ecological importance, local farmers and the community of Elim began working together in the early 2000s to protect it. Their collaboration led to the creation of the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area, secured through title deed restrictions on each property to ensure long-term conservation.
Covering 47 000 hectares, the area is managed by the Nuwejaars River Nature Reserve, a non-profit company and public benefit organisation. Around half of the landscape is actively being restored and rewilded, with a focus on wetlands and natural areas. The remaining 22,000 hectares continue to be farmed sustainably, maintaining the region’ s agricultural productivity alongside conservation.
Clearing invasives and protecting rare species Much of the restoration work focuses on reversing decades of degradation caused by invasive alien plants. Over the past year alone, invasive species were cleared across 3 470 hectares of wetlands and fynbos. Livestock are removed from areas under restoration, allowing natural ecological processes to recover.
Ongoing ecological surveys guide conservation priorities and enable rapid responses to emerging threats. Of the more than 1 900 fynbos and renosterveld plant species recorded in the area, nearly 10 % are classified as threatened and receive focused protection.
Priority species include the endangered micro frog( Microbatrachella capensis), the African marsh harrier, and the bontebok, grey rhebok and Cape leopard. The wetlands also support highly threatened freshwater fish found nowhere else, such as the Agulhas redfin
These wetlands and surrounding landscapes support vegetation and animals found nowhere else on Earth.
30 | AUTUMN 2026 • rovesa. co. za