Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Across the Eastern Cape, groups of landholders manage their natural resources collectively, rather than individually at farm level. Wildlife, water, fire, grazing systems, and soil processes all operate across property boundaries.
Conservancies have therefore become a practical way for neighbours to coordinate land management and natural resource use at a scale that reflects how these systems function, while keeping farms productive and economically viable.
Origins and evolution
The first conservancies in the province were established in the 1980s, mainly to address stock theft and improve access control between farms. These early cooperative structures soon expanded in purpose. As farmers recognised the value of joint planning for wildlife use, veld health, and water and fire management, conservancies became a broader tool for managing landscapes collectively.
Provincial policy later gave them formal recognition, providing landowners with the mandate to apply for a single conservancy-wide permit to manage and sustain healthy game populations across these large landscapes.
How conservancies operate
A conservancy is a voluntary association of adjoining landowners who agree to manage shared natural resources together. Members retain full control over their own land, but collaborate on matters such as wildlife monitoring and use, alien species clearing, soil erosion work, infrastructure maintenance, and collective fundraising events. Each conservancy typically has a constitution, an elected steering committee, and a management plan that guides decisions.
Annual meetings allow members to review information and agree on actions for the coming year. This coordination, in addition to the single conservancy sustainable-use permit, helps reduce administrative burdens and provides a centralised, structured way to engage with government and industry.
Productive and regenerative land use
The conservancy model supports working landscapes instead of restricting them, whilst promoting sustainable resource use. In several regions, especially around Graaff-Reinet, landowners are adopting more regenerative grazing approaches, such as time-controlled grazing and various forms of regenerative agriculture.
When these practices are coordinated across multiple properties, improvements in veld condition become more sustainable. Better ground cover, soil structure and habitat diversity support domestic livestock and free-roaming game, while reinforcing the long-term economic value of the landscape and associated diversified business models.
Institutional support
In recognition of the need for a representative body to further support this effective model, the Conservancies Management Association Eastern Cape (CMAEC) was formed in collaboration with Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) and Agri-Eastern Cape. It currently has 21 member conservancies, with each conservancy averaging around 45 000ha in size, and their own membership bases of around 20 landholders.
CMAEC represents conservancies through advocating for them in emerging legislation, streamlining permit processes, and providing general administrative and documentation support. The centralised association serves as a link between conservancies, government and agricultural, wildlife ranching and hunting organisations. As new provincial regulations are developed, this coordination helps ensure that conservancies remain practical and grounded in the everyday realities of farming.
Starting a conservancy
Forming a conservancy begins with a few neighbours voluntarily agreeing to work together on shared challenges and opportunities, whether related to wildlife, veld management, water use or security. They define the area and members they wish to include, draft a constitution, and prepare a management plan that reflects how resources will be used and monitored.
These documents are then submitted to the nearest regional office of the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEAT) in the Eastern Cape. Legal designation of conservancies was recently provided through the Eastern Cape Environmental Management Act, 2024 (Act 1 of 2024), for which regulations are still being drafted. This status gives conservancies stronger legal standing while avoiding the constraints of other conservation landscape models under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act 57 of 2003).
Looking ahead
Conservancies offer a practical way for landholders to strengthen the ecological and economic foundations of their landscapes. They enable coordinated management of resources that naturally extend across boundaries and support the long-term sustainability of farming in the Eastern Cape. – Emily Lazenby, Conservancies Management Association Eastern Cape (CMAEC)
For more information, contact Emily Lazenby, secretary of the CMAEC via WhatsApp on 081 800 7265 or cmaeasterncape@gmail.com.
