Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area, Elim

The Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA) is an area in which 25 private landowners and local communities work together to collectively manage our land for conservation.

Through this unique conservation model, some 46,000 hectares of often critically endangered habitat is now protected on the Agulhas Plain - at the southernmost region of Africa. The primary goal of the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA) is to protect - and use - the land included in the Special Management Area sustainably, according to triple bottom line principles. We aim to find the balance between environmental integrity, human wellbeing and economic efficiency within the area.

While biodiversity conservation is promoted, so too are sustainable farming practices. As such, farming and conservation work hand in hand. Endangered plants and animals are protected. At the same time, food security from farmland in the Nuwejaars Wetland Ecosystem is not threatened.

This collaboration between landowners and local communities is the first of its kind in South Africa. It required significant commitments from all landowners and communities involved. All had to agree to title deed restrictions to ensure sustainable conservation principles would be maintained. Already the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has expressed its interest in the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA), as a working example of its Man and the Biosphere programme.

- Restore wetlands and other often-threatened habitat through rehabilitation and alien-clearing;
- Promote the wellbeing of all who live within the broader area;
- Promote the sustainable use of biodiversity products to benefit all;
- Promote diverse uses of the wetlands, natural habitats and intensive agricultural activities;
- Promote sustainability in all forms of agriculture;
- Manage the land and manage fire;
- Address climate change;
- And encourage tourists to visit the Agulhas Plain's unique sites.

Otters are generally very shy creatures. However, not in front of the Nuwejaars Wetland SMA cameras. They're also known to be playful creatures, and our otters are certainly no exception.

Happy to show themselves to our camera at night or during the day, we've captured the otter at work and at play in our footage. And they certainly
enjoy SMA mud.

More

One Small Step for a Hippo, but a Giant Leap for Conservation in South Africa.

The muddy footprint, nearly as long as a human's but much wider, is fresh, less than a day old.
The re-introduction of five hippos to the wetlands near Cape Agulhas in Africa's southernmost tip in October 2010-over a century after they were hunted to extinction there-is a hopeful sign. Not just for these chubby mud-lovers and swimmers, but for the human communities they co-exist with. More.