South Africa has declared eighteen Eastern Cape properties as Grasslands National Park, covering 10,225.9242 hectares. A 9 October government announcement published by SANParks says the declaration moves the area from a proposal to a formally established national park.
The landscape lies between Nqanqarhu and Rhodes and includes part of an important Eastern Cape Drakensberg water-source area. The announcement links protection of underrepresented grassland ecosystems with biodiversity, water security and livelihoods associated with agricultural land in the region.
The park was established primarily through biodiversity stewardship. Participating landowners retain ownership while committing their properties to agreed conservation and management arrangements. According to the announcement, agricultural activity compatible with conservation may continue within that model.
Management has been assigned to SANParks. WWF South Africa helped coordinate the park's establishment alongside the environment department and other partners. The arrangement therefore combines a national conservation institution with cooperation involving the people who own and work the land.
The declaration followed a notice of intention in 2025 and the completion of the statutory process, the department says. That establishes the project's new formal status. It does not, by itself, announce visitor accommodation, public access routes or a booking system for the new park.
The significance is the attempt to protect a connected landscape while maintaining compatible uses of working land. Its performance will depend on the conservation and management commitments being carried through. The announcement provides the institutional starting point; ecological results and future visitor arrangements are separate matters to follow.