MGUNDENI COMMUNITY’S JOURNEY OF CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT

The Mgundeni community in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, became the first land reform community in the country to sign a biodiversity stewardship agreement in 2009. Through partnership with WWF and government agencies, the community has restored 124 ha of land, implemented a rotational grazing system that eliminated cattle mortality by 2015, and increased their herd size from 520 to over 700 by 2017. The community has diversified its income through commercial cattle auctions and a women-led agroecology vegetable project, earning the 2022 WWF Living Planet Award for its leadership in community-based conservation.

• The Mgundeni community in northern KwaZulu-Natal became the first land reform community in South Africa to sign a biodiversity stewardship agreement on communally owned land in October 2009. This agreement was signed with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and facilitated by WWF. The community has since decided to upgrade the status of the land from a biodiversity agreement to a more formal protected environment status.
• The community has implemented sustainable rangeland and livestock management practices, including a rotational camp system with formal fencing and a herd health vaccination programme. These interventions led to a significant decrease in cattle mortality, which dropped from 30 to 40 deaths between 2013 and early 2014 to zero in 2015. Consequently, the total number of healthy cattle increased from 520 in 2013 to over 700 by 2017.
• Economic diversification and sustainable resource use have been achieved through a sustainable livestock initiative that accesses commercial markets via mobile auctions and a vegetable project managed exclusively by women using agroecology best practices.
• In partnership with WWF and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, the community has engaged in several conservation activities: securing and restoring 124 ha of conservation-worthy land and water sources, training in fire management and rangeland management, and creating local jobs through the clearing of invasive alien plants.
• The Mgundeni community, consisting of 300 members and 30 households owning 1,472 ha of land, was awarded the WWF Living Planet Award in 2022 for its commitment to natural resource management and its role as an ambassador for community-based conservation.

APA

WWF South Africa (2023). MGUNDENI COMMUNITY’S JOURNEY OF CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/mgundeni-case-study-2023.pdf

Chicago

WWF South Africa. MGUNDENI COMMUNITY’S JOURNEY OF CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT. 2023. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/mgundeni-case-study-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=MGUNDENI COMMUNITY’S JOURNEY OF CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT |date=2023 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/mgundeni-case-study-2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafrica2023mgundeni, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{MGUNDENI COMMUNITY’S JOURNEY OF CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2023}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/mgundeni-case-study-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }