Assessing management effectiveness and setting priorities in protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife is the governmental agency responsible for managing protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, South Africa. The agency recently conducted an assessment of the management effectiveness of all 110 protected areas throughout the province. The assessment highlighted a range of management problems, including poor design and layout of protected areas; staffing problems; and inadequate financial resources, management planning, research efforts, and resource inventories. Major threats include invasive alien plants and the isolation of protected areas, the latter leading to problems in species viability. The assessment was part of a broader systematic conservation planning program being conducted throughout KZN Province; this article concludes with a discussion of how these two assessment processes are being integrated.