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4.2 Percentage of D’MOSS that is Protected
There has been an increase in D’MOSS that is protected from 6773.67ha in 2021/2022 to 6,913.78ha* in 2023/2024. This equates to 7.25% of the area of D’MOSS that has some form of protection, and this translates to 2.70% of the total EThekwini Municipal Area (EMA) that is formally protected (Table 2). D’MOSS has various catagories of protection including proclaimed and unproclaimed private or public nature reserves; properties that have been bought through the eThekwini Municipality’s (EM) Environmental Land Acquisition Programme; sites where sensitive portions have been protected by Non-User Conservation Servitudes (NUCS) or conservation zone during the development approval process; and sites that have been proactively rezoned to conservation.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in 2022, sets ambitious global goals for
biodiversity conservation, with a key focus on protecting 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal/marine areas by 2030. Target 1 of the framework highlights the importance of ensuring that these protected areas are ecologically representative, well-connected, and equitably governed, while also recognizing indigenous and traditional territories and integrating them into wider landscapes, seascapes, and ocean management systems.
Target 3 builds on this by stressing the need for effective management of protected areas and other effective area- based conservation measures (OECMs), ensuring that conservation efforts contribute to ecosystem functions and services. This target also emphasizes the importance of respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
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