Celebrating 10 Years of Partnership Across the Greater Kruger Landscape

This year marks 10 years since the formation of the Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF).

Established in 2016 in response to an escalating rhino poaching crisis across the Greater Kruger landscape, GKEPF was founded on a simple but important understanding: that the long-term protection of an open, connected landscape could not be achieved by any one reserve, organisation, or sector working alone.

Eleven founding Management Authorities, including nine private reserves, one provincial reserve, and the Kruger National Park, came together to form a unified alliance dedicated to protecting this globally significant rhino population.

Over the past decade, GKEPF has evolved from a coordinated response to rhino poaching into a broader landscape-level platform supporting collaborative conservation across the Greater Kruger. While rhino protection remains an important part of this work, GKEPF now supports a much wider range of initiatives that strengthen the protection and resilience of both wildlife and people across the landscape.

Today, the organisation continues to work alongside Management Authorities, government partners, NGOs, donors, communities, and conservation stakeholders to help strengthen one of the world’s most important conservation landscapes.

“It’s the only place in the world where such a big landmass is under conservation by different entities working as one unit.”
— Ian Nowak, General Manager and Head Warden, Balule Nature Reserve

Over the past ten years, GKEPF has supported and contributed to a number of important landscape-level milestones and collaborative initiatives, including:

  • Inclusion within Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area cooperative structures
  • Strengthening relationships and coordination between private and public sector conservation partners
  • Technical collaboration agreements with SANParks and provincial authorities
  • Participation in national wildlife economy and biodiversity policy processes
  • Publication of Project Fire and support to evidence-based conservation approaches
  • Expansion of socio-ecological resilience initiatives across the landscape
  • Support for the Rhino Rewild programme and other large-scale rhino translocation initiatives in partnership with African Parks
  • Ongoing support to coordinated landscape-level safety and security efforts
  • Partnership support for youth and community initiatives, including the GKEPF-James Mayinga Foundation U19 Cup tournament
  • Continued strengthening of partnerships between reserves, communities, NGOs, government, and donors

The past decade has also highlighted the importance of moving beyond isolated approaches toward more connected, landscape-level conservation models.

“The foundations that have been built by GKEPF over the past ten years have really proven what collaboration can do.”
— Gus van Dyk, General Manager, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve

As the landscape and its challenges continue to evolve, so too does the role of GKEPF. While wildlife protection remains critically important, there is an increasing recognition that long-term conservation success depends on resilient ecosystems, strong partnerships, and meaningful engagement with people and communities connected to the landscape.

“It is really starting to look at conservation at the landscape level, bringing everyone into it as custodians and joint accountability… putting people at the centre of conservation.”
— Dr Marisa Coetzee, CEO, GKEPF

The 10-year milestone also marks the beginning of a new chapter for the organisation, including the ongoing co-development of a renewed strategy alongside stakeholders and partners across the landscape.

While much has changed over the past decade, one thing remains constant: the strength of the Greater Kruger landscape lies in partnership.

As GKEPF looks toward the next ten years, the focus remains on continuing to strengthen collaboration, support resilience, and help ensure a thriving future for both people and wildlife across the landscape.

Watch the GKEPF 10 Year Anniversary film on our YouTube channel Here