Who We Are
Building a safer Greater Kruger where people and wildlife prosper.
Who We Are
Building a safer Greater Kruger where people and wildlife prosper.
Our History
The Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) was established in 2016 in direct response to the escalating rhino poaching crisis that was devastating wild rhino populations across the Greater Kruger. 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 population.
Today our purpose has expanded, and we act as a trusted collective voice and regional coordinating and facilitating hub across the Greater Kruger landscape, partnering with global and local actors, ensuring safety, security, and resilience for both people and biodiversity.
Management Authorities
GKEPF brings together management authorities operating across the Greater Kruger landscape, spanning national, provincial, and privately managed protected areas in South Africa, as well as a cross-border partner in Mozambique. Together, these authorities form a connected conservation system that supports ecological connectivity and the free movement of wildlife across jurisdictional boundaries.
Given the diversity and the sheer geographical scale, operational efforts within GKEPF management authorities are decentralized. GKEPF facilitates joint projects while reserves focus their effort in their geographic area of responsibility and influence.
Through coordinated planning and structured information sharing, GKEPF supports a unified approach to safeguarding this globally significant landscape, strengthening collective capacity while respecting the individual mandates of each management authority.
Sandringham Private Nature Reserve
Thornybush Nature Reserve
The Greater Kruger Landscape
The Greater Kruger spans over 2.5 million hectares across northeastern South Africa and into Mozambique, forming part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. At its core lies the Kruger National Park, established in 1926 as South Africa’s first national park. Over time, neighbouring reserves, including Sabi Sand, Timbavati, Klaserie, Thornybush, Manyeleti, Mala Mala, Sabie, and Umbabat, removed internal fences to create an open ecological system, allowing wildlife to move freely across a continuous landscape.
However, the Greater Kruger is more than wilderness.
Along its western and southern boundaries lie over four million people living in densely populated rural and peri-urban communities, making this one of the most complex conservation frontiers in the world. High unemployment, inequality, and limited access to basic services intersect with wildlife protection challenges, creating both risks and opportunities for collaboration.
Through promoting shared commitment and pride, GKEPF and its partners are helping shape a landscape where ecosystems thrive, communities prosper, and conservation becomes a collective responsibility for all who call the Greater Kruger home.
Alliance Partners
GKEPF has agreements with the South African government departments including the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the South African National Parks (SANParks) and Mpumulanga Tourism & Parks Agency (MTPA).
GKEPF is the coordinator of the Integrated Wildlife Zones (IWZ) Premier Zone of South Africa and has representation on several government law enforcement forums. Further, we engage closely with Limpopo Economic Development, Environment & Tourism (LEDET) and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Together, these partners form a unified network committed to safeguarding biodiversity, supporting people and wildlife, and strengthening the resilience of this globally significant ecosystem.
Our Programmes
Over the past decade, GKEPF has invested over R80 million ($5 million) to establish a safe, secure, and resilient Greater Kruger landscape. GKEPF’s philosophy for our three program areas is to PARTNER, PROTECT and PROSPER so that ecosystems flourish, biodiversity thrives, and communities are integral partners in conservation across the Greater Kruger landscape.
We PARTNER to build strategic alliances and share information between communities, government, and conservation agencies, ensuring coordinated, accountable action.
We PROTECT by deploying technology, air support, training, law enforcement, judiciary reforms and monitoring systems that disrupt wildlife crime and safeguard biodiversity.
We PROSPER by coordinating wildlife management and community-led projects that build pride, ecological balance, secure livelihoods, provides opportunities and reduces incentives for wildlife crime.
2025
Financials
The Greater Kruger Environmental Protection Foundation (GKEPF) is a registered public benefit organisation number 930054138 with tax exemption.
News & Stories
Partner Spotlight: Klaserie Private Nature Reserve
For more than 50 years, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve has been protecting one of the largest privately protected wilderness areas […]
Youth Day Sports Against Crime Tournament Promotes Conservation Through Sport
Sport once again provided a powerful platform for conservation engagement as more than 600 young people gathered at Skukuza Stadium […]
Kruger2Canyon Challenge Brings the Conservation Community Together
Members of the GKEPF team recently took part in the Kruger2Canyon Challenge, joining runners from across Southern Africa for one […]
