The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo will write to the Chairperson of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Economic Development, Environment and Tourism calling for the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) to be summoned to appear before the committee to account for its unilateral and irrational decision to introduce buffalo into the Nylsvley Nature Reserve – without any ecological impact assessment, without considering the reserve’s management plan, and without consulting key stakeholders.
We further call, with the support of civil society partners, on MEC for LEDET, Tshitereke Matibe, to:
Immediately halt the buffalo introduction and relocation programme at Nylsvley;
- Disclose all decision-making records and ecological assessments;
- Engage openly and meaningfully with stakeholders and independent experts; and
- Honour its Ramsar and conservation management obligations.
This matter has created a serious conservation, tourism, and governance crisis.
Nylsvley is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and is one of South Africa’s premier birding destinations. It is home to extensive reedbeds that provide critical breeding habitat for several red-listed waterbird species. The introduction of buffalo – without proper consultation or ecological assessment – places these sensitive habitats at risk and threatens the integrity of the Ramsar site.
The Department’s decision was taken without prior engagement with key stakeholders, including conservation organisations, ecologists, and the local tourism community. No clear rationale has been provided for selecting Nylsvley as the relocation site for confiscated buffalo, and no evidence has been presented to show compliance with the reserve’s management plan.
In addition to the ecological risks, the presence of free-roaming buffalo is incompatible with the activities of thousands of birders and visitors who use the reserve for walking, cycling, and nature-based recreation. This threatens to undermine the tourism value and character of the reserve.
Compounding the problem is the Department’s persistent failure to communicate transparently, to engage meaningfully with stakeholders, or to account for its decision. Stakeholders have received neither the promised minutes of key meetings nor a clear plan of action. This lack of accountability reflects broader, long-standing failures in reserve management – including the collapse of the roan antelope population in the reserve, another state conservation asset.
We note that stakeholders have already commissioned an independent compliance review, attempted to engage with MEC Matibe and LEDET without success, and are considering legal action.
The actions of LEDET not only undermine biodiversity and tourism at Nylsvley but also erode public trust in environmental governance in Limpopo. LEDET must account for its actions – and its inaction.