Kruger to Canyons Biosphere

The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere is a biosphere reserve. There are currentlysix biosphere reserves established within South Africa, of which the Kruger to Canyons is the largest (and currently the third largest in the world), encompassing savannahs, grasslands and forests that roughly cover over 4.8 million hectares of land in South Africa and Mozambique. After a lengthy 5-year period in which the application form was completed, the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere received UNESCO registration in October 2001.LocationIt is situated in the North Eastern section of South Africa and includes two of South Africa’s key tourism sites – the Kruger National Park and the Blyde River Canyon, as well as one of the leading international floral hotspots, the Wolkberg Region. The current boundaries of the registered Biosphere extend from the Letaba River in the North to the Sabie River in the South and the Blyde Escarpment in the West to the Mozambique border in the East.SizeThis give a total of 2,474,700 Ha of which the core zone is 898,300 Ha, the buffer zone 476,400 Ha and the Transition Zone is 1,100,000 Ha. Within this region, there are approximately 1,155 permanent residents in the core zones, 10,475 in the buffer zones and 1,488,684 in the transition zones. This extensive geographical area, together with the large number of residents within the region, all adds up to a very active and a very diverse area.