WhyAfrica visits 8 of SA’s top national parks during the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip
South Africa’s biodiversity is a critical natural resource.
By Leon Louw founder of Endorphin Expeditions and WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine
Its diverse ecological regions host an array of plant and animal species and protect important water catchment areas, while playing a pivotal role in climate systems, supporting livelihoods and sustaining a world class tourism industry.
This biodiversity is protected and managed by state owned entity South African National Parks (SANParks) in 20 national parks across the most important ecological regions of the country.
The 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip
This year, in another first (there were many in 2025) WhyAfrica visited eight national parks in South Africa and stayed over in and interviewed management in six of SANPark’s biodiversity hotspots as part of the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip.
At WhyAfrica we realise that the protection of these biodiversity hotpots and expansion of current national parks is of critical importance. South Africa’s biodiversity and national parks therefore present fantastic investment opportunities.
Investing in SA’s biodiversity
Our aim in working with SANParks during the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip and in the future, is to make investors, especially in the mining, agriculture, infrastructure and renewable energy sectors, aware of our world class national parks and of the opportunities to invest in South Africa’s biodiversity and in the expansion of South Africa’s extraordinary and superb national parks as a part of their social and environmental commitments.
South Africa hosts some of the most diverse ecological hotspots on Earth. It is one of only 17 megadiverse countries, recognised globally for exceptional species richness and endemism.
Within its borders lie three of the world’s 36 biodiversity hotspots: the Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent Karoo, and the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot, each harbouring thousands of species found nowhere else on earth.
This remarkable diversity spans nine major terrestrial biomes, from fynbos and savanna to desert, forest, and grassland, making South Africa a global biodiversity powerhouse despite its relatively small size.
SANParks vision 2040
SANParks’ new Vision 2040 seeks to strengthen the protection of this natural wealth by expanding conservation beyond park borders into “mega living landscapes.” The plan links protected areas with communal and private lands to restore ecosystem connectivity and build climate resilience. It also embeds communities as partners in conservation, aiming for equitable access to nature-based livelihoods and the emerging biodiversity economy.
During the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip we visited, camped in, and interviewed management in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Augrabies National Park (NP), Namaqua NP, Richtersveld NP, West Coast NP, Tankwa Karoo NP, Golden Gate NP and Kruger NP.
Please follow us over the next few months to find out more about WhyAfrica’s remarkable experiences in some of the world’s greatest national parks.
If you have any questions about biodiversity in your area, investing in biodiversity, biodiversity credits and offset banking, please contact WhyAfrica for more information.
Thank you for hosting WhyAfrica SANParks it was an enriching experience!
WhyAfrica visits 8 of SA’s top national parks during the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip
