8 April 2013: The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) has reported that the Government of South Africa has designated the uMgeni Vlei Nature Reserve, a BirdLife Important Bird Area in KwaZulu-Natal province, as its 21st Wetland of International Importance.

According to the Ramsar Secretariat, the site is located in the Drakensberg Alpine Centre biodiversity hotspot, and supports endemic and nationally threatened plant species. It also serves as a breeding ground for several waterbirds including threatened species. The site is threatened by the invasive American bramble Rubus cuneifolius.

South Africa’s designation contributes to one of the goals contained in the Ramsar Convention’s Strategic Plan for 2009-2015, which is to reach a protected area of 250 million hectares by 2015. [Ramsar Press Release]