Image related to website content

Rocherpan clean-up kicks off MPA Day 2025 celebrations

1 Aug 2025

CapeNature kicked off Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day celebrations with a community-driven beach clean-up at Rocherpan Nature Reserve on 31 July 2025. With school learners, volunteers, and the ever-popular Cubs Club mascot, Kai, lending a hand, all to highlight the link between marine and ocean protection and a public responsibility for conservation.

Now in its fifth year, MPA Day is a growing international movement dedicated to raising awareness about the role of MPAs in conserving biodiversity, supporting sustainable development, and ensuring long-term ocean health. First launched in South Africa in 2021, the date commemorates the historic proclamation of 20 new or expanded MPAs in South Africa on 1 August 2019, a significant milestone in marine protection.

This year’s theme, “Ocean Protection Needs Human Connection,” emphasises the role people play in successful marine conservation with over 90 events set to be held in more than 25 countries. A comprehensive list of events can be found here: MPA Day 2025 Events.

CapeNature manages seven of South Africa’s 42 MPAs, in addition to four nearshore islands and 13 estuaries, many of which are not formally designated as MPAs but contribute significantly to the country’s marine and coastal protected estate.

Marine Protected Areas are the underwater indicators of a healthy environment. MPAs are more than just lines on a map; they are part of a living network that depends on science, enforcement, partnerships, and above all, people. MPA Day is a reminder that a healthy ocean starts with informed and engaged communities who are part of the marine protection solution.

Dr Ashley Naidoo, CEO of CapeNature
Image related to website content
Image related to website content

CapeNature collaborates closely with partners, including the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), universities, conservation NGOs, and research institutions, to carry out regular monitoring across protected coastal areas. These efforts track biodiversity, monitor threats, and inform adaptive management in the face of challenges like overfishing, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.

Join the conversation and show your support by using #MPADay2025 and #LetsTalkMPAs on social media.

Share:

Related News

Cape Nature Green Noise Blog Image with Julia Louw from Wesgro Tourism and Itumeleng Pooe
19 Aug 2025
Celebrating innovative, resilient women in tourism

Women are thriving in tourism and wielding influence from the boardroom to hiking trails, where they beat a pathway for others to follow. They occupy 70% of the tourism workforce in South Africa, and their voices are being amplified in the sector now more than ever. A powerful yet often overlooked statistic that underscores their vital role in the sector.

Klein Estuary Image 1
15 Aug 2025 by Pierre de Villiers
Rivers, Watersheds, and the Klein Estuary: A 2025 Natural Breach Event

Over millions of years, South Africa’s rivers and watersheds have evolved through the forces of erosion, rainfall, and shifting geology. A river catchment, or watershed, is an area of land where all surface water flows toward a single river, stream, or channel, eventually reaching the sea.

Seagull image by taryn elliott
14 Aug 2025
Avian Influenza detected in Western Cape: Public urged to stay alert, not alarmed

High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI or “bird flu”) is a viral disease of birds that can also, on rare occasions, infect humans and mammals. The virus spreads through bird faeces and droplets from the nose and mouth, and is present in other body fluids and tissues of dead birds. The disease can cause high mortality rates in domestic poultry.

Baboon icon
12 Aug 2025
Independent experts’ review of draft action plan for baboon management now available

The Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT) consisting of representatives from SANParks, CapeNature, and the City of Cape Town, wants to inform residents, interested parties, and stakeholders that the independent expert panel’s review of the proposed action plan on baboon management is now available to the public. 

Wilderness Nature Reserve
5 Aug 2025
Boost for freshwater biodiversity as Wilderness Nature Reserve declared

A new nature reserve has been declared in the Western Cape, marking another significant milestone for the province’s environment. The Wilderness Nature Reserve, spanning over 643 hectares, has been declared a Provincial Nature Reserve in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (Act 57 of 2003).