South Africa's environment minister, David Maynier, declared 18 properties covering about 10,226 hectares as the Grasslands National Park on October 9.
The park is in the Eastern Cape highlands between Nqanqarhu and Rhodes. South African National Parks was assigned to manage it.
The area includes under-protected grassland ecosystems and part of the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, which the government says is important for water security, biodiversity and local livelihoods.
The park was established primarily through biodiversity stewardship. Participating landowners keep ownership while agreeing to conservation and management arrangements, and compatible farming can continue.
