Eden to Addo Biodiversity Corridor, Eastern Cape

Eden to Addo Biodiversity Corridor

In its simplest form, a biodiversity corridor is a strip of land that links two protected areas. The aim of a biodiversity corridor is to conserve threatened and endemic species, and to annex a stretch of land in which mammals can migrate and wander across, restoring the natural balance of things.

The way humans choose to fragment and divide land has led to a decrease of biodiversity and death of species. The corridor effectively seeks to undo this by linking a series of protected areas, connecting species, communities and ecological processes. In essence, it is ridding the landscape of artificial boundaries, and restoring connectivity, and hopefully reversing the extinction of species.

The Eden to Addo biodiversity corridor connects the Western Cape and Eastern Cape with a far reaching dream that underlies the project – that of restoring the ancient elephant migration paths across the Cape, and the effects this would have on the ecological balance of the region.

The corridor links the Garden Route National Park, the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve and the Addo Elephant National Park via natural corridors. Those behind the initiative intend helping landowners by applying sound land-use practices and encouraging diversity in these areas.

The Eden to Addo hike, the longest hike in South Africa, which takes place annually in September is one of the ways of raising awareness of the corridor and the underlying issues involved in achieving the dream.

In October 2011 the first Eden to Addo Great Corridor Challenge took place. 25 cyclists travelled on mountain bike and on foot, along old elephant migration routes – 8 days of mountain biking, 2 days of hiking and 1 day of hiking and mountain biking. Funds raised from the event went towards the corridor project.