South Africa’s Drakensberg grasslands are home to more than 2500 species of plants and endangered birds such as the wattled crane. Fresh water from this area provides crucial clean drinking water for millions of people. It’s also an important landscape for sheep farming. But this landscape is under threat. In 2021, WWF and H&M Group started a regenerative wool production partnership project in South Africa’s Drakensberg grasslands.
Wool has the potential to be a long-lasting material in fashion. It’s environmental impact depends on several factors, including how sheep are raised and grazing land is managed. Regenerative farming practices aim to improve land management and support biodiversity in wool-producing landscapes. The Eastern Cape Drakensberg is one of the eco-regions in the country where wool production has a particularly significant impact in a critically endangered biome. Addressing the threats that overgrazing, invasive species and poor land management pose to the Eastern Cape Drakensberg grasslands is an overlapping priority for WWF and H&M Group.
The partnership project aims to support the adoption of regenerative wool production practices across the South African Grasslands biome, with the objective of improving land management, supporting biodiversity conservation and contributing to local livelihoods. It aims to assist in securing the Eastern Cape Drakensberg strategic water source area, protecting biodiversity corridors, and contributing to the viability of the new Grasslands National Park in South Africa. By working with both small- and large scale commercial and communal sheep farmers and local communities, the project aims to support improved grazing and land management practices, strengthen farmers’ ability to adapt to changing climate conditions and contribute to the restoration of natural habitats.
Why must we invest in these rangelands?
The grasslands are critical biomes for biodiversity globally and particularly in South Africa. They cover nearly 30% of South Africa’s land area, providing habitats for nearly half of the country’s 34 endemic mammals, but the landscape is under threat and only approximately 3% of the land area is formally protected. The grasslands provide habitats for 10 of the 14 globally threatened bird species found in South Africa, a third of the 107 threatened butterfly species in South Africa and more than 2500 plant species live in these habitats.
Within the Eastern Cape Drakensberg area threats to the grasslands include overgrazing by cattle and sheep, poor rangeland and fire management, invasive plants and land clearance for crops. The Eastern Cape Drakensberg grasslands have also been identified as a strategic conservation priority area by WWF South Africa due to its significance for biodiversity and as a Strategic Water Source Area.
Key activities and results of the WWF and H&M Group partnership project
Some of the key achievements between 2021-2026 of the WWF and H&M Group Partnership include:
- Roughly 12,200 hectares of grazing land secured under conservation agreements*
- More than 110 cumulative hectares of invasive plants have been cleared and maintained to prevent regrowth (July 2025 value). These are areas and river systems most threatened by invasive plants that have been mapped out together with farmers and a local team has been established to then clear these areas.
- 389 community members supported in organizing themselves into three rangeland management associations for collective grazing planning and improved governance of their shared grazing land.
- 5,039 sheep vaccinated (July 2025 value)
- Trainings and Workshops held on fire management; herbicide applicators; de-worming programmes for animals; vaccination programmes and animal disease awareness as well as human-wildlife conflict management.
- Water monitoring studies conducted as part of long-term impact monitoring.
*Not all of the areas mentioned above are included in the first phase of the national park declaration.
Looking ahead
This initiative provides an opportunity to explore how conservation organizations and corporate partners can collaborate to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity through work with large and small–scale farmers on regenerative production. The experiences and lessons learned from the project can also inform future efforts by H&M Group and WWF to support improved grazing and land management practices in wool-producing regions.
Videos and fact sheets
