The Karkloof Conservancy was formed on the 19 March 1998. It is made up of local landowners interested in the protection of biodiversity in the Karkloof and has been actively involved in a number of community projects in the area for the past 13 years.

The Karkloof Conservancy covers an area of 40 000 hectares in the Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal. The area includes wetlands, mist belt grasslands and huge tracts of mist belt forest, which are protected biomes. Some of the farmers are registered crane custodians and all 3 species of crane occur in the area - especially the critically endangered Wattled Crane.

The farmers of the Conservancy participate in various environmentally friendly farming practices, ensuring that they maintain their alien invasives, their soil, the fauna and flora, and the environment as a whole.

Members of the Karkloof Conservancy saw the need for more meaningful public environmental awareness, education and eco-tourism. So after having operated from a limited budget (consisting of subscription fees) for many years, the Karkloof Conservancy managed to fund-raise money from The Wildlands Conservation Trust and built conservation, tourism information and education centre in 2007. The centre was officially opened on the 26th of October 2007.

Email: conservancy@karkloof.co.za