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The Majakaneng Hiking Trail Project put forward by the Magaliesberg Biosphere for the 2021 #SOSAfricanHeritage #relief-fund, is one of 12 projects out of 85 that have been selected this year. The project is being implemented by the Magaliesberg Biosphere NPC with the support of the German Commission for UNESCO and the Federal Foreign office of Germany.

The project enables 12 unemployed young people from the village of Majakaneng, located on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg not far from Brits, to develop an educational and guided “Majakaneng Heritage Trail”. The “Trail Champions” are supported by four Eco-Rangers from Majakaneng who were trained as part of last year’s #SOSAfricanHeritage project.

Besides the trail development and building comfortable facilities for visitors, the project includes aspects of habitat restoration and participatory techniques to encourage the community to find solutions to combat some of the unsustainable practices that are damaging the mountain ecology, such as bark harvesting by ring-barking, commercial wood harvesting and some invasive alien plants and religious ritual practices that are harming water resources. We look forward to engaging with the community and increasing awareness of biodiversity stewardship and sustainable land-use, for the benefit of the entire community and visitors.