KZN loses one of its conserved sights

The provincial heritage agency of KwaZulu-Natal,
Amafa granted permission for commercial cultivation
to proceed on the very last section of empty land on
what was previously known as the York Village
Commonage, in October 2016.



The portion of uncultivated land is situated close to
New Hanover in a section of KwaZulu-Natal that has
seen an almost complete destruction of the natural
grasslands in favour of commercial tree plantations
and introduced cultivars.

The remaining piece of grassland presents an unclear
memory of what this section of KwaZulu-Natal would
have looked like before the advent of colonial
destruction of its original state.

As much as land developers have tried to rationalise
developing the land, conservers have opposed this,
saying the land has the potential to be rehabilitated
into its previous form.

Conservers said South Africa became a participant to
the World Heritage Convention, an international
agreement between countries to protect heritage
sites deemed worthy of outstanding international
value, in 1997.

However, no cultural landscapes were identified in
KwaZulu-Natal.

Despite the legal power of responsibility, heritage
agencies were reluctant to oppose development if it
implies economic returns in an area.