The Greater Addo-Amathole Biodiversity Economy Node is a GEF7-funded conservation and economic development initiative implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks) in the Eastern Cape. It forms part of the broader national project, Catalysing Financing and Capacity for the Biodiversity Economy around Protected Areas, supported by the World Bank and executed in partnership with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA).

The node spans a landscape stretching from the Addo Elephant National Park in the west to the Great Fish River Nature Reserve in the east, encompassing thirteen municipalities and a population of over 3.1 million people. The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s poorest province, with a regional unemployment rate of 34.7%, yet it is simultaneously a biodiversity hotspot with significant strategic water resources and high potential for nature-based economic growth.

The GAA BEN works across six biodiversity economy sectors: the wildlife economy, ecotourism, conservation-compatible agriculture, the restoration economy, bioprospecting, and the marine economy. Together, these sectors form the basis of a place-based beneficiation model designed to generate sustainable livelihoods, expand conservation-compatible land use, and attract investment into rural communities.

The initiative’s strategic direction is guided by the GAA BEN Master Plan, launched in 2026, which provides a spatial and institutional blueprint for integrating economic development with biodiversity conservation across the node. It aligns with South Africa’s White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (2023), the draft National Biodiversity Economy Strategy (2024), and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.