Knight, RichardDyssel, Michael2023-01-092024-10-302023-01-092024-10-302022https://hdl.handle.net/10566/16883Philosophiae Doctor - PhDIt is assumed that expanding the size and/or number of protected and conservation areas can contribute to more effective conservation, ecosystem services and environmental protection. Expansion is normally a response to continuous environmental threats and subsequent needs to enhance the protection and conservation of valuable biodiversity, geodiversity and heritage assets. Targets for global, regional and country-based protected area expansion are set and driven by conservation authorities across different geographical scales – from the global International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the local-level protected area.enBiodiversityBiologyConservationWestern CapeSouth Africa’s National Protected Area Expansion Strategy (NPAES)University of the Western Cape