Identifying opportunities for terrestrial area-based conservation within an urban global biodiversity hotspot

Achieving global area-based conservation targets requires whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, particularly from biodiverse regions of the Global South. We present a practitioner-led examination of opportunities to expand the conservation network in Durban, South Africa, a biodiverse city, using local government mechanisms. We used local government spatial biodiversity and land-use planning data to identify conservation opportunities across tenure types, and an analytical framework to determine, at a high level, feasibility, effectiveness, policy/practice requirements, and climate resilience co-benefits. Traditional authority areas and private landholdings harbour most biodiversity outside conservation areas. Complementary land-use zones and unrealised conservation servitudes represent short-term interventions to increase conservation areas. Alignment of critical biodiversity with biophysical constraints offers significant potential conservation and sustainable development co-benefits. Priorities include developing mechanisms for area-based conservation in traditional authority areas and rezoning threatened vegetation. We provide mechanisms to increase Durban’s conservation estate, bridging the planning-implementation gap, with actionable learnings for Global South cities.