People Meets Planet: GKS Showcased at Windaba 2025 as a Model for Collaboration in Conservation
At this year’s Windaba Conference, Marli Schoeman, ESG & Biodiversity Manager at Globeleq, took the stage during Plenary Session 2 – Wind Energy Social Impact: People Meets Planet, Collaboration for Conservation to present the Greater Kromme Stewardship (GKS) as a leading case study in conservation through collaboration.
Her presentation underscored a vital truth: “Green energy is needed—but not without impacts. We must lead the way.” The wind industry is uniquely positioned to drive conservation at scale, particularly when individual players work together to meet stakeholder and environmental needs.
Collaborating for Conservation
The GKS initiative is a partnership between seven wind farms in the Eastern Cape—Jeffreys Bay, Tsitsikamma, Gibson Bay, Oyster Bay, and the Impofu East, West & North Wind Farms—together with Conservation Outcomes, the Kromme Enviro Trust and RedCap.
Through the Biodiversity Stewardship framework, GKS supports landowners in creating formally declared nature reserves, with the wind farms collectively funding the initiative through annual subscriptions. These funds cover operational costs, legal and declaration fees, management plans, office space, and project administration.
A Decade of Innovative Impact
Since inception, GKS has:
- Established 11 new nature reserves, protecting over 1,000 hectares with another 2,100 hectares in process.
- Safeguarded critical biodiversity, including:
- Breeding and foraging grounds for the Endangered Black Harrier
- Habitat for the Eastern Cape Dwarf Chameleon
- The Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld (EN) — one of the last remaining viable units of this critically threatened ecosystem.
More than 95% of the original Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld has already been lost to agriculture, urban expansion, and habitat degradation, making this protection effort invaluable.
Community Resilience and Education
Beyond biodiversity, GKS initiatives support alien clearing in water catchment areas, environmental education, and an internship program that mentors future environmental professionals — ensuring that both people and the planet thrive together.
Simple. Scalable. Sustainable.
Marli concluded with a call to action:
“Imagine an initiative like this around all wind clusters. The model is unique, yet simple — a blueprint for scalable, lasting conservation impact.”
As the renewable energy sector grows, GKS stands as proof that collaboration can ensure biodiversity, community resilience, and sustainable progress go hand in hand.