Internationally celebrated South African actor and playwright Dr John Kani was recognised for his contribution to the environmental cause, receiving the 2025 WWF Living Planet Award. Kani, alongside the Overberg Renosterveld Trust, were named the winner of the award at a ceremony in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Dr John Kani, with WWF board chair Valli Moosa, receiving the Living Planet Award. Image supplied.
Dr John Kani
Dr John Kani received the award for his work as the longest-serving trustee of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, and for his donation of time and famous voice (whom many will remember as the voice of Rafiki in the remake of The Lion King) in support of WWF’s work.
This is the first time that Kani’s contribution to the environmental cause has been acknowledged.
Over the course of a long and prestigious career, Kani has received many awards, more recently an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2023 for his services to drama and theatre.
Alongside his service with the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, he generously contributed audio and visual material to several WWF campaigns.
These include Earth Hour, a global movement that connects people with nature; a WWF “Nature Matters” campaign; and the narration for a documentary titled Wild Zambezi, spotlighting the environmental risks facing the Lower Zambezi River.
WWF CEO Dr Morné du Plessis commented: “Through the Living Planet Award, we recognise exceptional individuals and organisations in South Africa who make significant contributions to environmental conservation and inspire people to live in harmony with nature.
“During Dr Kani’s decades of service, the WWF Nedbank Green Trust funded catalytic projects that have brought real change to the lives of South Africans and to the natural environment on which we all depend.
“With this award, we say ‘thank you, Tata John Kani, for your service.’”
Overberg Renosterveld Trust
The winner of the Living Planet Award in the organisational category is the Overberg Renosterveld Trust (ORT), which has worked tirelessly to secure the last remnants of one of the world’s most threatened veld types in the neglected lowland habitats of the Overberg in the Western Cape.
It is here that intensive farming has led to 95% of the original veld being converted to croplands.
Despite this wholesale loss of what was once a unique jewel in South Africa’s biodiversity crown, the remaining 5% of renosterveld (most of which is in private hands) supports a large range of endemic and threatened animals and plants, in particular bulb species, making it one of the most threatened habitats on Earth.
The driving force behind the ORT is Dr Odette Curtis-Scott, a tireless champion of the renosterveld cause, including the many birds, plants, pollinators and mammals it supports.
Dr Odette Curtis-Scott from the Renosterveld Overberg Trust with Valli Moosa, WWF board chair. Image supplied.
In the course of her work, she has discovered several plant species new to science, two of which are named after her (Otholobium curtisiae and Polhillia curtisiae).
Other milestones include partnering with organisations such as WWF South Africa, World Land Trust, WildLandscapes International, IUCN NL and Mapula Trust to secure critical land for conservation.
The first major acquisition was the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve in 2012.
More recently, the Plaatjieskraal and Goereesoe renosterveld landscapes were added.
Together, these acquisitions mean that the ORT now owns / co-owns and manages the largest remaining stretch of renosterveld on Earth.
Earlier this year, Haarwegskloof was also officially declared a provincial nature reserve.
Dr Du Plessis commented, “Under the leadership of Odette Curtis-Scott, the Overberg Renosterveld Trust is a shining example of what can be achieved when conservationists work in partnership with landowners with a common objective in mind.
“Through the ORT’s tireless efforts, creativity and collaboration, ORT has raised awareness and saved remnants of a community of plants and animals that would otherwise be lost to the world.”
