From the summit plateau to surrounding communities

The MaS-LTSER platform covers approximately 1 200 km² of the northern Maloti-Drakensberg. It is centred on the transboundary Mont-Aux-Sources region and includes alpine and montane environments in Lesotho, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

The landscape includes the Mont-Aux-Sources plateau, the Amphitheatre and uThukela Falls; the headwaters of the uThukela, Namahadi, Khubelu and Malibamat’so river systems; protected areas; communally managed rangelands; tourism nodes; transport corridors; settlements and mining areas. This variety allows environmental processes and human activities to be studied within one connected mountain system.