The highest state conservation authority in the country is the National Parks Board (hereafter referred to as the "Parks Board" or simply the "Board").

The activities of the Parks Board are regulated by an act of parliament, the National Parks Act 57 of 1976. The Board manages a number of protected areas around the country, of which the largest and oldest is the Kruger National Park (hereafter referred to as the "Kruger Park", the "Park" or simply "Kruger"). The Kruger Park is unquestionably South Africa's flagship conservation area. At a size of about two million hectares, it covers more land than all the country's other national parks put together.