An Overview Of Our Solution
Grasslands within the growing economic hub of Africa, central South Africa, are under severe threat from habitat transformation through agriculture, mining and urban development. Our project aims to conserve endemic, threatened flagship wildlife species by securing grasslands here – resulting in a network of protected areas and connecting corridors – through partnerships with farmers. We encourage farmers, through formal proclamation of their land as contributing to the national conservation estate, to practice responsible and sustainable farming with biodiversity in mind, while still allowing for productivity and food security for society (with impact towards Aichi Target 7 under the CBD). To this end, our team has made great strides towards proclaiming over 100,000 ha of farmland under so-called Biodiversity Stewardship, an area larger than many national parks.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Africa
General Information
Organization type
非盈利
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Freshwater
Grasslands
Population impacted
Direct: 216 farmers & 433 workers + families
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
100,000 ha
Production quantity
6 – 8 tons/ha maize, 4 cows and/or 6 sheep per hectare
People employed
650 permanent, plus seasonal workers for maize
Solution
Describe your solution
In privately-owned areas, the conservation of threatened species and their habitat relies heavily on landowner cooperation. It is vital to promote changes in the way that landowners manage their grasslands in order to minimise disturbance and transformation of the remaining intact habitat. We achieve this through education and awareness-raising, dissemination of and training around grazing and burning guidelines and formal proclamation of biodiversity reserves using South Africa’s Biodiversity Stewardship approach. This allows us to secure farmland in priority biodiversity areas by entering into voluntary agreements with private and communal landowners, municipalities and other government entities, and underlined by provincial conservation authorities. We facilitate the signing of selected conservation status criteria into the title deeds of each private farm, giving the properties long-term, formal protection. A range of proclamation options are available to the landowner, which restrict land use (stocking rates for example) at their most extreme (Nature Reserves) to being providing more flexible solutions (Protected Environment/Conservation Agreement). Landowners are therefore able to continue to work their land sustainably, but with conservation principles in mind. We develop management plans with the landowners which suit their land use, and protect the important species habitat on their property, with input from conservation authorities and biodiversity experts.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
We maintain personal, dedicated relationships with landowners and encourage conservation practices which assist with increased productivity while protecting flagship species. Our field officer is vital to our project, and due largely to his efforts, farmers are willing to secure their land under conservation agreements. Proclamation also provides some protection against a large number of mining/fracking applications, which adds to landowner willingness.
We focus on three flagship species: the Sungazer (Smaug giganteus: Vulnerable), Botha’s Lark (Spizocorys fringillaris; Endangered, ~<2,500 individuals), and Yellow-breasted Pipit (Anthus chloris; Endangered, ~2,500-6,500 individuals), all grassland endemics. The few remaining populations survive in small fragments of intact grassland, and habitat transformation (mainly for agriculture/mining) represents a major threat. The conservation of these species and their habitat, particularly on private land, will conserve a vast array of grassland biodiversity and ecosystem services, and contribute to Aichi Target 12. Our work further contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 15 and 17.
We are constantly involved in education and awareness raising towards increasing the public’s knowledge and understanding around biodiversity and associated ecosystem services that ultimately benefit people. We are running an education project in schools in the Free State in collaboration with provincial authorities. We aim to have the Sungazer recognized as South Africa’s National Lizard (in consultation with the Department of Arts and Culture), to further its flagship status for grasslands.
Provincial conservation departments face a severe lack of manpower and financial resources. Proclamation processes cannot move forward swiftly. The EWT recognizes this, and provides a coordinated effort to assistance conservation departments through our groundwork and engagement with landowners around Biodiversity Stewardship.
External connections
• National Zoological Gardens of South Africa – Genetic/population research on Sungazers, development of national Sungazer Biodiversity Management Plan, collaboration on Sungazer Working Group (SWG – chaired by the EWT).
• Pan-African Association of Zoos and Aquaria – Sungazer husbandry/collaboration on SWG.
• Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (provincial conservation department – Free State), Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (provincial conservation department - Mpumalanga), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (provincial conservation department – KwaZulu-Natal) – support for and collaboration with the team for proclamation of areas under Biodiversity Stewardship and the SWG.
• University of Pretoria, Tshwane University of Technology and University of KwaZulu-Natal (Sungazer and Yellow-Breasted Pipit post graduates and research)
• National Department of Environmental Affairs – Biodiversity Management Plan for Sungazers, collaboration on SWG.
• South African National Biodiversity Institute – Biodiversity Management Plan for Sungazers, collaboration on SWG.
• World Wide Fund for Nature (South Africa, WWF-SA), Birdlife South Africa, Conservation Outcomes, Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), Wildlands - collaboration on proclamation of Biodiversity Stewardship areas and coordinated NGO support for provincial conservation departments.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
Our challenge is to formally protect sensitive and threatened habitat, specifically in the Grassland Biome of South Africa. Over 60% of our grasslands are irreversibly transformed, and under mining/prospecting this could increase significantly. Grassland areas are also often degraded through overgrazing and inappropriate burning regimes. Currently they are poorly conserved, with less than 2% under formal protection. Grasslands are home to a number of threatened and endemic species which have received little or no conservation attention. Our focus is on securing priority habitat under formal proclamation using Biodiversity Stewardship, which includes the compilation of negotiated management plans for farmers. These encourage sustainable production to ensure food security. We aim to support long-term conservation of grassland biodiversity as well as to secure key ecosystem services (clean water production, pollination and soil fertility), to the greater benefit of society.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Our project is based in two of South Africa’s provinces. The Free State (129,825 km2, 2,817,900 people) supports more than 30,000 farms, produces over 70% of the country's grain and is known as the country’s breadbasket. Unemployment is estimated to be at 40% - a major concern. Mpumalanga (76,495 km2, 4,283,9002 people) has an estimated unemployment rate of around 26%. Mining and agriculture are the main economic activities here, with over 80% of the country’s coal deposits occurring within the province. These prime mineral deposits overlap with highly fertile Highveld grasslands which are important for agriculture, but also key for water-related ecosystem service delivery, as well as a valuable network of wetlands which perform ecosystem functions such as water purification and nutrient cycling. Our area hosts 3 of the 21 national strategic water source areas. These cumulatively cover 8% of the national surface area but provide more than 50% of our water resources.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
We will shortly proclaim the Versamelberge Protected Environment (PE) in Mpumalanga (~70 properties, multiple landowners), which is important not only for our flagship species, the Sungazer, but also water production. We are initiating the proclamation of two other PEs with a focus on connectivity and preservation of Sungazer habitat. For the first time, areas that support the globally Endangered Botha’s Lark are in the process of being proclaimed as a PE. The total area proposed to be added to the conservation estate (driven by the EWT) amounts to over 100,000 ha (an area equivalent to about that of the Karoo and Golden Gate National Parks combined), contributing to Aichi Target 5 under the CBD (reducing habitat loss) in our region. We also support BirdLife SA with the proposed Wilge Stewardship Initiative, providing conservation links between private stewardship areas and the Ingula Nature Reserve, and WWF-SA on the proclamation of the Volkrust/Wakkerstroom proposed PE.
Language(s)
English
Water
Overgrazed or over-burnt land can lead to rainfall flowing off the ground surface at high speed, thus reducing the water which filters through the surface and is stored below ground, and taking vital topsoil and nutrients with it. Therefore, storage of rainwater, nutrient storage and sustained water supply, particularly in the dry winter season, are key positive returns from preserving healthy grasslands in partnership with farmers.
Food Security/Nutrition
Our solution allows farmers to continue working their land while supporting the conservation of important habitat. This benefits production through more sustainable farming (improved grazing/burning to improve grassland health and associated ecosystem functions such as pollination, water production and soil fertility) and regional food security. As a drought-prone country, just emerging from the worst drought in 100 years, where water supply sustainability is critical to long-term production.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Improved environmental management and the preservation of ecosystem services through correct stocking rates and proper burning provides resilience to farming practices, particularly in terms of soil fertility, pollination, reduced erosion, retention of nutrients and water provision. This allows our farmers to feed the nation’s people and a rapidly growing economy. Carbon sequestering grassland management practices often improve productivity and can lead to enhanced income to the farmer.
Climate
The preservation of grasslands is a cornerstone of carbon sequestration processes. Increased productivity in a grassland, and reduction in rates of carbon loss, are both key to combatting climate change. The catchment areas in which we are working further support water provision to the economic hub of Gauteng, which is of vital importance in a semi-arid climate, for any industry or human population.
Sustainability
Stewardship facilitation (fuel, vehicles, subsistence) is generously funded by corporate donors for about 2 years. However, Stewardship is an excellent way to ensure the sustainability of conservation practices, i.e. on signing of protected area status into a farm’s title deed, farmers are committed to the management plan. There are also a number of financial incentives for landowners, including tax incentives and rate rebates. The challenge is how to provide post-proclamation support to farmers in the long-term, particularly as government funding for conservation is reduced each year. There are a number of initiatives being explored by various NGOs to introduce market-based mechanisms to support proclaimed lands and management practices.
Return on investment
Our annual budget is ~$70,000 and each area should take ~2 years to be proclaimed. The process includes thorough landowner consultation, biodiversity assessment, surveying, a legal process including public consultation and the signing of the selected conservation status into the farm’s title deed under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003. We have made good progress towards our project targets over the past 2 years, and the investment has been successful in working towards securing ~100,000 ha, so costing ~$70/100 ha. It is estimated that it costs 17 times less to secure land under stewardship than by procurement. Farmers continue to manage their land in the long term, further saving on management costs.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
This model has been successfully implemented at a number of sites in South Africa. These are excellent illustrations of partnerships between private farmers, government departments and supporting NGOs. Examples include the community-owned Somkhanda (16,000 ha) and Nambiti (9,000 ha) Game Reserves which provide financial and in-kind incentives to surrounding communities. Through our programs, we support learning exchanges for stewardship practitioners and draw on expert input from other NGOs and groups. We organized a special session at the IUCN Congress in Hawaii in 2016 focused on international lesson sharing for private protected area proclamation. Funding (estimates provided above) is required for liaison, assessment and legal processes.
In order to replicate this model in other countries, buy-in and recognition of the value of ecosystem services would be required from the government, as well as an amendment to or drafting of a new law such as the NEM:PA Act, as mentioned above.