ONE COUNTRY | FOUR LANDSCAPES
The Project

Land Degradation in South Africa
South Africa is 1.2 million km² with a population of approximately 60 million.
Land use in South Africa is a major driver of land degradation, with many activities on the land leading to negative effects on ecosystem goods and services.
Over 80% of the land surface is used for agriculture with six million households depending upon agriculture for their livelihoods and subsistence. Livestock herding is the dominant rural land use accounting for approximately 83% of all agricultural land. The remaining 17% is dedicated to crop production.
Conflicts over land use exist where areas of high biodiversity importance overlap with those with agricultural potential.
The degradation of South Africa’s ecosystems has had a negative effect upon ecosystem services and a loss of agricultural productivity.
These losses are felt disproportionately more by those communities whose livelihoods are dependent upon natural resources.
Local communities are highly vulnerable to the current and predicted effects of climate change, including frequent floods and droughts.
The effects of climate change are compounded by loss, fragmentation and degradation of natural habitats and ecosystems.
"Addressing land degradation is of strategic importance to both preserving ecosystem services and local communities’ dependent upon natural resources for their livelihoods."
Project
Outcomes
Component I
Implement climate-smart rehabilitation & management across 67300 ha
1.2 Ecologically-viable livestock farming, vegetative cover and range resources management practices adopted in the Eastern Cape.
1.3 Watershed management and SLM practices adopted by farmers in the Olifants River catchment.
1.4 A strategy for upscaling SLM practices within the Karoo, Eastern Cape and Olifants landscapes.
1.5 A long-term strategy for participatory monitoring and evaluation by stakeholders (including land users) of the effectiveness of SLM approaches in the Karoo, Eastern Cape and Olifants landscapes.
Component II
financial and policy
mechanisms to support adoption of SLM
Promote rehabilitation of degraded land in the Eastern Cape through carbon sequestration and access to carbon markets
3.2 Carbon baseline sampling and assessments undertaken for 200hectares in the Baviaanskloof.
3.3 Project Design Documents for a Baviaanskloof Programme of Activities/Grouped Project prepared and verified.
3.4 1,000 hectares of degraded spekboomveld restored in the Baviaanskloof to deliver multiple ecosystem benefits, including reducing soil erosion, enhanced water infiltration and increased vegetation cover.
Project Partners

Global Environment Facility
The GEF Council converts this broad guidance into operational criteria (guidelines) for GEF projects. The GEF work broadly covers six themes on 1) Biodiversity, 2) Chemicals & Waster, 3) Climate Change, 4) Forests, 5) International Waters and 6) Land Degradation.

UN Development Programme

Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries (DEFF) Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development (DALRRD)
The vision of DLRRD is equitable access to land, integrated rural development, sustainable agriculture and food security for all. The mission is to ccelerate land reform, catalyse rural development and improve agricultural production to stimulate economic development and food security through: transformed land ownership patterns, agrarian reform, implementation of an effective land administration system, sustainable livelihoods, innovative sustainable agriculture, promotion of access to opportunities for youth, women and other vulnerable groups, integrated rural development.