2010 IS THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY (IYB)

The United Nations has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. The campaign aims to create awareness about the significance of biodiversity, the threats of the continued loss of biodiversity and provides an excellent platform for the biodiversity sector to inform stakeholders about initiatives underway to conserve biodiversity.

In light of this, the Grasslands Programme is in touch with our partners to finalise an exciting “2010 communications plan”. This will include taking key decision-makers from various production sectors into the field to visit significant grasslands biodiversity sites and for them to see the importance of healthy grasslands first hand. Watch this space for specific dates and times of events. We are also partnering with various publications for a wider reach of our message about efforts to protect and conserve biodiversity. More details in the next issue of the Grasslands newsletter.

Wishing you all the best for a healthy and biodiversity-rich 2010!

The Grasslands Team

Grasslands Programme calls for Payment Of Ecosystem Services

The uThukela is the largest river system in KwaZulu-Natal. A study on the “Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)” conducted by Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Project (MDTP) indicated that about 15% of the Upper Thukela Catchment was used for agriculture, temporary commercial irrigated agriculture, and commercial forestry. The study also revealed that the upper reaches of the Thukela river system are dominated by grasslands.

Several of South Africa’s priority river catchments occur in the grasslands biome, including the Thukela river catchment.  The Grasslands Programme of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) says the better management of South Africa’s mountain grasslands should result in more water released back into various river catchment systems.   “Start by managing and protecting South Africa’s water factory, the grasslands”, says Grasslands Programme Manager, Anthea Stephens.

Managing grasslands well includes implementing appropriate burning systems, grazing at recommended stocking rates, and restoring degraded areas, according to the MDTP report. The report shows that this improved management will make a significant impact in reducing water run-off, increasing infiltration, reducing summer storm flows and increasing winter base flows. These better catchment management practices will also secure the delivery of additional ecosystem services, including sediment reduction and additional carbon sequestration. This will result in better water quality in rivers to the benefit of communities and landowners.

For the Upper uThukela area, initial estimates suggested that better management could result in almost 12.8 million cubic meters of additional winter river flows. This has a potential sales value of R3.8 million per annum, and is worth between R18 million and R88.7 million per year in terms of the value this can add to the economy. The delivery of additional water flows will also assist Government to curb capital infrastructure costs for securing water supply for people and industry alike. The Grasslands Programme is working to find ways of ensuring that land owners in catchments, including rural communities and farmers, who implement good land management practices, benefit from the value of the additional water produced off their land.

The grasslands biome covers an estimated 339,237km2 or 30% of South Africa’s landscape, and stretches across seven of the country’s nine provinces. About 30% of this area has been developed by various production sectors, while only 2% of it is formally protected. Through working closely with these production sectors, the Grasslands Programme has a unique conservation strategy that deviates from the traditional way of conserving through state-managed nature reserves. The vision of the Programme is to conserve the grasslands biome with production sectors by incorporating the biodiversity agenda into their guidelines, policies and decision-making.

The Grasslands Programme met stakeholders from the 10-12 November 2009 to provide the status of grasslands biodiversity in South Africa and inroads made to protect them. The meeting reviewed practical ways of conserving grasslands to ultimately ensure that more water is released back into rivers to supply more South Africans, especially those without water.

The 3rd Grasslands Partners Forum held in November 2009

The Grasslands Programme met stakeholders in early November 2009 with the following objective:

• To discuss the importance of the grasslands biome for water production as well as economic growth and poverty alleviation in South Africa
• Debate opportunities for securing water production through land use
• Debate lessons from experience with a view to informing the Grasslands Programme water focus area.

Various presenters were invited to the 2009 Grasslands Partners For University of KwaZulu-Natal, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  His presentation highlighted observations concerning climate change and its detection in Southern Africa.   He also focussed his talk on land uses in the grasslands biome and possible effects of climate change, as well as possible adaptation options.  Of interest is that Southern Africa has experienced the warmest 12 years ever.

The Grasslands Book is launched

After 18 months of operation, the Grasslands Programme has released a book detailing how it was formed and what inspired this move by the champions of grasslands conservation in South Africa.

The book contains contributions from many stakeholders, across a range of sectors, who have passionately championed grasslands conservation. The book presents scientific facts in an easy-to-read language.  It combines poetry and quotations with images of amazing grasslands landscapes and work in the grasslands biome. One of the main aims of the book is to demystify and explain terminology loosely-used in the scientific community, including words like “mainstreaming, C-plans, bioregional plans and others”.

The book showcases the variety of partnerships that sustain the Programme, with government, NGOs, research institutions, the private sector and others, and also makes the case for the significance of conserving grasslands biodiversity in support of ecosystem services and livelihoods. Some 80 stakeholders who attended the GPF were given a free copy of the book.

The Grasslands Programme takes partners to Colbyn Valley Peatlands

The City of Tshwane, the Grasslands Programme and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture Rural Development (GDARD) took attendees of the Grasslands Partners Forum to a site relevant for grasslands conservation in an urban setting.

The Colbyn Valley site is located within the metropolitan area of Pretoria and covers 80 hectares of wetland area. Although it covers only a small area, Colbyn contains a surprisingly rich wealth of natural heritage in the heart of the capital city. This includes peat fossils dating back 8,500 years as well as grassland, wetland, peatland and vegetation of the Koppie. It has been recorded that the site boasts 108 bird species of which 6 are threatened species, 25 mammals with some identified as endangered, 8 species of indigenous trees, 6 species of shrubs and 6 species of grass.

“We are working with municipalities to assist them to develop plans to conserve grasslands and guide development away from critical areas of biodiversity”, Anthea Stephens, the Grasslands Programme Manager, SANBI, told the media during the site visit.

Land reform beneficiaries commit their land for conservation

by Cindy Matthys, WWF-SA

It is not often that land reform beneficiaries are willing to set aside their land for conservation and enter into a partnership with the conservation sector. However the Mgundeni community based in Northern KwaZulu-Natal is aware of the high biodiversity value of their land and has signed a biodiversity stewardship agreement with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conserve their land for the benefit of future generations.

This week WWF, through its Enkangala Grasslands Project, came one step closer to conserving one of South Africa’s significant grasslands regions after the Mgundeni community committed a portion of their land to conservation. This agreement is the first of its kind in the Amajuba District in KZN.

The Mgundeni community land is situated on the outskirts of the town of Uitrecht in Northern KZN and has been classified as "totally irreplaceable" in terms of the provincial conservation plan. The conserved site includes a wetland area which is habitat for Rudds Lark and is a historical breeding and forage site for the endemic wattled crane.

Enkangala Grasslands Project Coordinator, Angus Burns, said the momentous occasion came after five years of actively engaging with the Mgundeni community.

“Together with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife we developed a Memorandum of Agreement to develop a partnership that would culminate in, among other things, a formal biodiversity stewardship agreement between the community and KZN Wildlife.” Since 2005, numerous activities have taken place within the community to develop the partnership. These have included socio-economic studies, conservation assessments, participatory rural appraisals, the development of business plan concepts, workshops and monthly advisory forum meetings, finally culminating in the development of the Biodiversity Agreement.

“This agreement, which is also known as a formal conservation stewardship agreement, commits the community to the proper care and management of the land,” said Burns. Community leader, Nkosi Mabaso, has shown interest in entering into a conservation partnership since the late 1990s and is committed to working with the conservation authorities to conserve the land for future generations. At the official signing ceremony which took place at the site, Nkosi Mabaso said: ““I am keen to co-operate with the grasslands conservation project, because it is good for us all.”

The Enkangala Grasslands is rich in biodiversity. The area spans some 1.6 million hectares of high altitude, moist temperate grasslands along the KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Free State provincial boundaries. This region is a major water source for most South Africans. Water is stored in the region’s intact grasslands and numerous associated wetlands which then ensure a sustained supply of high quality water to the four major river systems, namely the Vaal, uThukela, Usuthu and Phongolo rivers. The Enkangala Grasslands Project works with local people to secure and maintain the ecological integrity and the cultural heritage of this important area.

“The farmers and communities here are key players in water production for the country,” Burns explains. “By conserving such grassland areas, they automatically become custodians of South Africa’s critical water supply; as well as biodiversity stewards in a region that has many endangered species, including Rudds lark and South Africa’s three crane species.”