Urban Development in Gauteng
Urban settlements provide homes, places of business and other critical services for the majority of our population. Inappropriately located and executed development, demand for housing and other infrastructure have often resulted in the destruction of key habitats and biodiversity. This is quite evident in Gauteng, which is the smallest, yet most urbanised province in South Africa.
Solutions to mitigating the impact of urban development and particularly urban sprawl lie in strong urban edges, coherent open space systems that incorporate biodiversity priority areas and a strong enabling environment. Biodiversity priority areas are green spaces where residents can enjoy recreational activities, such as walking and bird-watching, while also supplying a number of goods and benefits or ecosystem services (such as helping purify the air and absorb significant quantities of carbon dioxide, wetlands helping purify water and buffer communities from floods, adding amenity value).
The Grasslands Programme has a specific focus on Gauteng as the economic and decision-making powerhouse of South Africa. The majority of the province falls within the grassland biome, and holds significant grasslands biodiversity which includes the critically endangered Bushveld-Bankenveld vegetation type, and one of the few known facts about this province is that more plant species occur in Gauteng per unit area than in any other province in South Africa!
The main aim of the Grasslands Programme is to mainstream biodiversity objectives into the urban economy of Gauteng. To do this, we work in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) as the Implementing Agent, engaging closely with municipalities and other key partners to deliver on the following objectives:
- Develop a biodiversity toolkit (policy, guidelines, decision-support tools) for use by province, municipalities and other key stakeholders involved in urban management and decision making in Gauteng
- Strengthen capacity building, awareness raising, communication and training on biodiversity and environmental issues
- Secure priority areas as biodiversity refugia
