CONGRESS 53
Delegates came together for
biodiversity and agriculture at
the GSSA congress
SANBI’s session on rangeland stewardship in communal farming landscapes: 22-27 July 2018
Kennedy Nemutamvuni
Current Address: SANBI, Pretoria.
E-mail Address: [email protected]
T
he annual congress of the Grassland
Society of Southern Africa (GSSA)
continues to be a suitable alterna-
tive space for engaging the agriculture
sector. The 53rd congress was no differ-
ent - becoming one of the few to formally
bring together biodiversity and agricul-
ture sectors through various facilitated
parallel sessions. These sessions were
part of the ongoing engagement process
between the two sectors and included
recommendations on how to improve
relationships, harnessing of opportuni-
ties and addressing challenges biodiver-
sity and agriculture face. These include
alignment of methodologies that the two
sectors use as part of sustainable natural
resource management. These sessions
were attended by important stakehold-
ers from government, academia, and pri-
vate and civil society organisations.
The first session explored innovative
models for rangeland stewardship in
communal farming landscapes. This in-
cluded funding opportunities and models
that various partnership projects are us-
ing to encourage better management of
communal rangelands. Amongst others,
the session received an inspirational sto-
ry about a rangeland stewardship model
which was shared by Ms Nicky McLeod
of the uMzimvubu Catchment Partner-
ship Programme. This model is based
on application of tested methodologies
for restoration of degraded rangelands
and building up of capable governance
systems. The model creates an enabling
environment for introduction of sustaina-
ble practices for rangeland management
that guarantee water security, food and
are resilient to climate change. The mod-
el also supports farming of healthy live-
stock, which is a minimum requirement
for market access which would generate
revenue for rural farmers who are partici-
pating in this model.
The second session looked at ways of
refining the understanding of the con-
cept of ecological infrastructure within
the agriculture sector context. Ecologi-
cal infrastructure refers to the naturally
functioning ecosystems that deliver valu-
able services to the people. This includes
wetlands and mountain catchments,
amongst others. This took a historical
account of how the concept was intro-
duced in South Africa and how it relates
to the agriculture sector. This session in-
cluded stories of how maintenance and
restoration of ecological infrastructure
sustained the provision of water and for-
age as well as how it maintains fertile soil
and food production while improving
livelihood of the local people through
job creation. The session also acknowl-
edged the social learning process which
is an important participatory approach
and encourages taking everyone along
in the practice if meaningful response is
to be received. The process is particularly
Figure 1: Delegates at the GSSA.
important when working with stakehold-
ers from various backgrounds driven by
different goals or interest with limited re-
sources and time.
In addition to this, the South African
National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)
delegation took a moment to introduce
the Ecological Infrastructure for Water
Security Project. This is a $7.2 million pro-
ject, funded by the Global Environment
Facility and aims to integrate biodiversity
and ecosystem services into planning,
finance and development in the water
sector to improve water security. This de-
velopment will be implemented through
partnerships with the relevant spheres
of government, civil society, academic
institutions and the public. This Project,
although using water as an entry point,
will benefit the agriculture sector, which
is one of the biggest users of water in
South Africa, according to the published
draft version of the Water and Sanitation
Master Plan.
As part of the congress field trips, SANBI
organised a tour to the Colbyn Wetland
to demonstrate the value of restoring
and maintenance of the wetlands and
the benefits that flows from it. The wet-
land plays a crucial role in the water provi-
sion for Roodeplaat Dam which supplies
water for both human consumption and
agriculture in and around Pretoria.
The parallel sessions were proudly sup-
ported by SANBI, Endangered Wildlife
Trust, Environmental & Rural Solutions,
Conservation South Africa, Water Re-
search Commission and the Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
For more information on Ecological In-
frastructure programme of work, please
contact Mahlodi Tau at [email protected].
za or Dan’sile Cindi at [email protected].
za and for general inquiries about the
story please contact Kennedy Nemutam-
vuni at [email protected].
Grassroots
Vol 18
No 4
December 2018
04