Socio-ecological restoration frameworks at catchment scale. Michael - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Socio-ecological restoration frameworks at catchment scale.

Michael Braack 04 October 2017

Environmental Programmes

Storage Space (m3) 500 000 Catchment size (ha) 77 100 % Silted Up after 4 year 70% Volume Silted Up after 4 year 350 000 Years after completion 4 Siltation/Year 87 500 Soil Loss per Hectare per Year (m3/ha/year) 1.13 % of Catchment Degraded 30% Area Degraded 23 130 Soil Loss per Degraded Hectare per Year (m3/ha/year) 3.78

Upper Umzimvubu

Data source: NLC 2000

Description Hectares % Barren rock 2774 0.56% Cultivated: permanent - commercial dryland 153 0.03% Cultivated: temporary - commercial dryland 14878 3.02% Cultivated: temporary - subsistence dryland 59795 12.14% Degraded: unimproved grassland 92239 18.72% Dongas & sheet erosion scars 356 0.07% Forest 829 0.17% Forest and Woodland 8 0.00% Plantations 19819 4.02% Improved grassland 20 0.00% Shrubland and low Fynbos 105 0.02% Thicket & bushland (etc) 12433 2.52% Unimproved grassland 274453 55.70% Urban / built-up land: residential 12219 2.48% Waterbodies 387 0.08% Wetlands 2240 0.45% 492708 100%

Ntabalenga Landcover – T35 catchment

Data source: NLC 2000

Total degraded Catchment Areas – 74.49%

Decrease vegetation cover Injudicious use of Fire Soil Erosion Unsustainable farming practices Decline in soil fertility

Land Degradation Processes

Increased run off Increased water velocities Increased soil surface sealing Increased connectivity Increased IAP invasions. Reduced grazing capacity

Hydrological modification Habitat Loss Change in groundwater level/ quality

Land Degradation direct impact on peoples livelihoods.

20t C per degraded Has 92 239 has 6 770 343 t CO2e 225 678.09 t CO2e Per year R 22 567 809 PES per year @R100 per ton

Gully erosion – up to 17 tons per ha Sheet erosion - up to 23 t/ha/pa 2015 Status – 10 500 000 (m3) pa Old lands – between 70 to 120 t/h/pa

NLEIP Vision

• “To support sustainable livelihoods for local

people through integrated landscape management that strives for resilient social- ecological systems and which fosters equity in access to ecosystem services.”

• Land restoration follows a holistic approach,

combines grazing, fire and storm water management to improve vegetation cover, slow excessive water movement down and support land- based livelihood options that are sustainab

Stakeholder Engagement

• Central to this aim is the need to fully involve

the resident users of the natural resources in all stages of planning and implementation.

• Relevant systems, support and capacity

needs to be developed to ensure resource users become the effective managers of the resources.

Land Management Interventions Improved Ecosystem Services Improved Human Well Being Clear Invasive Alien plants. Increased Water Yield Decreased exposure to natural disasters (fire, floods etc.) Flood Risk Reduction Improved food security Restore degraded land to reduce soil erosion Improved water quality through filtering of pollutants and toxins Improved health Restore degraded landscapes

• bush and tree thickening

management. Improved soil water retention Improved fisheries Rehabilitate Wetlands Increased base flow in dry seasons. Safe and plentiful drinking water Fire management - fuel load reduction and burning fire belts Fire Risk Reduction Reduced Sediment load in rivers Manage buffers of vegetation along streams and rivers Improved biodiversity Improved livelihood security Improved carbon balance Reinstate buffers of natural vegetation between crops and rivers Improved livelihood security Adaptation to climate change SES Engagement Engagement understanding uses. Why is it degraded and what is the land being used for What has changed and why? Why is degraded and what is driving the degradation? Understanding existing fire regimes and causes. Existing land use planning and measures Existing land use planning and measures

Simplistic Planning and Implementation Social Engagement, Planning and Implementation SES Engagement Implementation Monitoring

SER – International Standards. Conceptual model of ecosystem degradation and responses to it through restoration (Adapted from Keenleyside et al. 2012 and Whisenant 1999; cf. Hobbs & Harris 2001).

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification LDN

• The key elements
• f the scientific

conceptual framework for LDN and their interrelationships.

Conceptualizing LDN in a cause and effect model within the socio-ecological system. Solid arrows indicate cause-effect relationships; dotted arrows indicate response relationships.

The NLEIP central conceptual framework (Fabricius et

• al. 2016).

SER restorati

• n

wheel

Restorative continuum. Ecological restoration and restorative management can be seen to be aligned along a ‘restorative continuum’ where a broad range of activities undertaken by society to repair damage to the broader environment, complement ecological restoration and provide improved conditions for broad scale recovery.

Jam-jars, poles and chlorine pills

Monitoring – Acting local, linking poverty alleviation to Scientific monitoring

Jam-jars, smartphones, and Open Data Kit, Michael Powell 2016

Hydrograph 26 October – 8 November 2016 illustrating real time capture of downstream sediment routing

Landscape Connectivity

Ntabelanga catchment with 2km buffer around villages

Restoration technologies grown in the catchment by the community.

Thank You

Mbraack@environment.gov.za