Living Lands
Living Lands is a South African foundation (Section 21 NPO) initiated and set-up by EarthCollective professional members in 2008.
The Living Lands team is passionate about the conservation and restoration of ‘living landscapes’. These are areas with a variety of healthy natural ecosystems and land-uses and which are home to diverse ecological, agricultural and social systems.
The Living Lands philosophy is to bring synergy and added-value to the landscape. Our approach is to function as a local asset by utilising South-North knowledge and cultural exchange to support and collaborate with existing local organisations, government agencies and community/land-owners. Living Lands aims to harness the energy from these partnerships and networks to build long-term local and regional capacity for ‘living landscapes’.
Building and facilitating locally-driven ‘learning networks’ is at the heart of what Living Lands strives to do. The organisation is achieving this vision though:
- Building bridges for trust, partnerships and relationships;
- Ensuring open and continuous dialogue between stakeholders;
- Communicating and disseminating new information and knowledge;
- Linking and integrating (new and existing) programmes and projects on the landscape;
- Collaborating with universities and research institutions to form mutually beneficial partnerships;
- Supporting and coordinating transdisciplinary processes and projects:
- Stimulating ‘South-North’ collaboration to create new learning opportunities and building skills and expertise;
- Interfacing to help bridge research-implementation gaps;
- Facilitate training, education and stewardship;
- Catalyzing new ideas and initiatives to support community-based natural resource management;
- Setting-up and building natural and social capital funds and related investments in landscape (e.g. reforestation for carbon capture)
Living Lands is piloting this approach across the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A protected section of this region is declared as a World Heritage Site and the broader area is regarded as a ‘biodiversity hotspot”.
The four core activities of Living Lands are:
1. To function as secretariat and facilitator of the PRESENCE learning network.
PRESENCE (Participatory Restoration of Ecosystem SErvices & Natural Capital in the Eastern Cape) is a collaborative restoration learning network aimed at guiding ecosystem management and restoration of “living landscapes‟ in Southern Africa (see more info here)
This transdisciplinary initiative is being piloted with the support of multiple partners. This partnership consist out of Department of Water Affairs (SA), SANBI, Eastern Cape Parks Board, Gamtoos Irrigation Board (implementers of Working for Water/Woodlands/Wetlands), the Dutch Ministry for Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality (LNV), Wageningen University, Stellenbosch University and Rhodes University, and local stakeholders and landowners.
2. To coordinate “PRESENCE in the Baviaanskloof”
This on-ground pilot programme of the PRESENCE network has been applying and refining an integrated ecosystem (services) approach. The process has been in progress through: area identification (e.g. hydro/ecological processes, stakeholder willingness, institutional capacity) and understanding perceptions and values of landscape restoration. PRESENCE in the Baviaanskloof is now in an early implementation phase, which includes analysis of opportunities/constraints and strategy development. Planned activities are: reforestation with native vegetation (CO2 capture); recreating wetlands (increase base flow); erosion mitigation; alien invasive clearing and creating effective communication and education strategies for implementing incentive schemes (e.g. PES) for ecosystem management and land stewardship.
Central to PRESENCE in the Baviaanskloof is Living Lands’ coordination of the “Water for Food and Ecosystems Programme” which is a collaborative research-implementation initiative funded by the Government of the Netherlands (Ministry LNV) with aim of securing water for nature and people.
Other critical contributors to PRESENCE in the Baviaanskloof are Wageningen University’s Ecosystem & Landscape Services Programme (SELS), Rhodes University and the South African Department of Water Affairs (Working for Water/ Woodlands/ Wetlands) with Gamtoos Irrigation Board.
3. To manage Elemental Equity
Living Lands is active in implementing this natural capital fund and related investments in the critical elements of our landscape (e.g. reforestation for voluntary carbon (CO2) capture). This charitable fund attracts private investment to achieve both social and ecological outcomes in the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve. Visit http://elementalequity.org/ for more information.
4. To develop and manage the PRESENCE Learning Village (Kouga Dam)
This area is being actively developed as a hub for communication and learning. The village serves to welcome local and international students, researchers and volunteers and enable them to become active in sharing their vision, knowledge and skills in supporting ecosystem management and restoration. The PRESENCE Learning Village also consists of the Working for Woodlands Nursery (a Dept. Water Affairs programme implemented by Gamtoos Irrigation Board) which is ‘growing plants and people’ through engaging previously unemployed local community in propagation and restoration activities. Last but not least, Living Lands is in the process of creating a cultural botanical gardens at the Learning Village – a concept which will be unique to the Eastern Cape region. This initiative will further support local restoration education, skills transfer, tourism and cultural heritage.
The Living Lands Team
