Cambria (SA): The third annual PRESENCE Workshop was successfully held at the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Interpretative Centre during 5^th-6^th November.  The workshop brought together an energetic groups of stakeholders including researchers, government, implementers, parks managers, consultants, land owners and students.

The theme of the workshop was around opening dialogue for setting up a strategy for implementing for incentives for catchment restoration (often referred to as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)) across the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve.   This year Living Lands (as organiser of the PRESENCE workshop) invited The Learning Company to help facilitate dialogue and the overall learning experience.  Please check the Learning Company’s blog for an inspiring and complete review of the workshop and background insights.

Living Lands would like to give special thanks to Eastern Cape Parks, Gamtoos Irrigation Board, South African Department of Water Affairs, Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Dutch Ministry for Food, Agriculture & Nature Quality (LNV), Wageningen University (Alterra & the SELS programme), Rhodes University, The Learning Company,  Baviaanskloof Farmer’s Union and Tolbos  for their respective input contributions.

Living Lands is a South African foundation setup by EarthCollective to act as secretariat  to the PRESENCE Learning Network. PRESENCE aims to guide and mainstream the restoration of ‘living landscapes’.