Objectives
The SBAPP Regional Project aims to build biodiversity knowledge for action in Southern Africa through Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, Prioritization, and Planning in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, and Malawi. Objective 4 of the project is to develop national spatial databases on ecological condition or land degradation for each of the four partner countries. Each country will produce their own national spatial databases but there will be a high degree of collaboration and interaction among the partners.
These databases will be used to inform how we monitor and report on:
- The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems
- Targets for the Kunming – Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
- Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality targets of the UNCCD
- Identifying areas for restoration
Overall, ecological condition and land degradation data can be used to provide relevant information for decision-makers, planners, and researchers to make informed decisions regarding the sustainable use of ecosystems and conservation thereof to ensure they are not further degraded and remain intact.
The SBAPP project distinguishes itself from other mapping initiatives related to ecological condition and land degradation in southern Africa, such as the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) for Africa. The BII is based on ecosystem extent, species richness and abundance measures to map the state of biodiversity. While the BII focuses solely on biodiversity as an indicator, the SBAPP project will focus on the states and processes at the biome level and will also consider various physical, chemical, and biological indicators related to ecological condition. These include the presence of invasive alien plants, fire regime disruptions, and the occurrence of soil erosion, for example, providing a more holistic view of ecosystem health and functionality, as well as the deterioration in land quality.
Timelines
The SBAPP project was officially started in July 2022 and will run for five years until June 2027. The main work of the ecological condition component of SBAPP will commence in earnest with a virtual workshop to be held on 30 November 2023 to which experts on ecological condition mapping and monitoring are invited (see details on the workshop below). Thereafter, the project will comprise two work packages running broadly in parallel with one another, as described later in this document.
Background
Declining ecological condition, also known as land degradation, is a pressing concern in southern Africa due to factors like habitat transformation, climate change, deforestation, unsustainable farming practices, and invasive alien plants. Accurate mapping of ecological condition and land degradation is challenging, requiring diverse data sources like remote sensing data. Despite these challenges, mapping ecological condition is essential for understanding the extent of the issue and developing effective conservation strategies, necessitating collaboration among stakeholders and spatial data integration.
Globally, land degradation has gained significant policy attention, exemplified by the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022. This framework includes Target #2, aiming to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems. However, achieving this target is hindered by the absence of mechanisms for collecting area-based information on ecosystem restoration and the lack of universally agreed-upon methods. The five-year SBAPP project, funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) and led by SANBI, aims to enhance biodiversity assessments in four southern African countries, strengthening biodiversity knowledge to inform land use planning, decision-making, and environmental policy. Specifically, the project's "ecological condition" component focuses on identifying ecosystem change and threats, ultimately compiling spatial data for assessing ecosystems and species threat status.
Virtual Workshop - 30 Nov 2023
Based on the need to bring together various relevant stakeholders with interests in ecological condition and land degradation along with relevant spatial datasets and spatial datasets, this virtual workshop will introduce interested parties to the SBAPP Regional Project and specifically its component on ecological condition. The expected output of this component is to improve existing and create new accurate spatial data on terrestrial ecological condition at both national and regional levels, for use in the assessments of ecosystems and species threat status. This output will ideally adequate enough to inform local to national level restoration, planning, and management activities for pristine to degraded ecosystems and biodiversity. The workshop thus serves to get a general idea of the current status of ecological condition and land degradation research and available datasets for these Southern African countries. This will help identify and establish research priorities for aspects of ecological condition and land degradation that are still inadequately understood and mapped in Southern Africa, particularly from a remote sensing perspective. This introductory workshop will assist the team to frame the work over the next four years, and plan for further detailed engagements with stakeholders.
For more details, please sign up here or contact Vernon Visser (vernon.visser@uct.ac.za) or Curtley Tonkin (C.Tonkin@sanbi.org.za)
Work packages
The project will be divided into two distinct work packages, 1) Review, ID, generate; and 2) Consolidate & verify.
Work package 1 will focus on compiling existing spatial data and developing new spatial data on terrestrial ecological condition at both national and regional levels. This will be achieved using a biome-level approach through which degradation processes will be identified for each biome through a combination of expert elicitation and literature reviews (Figure below). Once a list of degradation processes has been identified for each biome, we will again use expert elicitation, a literature search together with an internet search to identify suitable spatial layers either representing or serving as proxies of these processes. This process will also enable us to identify gaps in the availability of suitable spatial layers. For these gaps, we have funding available for small grants which we will disburse to selected research groups to develop suitable spatial layers.
Work package 2 will focus on consolidating and harmonising key spatial ecological condition products into a spatial database. The database will be used primarily for assessments of ecosystems and species threat status (Red Lists), and conservation planning; but will also be used to inform other national and international reporting requirements, such as the Land Degradation Neutrality aspects of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Outputs of the spatial database will be validated through inputs from the expert working group established during the first phase of the project.
Project team
- Carol Poole – SANBI – Project Manager
- Andrew Skowno – SANBI - SANBI Science Lead
- Vernon Visser – UCT – UCT Science Lead
- Timm Hoffman – UCT – Co-investigator
- Curtley Tonkin – SANBI – SANBI Intern
- Wataru Tokura – UCT – PhD Student focusing on the Nama Karoo
- Graham von Maltitz – SANBI – Co-investigator
- Colleen Seymour – SANBI – Co-investigator
