K2C Newsletter – June 2020

By Mbali Mashele, Project Manager

Acknowledging that South Africa is a water-stressed country, various initiatives that aim to protect catchment integrity, support threatened ecosystems whilst providing benefits to communities have been undertaken in the K2C BR.  These activities are imperative to provide resilience in socio-ecological systems within the integrated landscape. Through these interactions, K2C, AWARD, CSA, and SANParks, realized that there are synergies and related integrated priorities that may provide opportunities for co-learning, co-building, and collaboration through the establishment of a catchment partnership.

With that in mind, an initial virtual meeting for the Blyde, Klaserie, Sand and Sabie Catchment partnership was held on the 11th of July 2020. The following organizations; Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region K2C , AWARD, Conservation South Africa, SANParks, DFFE, WWF-SA, The Nature Conservancy, SANBI, and SAEON presented their current work focus and possible prospects from the envisaged catchment partnership.  SANBI also took the opportunity to introduce the Living Catchments Project, which is envisaged for implementation within the landscape and has the potential to align very well with the catchment partnership.

The partners are predominately involved in ecosystem-based adaptation activities in vulnerable areas. These include invasive alien plants clearing projects in the upper Blyde escarpment area, including platforms to support communities of practice in the NRM invasive alien plants (technical aspects and governance aspects using social learning and participatory processes).

Taking readings along the Sabie River

Additional partner activities include Water Resources Management, Water and Biodiversity Stewardship, Protected Area Expansion, and Research.  Discussions highlighted the importance of encouraging sustainability through the enhancement of green economy value chains.

This engagement, showcased the importance of protecting strategic water source areas and realizing the importance of these areas to the functioning of the landscape (ecosystem services). In addition, collaborating for a sustainable future.   The partners, plan to engage further, and also, include more interested stakeholders such as municipalities, and academic institutions etc.

Headwaters of the Sand River

This work is funded by the 1) USAID Resilient Waters Program 2) GEF 5 Biodiversity and Land Use Project implemented by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) with partners 3) Conservation South Africa

By Itumeleng Morale, Market Linkages Assistant Coordinator

The from the Region for the Region (fRfR) project pilot was to be launched in June 2020: with the aim of linking small local businesses to the market. The outbreak of Covid-19, however, put a temporary delay on the launch of the pilot project. Thus small business is suffering the most, as they lose out on the opportunity for market access, financial revenue and access to business mentoring. The fRfR team could not sit back and allow this to happen!

In response, the K2C launched a fundraising campaign to raise funds for the vulnerable people in our local communities, during this difficult time.

The K2C staff believes that nothing happens for free and therefore felt that we must give something back to those that donate towards our worthy cause. They put together a digital recipe book with a twist, the recipe book consists of a range of recipes and stories from around our region – Every Meal Has a Story.

Every Meal has a story

Every donation of R100 received funds a food parcel to feed a family for a week, while also supporting small scale farmers as all produce will be bought from small holder farmers in the region. Thus, we support 2 families for a week with one small donation – helping vulnerable families with food parcels and small business with income.

In return for the donations received, donors receive an e-copy of the book and get the opportunity to make their stories count. The book has a range of recipes including some traditional local favorites (morogo, chakalaka, vetkoek etc.) as well as stories from our staff about the region, local people and biodiversity. For more information or to make a donation go the GivenGain account here. 

So far, the donations received have funded the purchasing of cabbages, tomatoes, butternuts and sugar beans that has been distributed to families in need. With the support of 5 partner organisations these contributions have supported over 1500 families.

We would like to thank each and every person who has contributed towards this fundraiser already and for making their stories count!

What is the Kruger 2 Canyons Biosphere?

The Kruger 2 Canyons Biosphere (K2C) is a UNESCO designated Man and Biosphere programme, facilitating and implementing projects aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable socio-economic upliftment and improved conservation efforts. Currently the K2C is implementing six different projects, these are:

• SANParks GEF Protected Area Programme 
• SANBI GEF Mainstreaming Project
• SANParks Biodiversity Social Projects
• DEA Environmental Monitors Programme
• WWF Water Stewardship Programme
• Flanders Water Stewardship Programme

The K2C spreads across two provinces (Limpopo in the north and Mpumalanga in the south), with eight local municipalities, as well as a large part of the middle of Kruger National Park, falling within its boundaries. This is a vast landscape, spanning across 2,5 million hectares, including savannah and grassland biomes. This diversity means there is a multitude of projects and a variety of entities  all working towards common goals aimed at socio-economic upliftment, sustainable use of natural resources and conservation in the landscape.

The challenge of having such a multitude of entities operating in the K2C Bisophere, across such a geographically large and institutionally complex landscape is that it makes true collective and collaborative action difficult. Through the SANParks GEF Protected Area Programme and various other projects, the K2C is currently attempting to functionally engage the broader landscape and co- champion working towards collective outcomes. The levels of nuance and continuous change in which this landscape finds itself, makes having a comprehensive prioritisation process that will align the work of all the entities in the landscape in order to achieve collective outcomes, nearly impossible to develop in a short time farne and with limited funding. Through the acquisition of NPO licences for Esri ArcGIS software however, we were able to take one of the initial steps in this process. This was the development of a spatial prioritisation tool to help identify key biodiversity, ecological infrastructure, socio-economic and climate change priority areas, in collaboration with Southern Connections NPO.

Integration of Spatial Priorities using ArcGIS

In order to more closely align the projects being implemented in the K2C landscape and to focus our efforts, geographical priorities were identified. These were developed through utilising national datasets based on the four themes (livelihoods, biodiversity, climate resilience and ecological infrastructure). These were integrated using ArcMap 10.4, predominantly the Spatial Analyst component.

Below is an example of the different layers used to develop the composite dataset used to identify Climate Change priority areas through the development of a weighting system that took into consideration various factors, as listed below, to develop a composite heatmap raster.  A similar process was followed to create composite layers for Ecological Infrastructure, Biodiversity Value and Social Demand.

The Result

As a result of having this improved understanding of where the priorities lie in the landscape we have been able to more closely align projects according to their key focus areas. Below is an example of the overlay of projects currently being implemented through the K2C.

The BSP and EM programmes (blue and red dots) for instance have a strong overlap with areas of high social demand; the Protected Area and Mainstreaming Programmes with the climate change and biodiversity priority areas.

The Benefits

To the right is a list of all the programmes in the landscape. Where we aim to end up, is with all the projects working towards landscape level goals in an integrated and harmonised way through collective action and closer alignment and collaboration.

This work is funded by the  GEF 5 Protected Areas Programme implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks) with partners 3) ESRI South Africa

– By Wynand Uys

Some 25 years ago I came across an interesting flowering plant that I could not find in any book. I took photographs of it and sent an enquiry to the National Herbarium. I was asked to pay a fee and a botanist would identity it for me. I suppose they were flooded with similar requests so it was not entirely unreasonable to charge small fee for the service. Yet, I was put out, having expected a more enthusiastic response to my special observation.  My plant turned out to be a rather common, cosmopolitan weed, not worthy of inclusion in the books on South African flowers. That was the only time I paid to have something identified.

My bookshelves are filled with field guides for ants, trees, birds, mushrooms, insects, spiders, wildflowers, fish and more.  These are well used books, their broken spines and soiled covers bearing testament to many an excellent adventure in the field.  I’m not really a twitcher. I don’t keep a life list of birds but it can be said that I am a compulsive investigator of richness in biodiversity wherever I go. I find pleasure in seeing or photographing a species of plant or animal that is new to me (or that I’d forgotten). In this process of satisfying my curiosity I did come across some plants and animals that, unlike the weed observation, elicited more enthusiastic responses from scientists. Thanks to the concept of citizen science.   

I’ll always treasure my books and I’ll continue collecting new ones, as they get published.  That being said; about eight to ten years ago I started using the internet more often to find the latest taxonomic, behavioral and geographical information on life around us.  As the internet became a greater repository for wildlife photographs, so the potential knowledge base grew. A say ‘potential’ because many images are published for their beauty and not so much for scientific value. Often the organism is misidentified and the location and date aren’t mentioned but that’s ok; beautiful nature images have their place and contribute to appreciation of the planet’s natural wonder.  Then I happened upon ‘citizen science’ websites, where users contribute photographs to a database of sorts that serves as a communal or social tool for identifying organisms and recording their spatial and temporal occurrence.  Here, consensus is required for identifications to achieve validity and some level of vetting is used to prevent misinformation from spreading. At the simplest level, it could be a Facebook Group where members discuss and suggest identifications for observations of their favourite group of organisms.  More sophisticated sites arose with structured databases and some expert input. Of these, iNaturalist rose to the top in terms of scope, functionality and sheer volume.  With 500 curators and many more knowledgeable users on board, incorrect identifications are sifted out and a system of tagging the trustworthiness of identifications is in place. This is where I found a home for my photographs and the place where I get the best feedback on- and verification of identifications.

iNaturalist now serves as a convenient repository for my 2 900 observations (about 10 000 photographs). I can easily find my old photographs again by using any of a number of search strategies. Many observations that I had no hope of identifying by myself were kindly given names by enthusiasts and qualified experts. For free! My iNaturalist records serve as a verified life-list of every species that I’ve photographed. As taxonomic changes come into effect, my observation identifications are updated automatically. Reciprocally, I am pleased that arachnologists, ornithologists and entomologists found some of my contributions interesting and on several occasions I was thrilled to allow them to use my images in their publications and field guides.

So far, I’ve written an over-long preamble to the message I really want to convey:  Kruger to Canyons needs you to join iNaturalist and submit your observations.  As a region, we are underrepresented by observers, observations and recorded species. Here follow some histograms to substantiate this allegation (numbers as of 7 June 2020):

Plainly, South Africa, with about half of the observers in Africa is doing a fair job of representing the country on the continent by number of observers and by the number of observations per observer. In this context, the folks in the Western Cape (or those who travel there) are the provincial champions.  Gauteng, considering the number of people who live and visit there, has a dismal record of posting observations to iNaturalist. The K2C Region, with its fantastic biodiversity deserves more observers who should post more observations.

That was the stick. Here is the carrot:

By the following histograms we can see that it is rewarding being an iNaturalist observer in the K2C and in the Kruger National Park (KNP).  We make few observations in total (and fewer observations per observer than in the Western Cape as per previous graph) and we get the biggest return per observer.  Simply put: Fewer people see more things per capita in the K2C.  Another way to look at it: The Western Cape observers are beating us four to one (ouch) in terms of total observed species but they are now mostly posting observations of species that are already on record.  We have more scope to increase our species count than they have.

Although the competitive spirit is fun, I suggest that it should not be our prime motivation for posting observations from the K2C Region.  Rather, we should showcase and pay tribute to the fantastic biodiversity that we are blessed with, just like the people in the Fynbos Biome are already doing.

After joining iNaturalist, one can upload pictures, sounds or even drawings as evidence of an organism that was observed, one observation at a time. An observation could, for example, be a herd of buffalo, a pair of birds or a single mosquito.  Pictures taken by mobile phone are accepted, as long as the organism is reasonably well depicted and not just a speck against an expanse of background (like spider photos usually are).  Each observation can have several photos or sounds of the same specimen or specimens. With a plant, for instance, it is helpful to have a closeup of the leaves, an image of the flowers or fruit (if present) and even an image taken from further away to show the habitat and overall growth form. With a spider or insect, it often helps to submit images taken from different angles.

One is prompted for the location and date and these should be provided else the observation will not achieve any useful status. Most cellphones and cameras add location and time to the image metadata. This will be read by the uploader. Then one should type in a suggestion as to the identification of the organism. When you start typing, the system will start suggesting stuff. For instance, if I type “genet”, I see a list of suggestions and I can click on “view” to see observations of what is suggested prior to choosing one.

If you’re unsure which genus or species your specimen belongs to, you can choose a higher rank. In the example above, “Genettinae – Subfamily Genets and Oyans” would be a certain call. A tentative, higher rank identification will likely attract a person who is knowledgeable of that taxon to review your observation.  If your observation is of, say, a Lily and you can’t find it in a book, just ID it as “Lily”. Accept the suggestion, “Liliaceae – lily family” or start exploring nearby observations to refine your identification.   There is also no harm in an incorrect identification. Others can suggest their identifications and you could be overruled by numbers or you can change your mind, as many times as you like. Initially contentious identifications usually settle on a commonly acceptable taxon.

Once the observation is uploaded, another means of identification becomes available. Open “Suggest an Identification” and click on “Species name” and wait: The system will suggest possibilities based on its Computer Vision interpretation of your first photograph in the observation. See below:

If there is a suggestion that is “visually similar” and has been “seen nearby”, there is a good chance that Artificial Intelligence has come up with a good answer.  Still, be cautious: View the suggestions and check their distribution maps to see if they’re plausible before you accept one.

Some folks are concerned that their observations get lost in the massive pool of iNaturalist data. Fortunately, iNaturalist already has many features that will highlight your observations to special interest groups, local enthusiasts, or people you know or get to meet.

A powerful feature of iNaturalist is “Projects”.  There are different kinds of projects. The simplest is a “Collection Project” where one defines a geographic area and some rules of inclusion and exclusion.  All observations that meet the criteria then belong to that project. It really is a virtual project because it only amounts to a saved list of search criteria with a name, a landing page and add-ons like a journal. Every time you visit that project the search is run afresh and shows all the observations that meet the criteria, along with current statistics. Two examples of collection projects are:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/kruger-to-canyon-biosphere-region

and

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leopards-of-kruger-national-park

There are many ways in which iNaturalist observations can be collated, curated, reviewed and interrogated.  Casual observers and scientists have benefitted greatly.  New distribution records abound, there are fresh photographs available (with consent by the authors) for the new field guides, there are new associations between organisms on record and, yes, even some observations that are part of new species discoveries.

iNaturalist is a fine showcase for the K2C Biosphere Region and a valuable scientific resource. It can become better at both.

– By Louise Swemmer, SANParks 

The Covid-19 virus has been a shock to the system, that’s for sure. Especially for the health workers across the world that are working day and night to save lives. However, it’s not just western medicine that plays a role and the K2C is working with SANParks to provide the thousands of Traditional Healers living next to the Kruger National Park (KNP) with Covid-related support.

Traditional medicine has been around for a long time, and it is estimated that over 80% of the population in developing countries depend on traditional medicine for primary health care. In South Africa there are approximately 40 million traditional medicine users, consulting traditional healers for a variety of reasons including both physical and psychological illnesses and needs.  Not only do traditional healers help to keep people healthy, but they are important members of their communities, are holders of valuable indigenous knowledge and can play important roles in society as community stabilisers. The healers are at risk with the covid-19 virus as they are widely consulted by members of their communities, and are often elderly and as such could have severe negative impacts if they contract the virus.

Together with the K2C, South African National Parks have been providing support to the traditional healers adjacent to the KNP in the form of covid-related PPE (cloth face masks and hand sanitiser). The project also includes awareness material in the form of printed information brochures and regular bulk-sms messages, translated into appropriate languages (Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Sepedi and Siswati). At first the project was funded with a shoe-string budget, with masks being sewn by volunteers from the Hoedspruit community. However, with the generous support of the SANParks Honorary Rangers, the project is now procuring thousands of locally produced face masks for the healers, from local sewing SMME groups located in the communities adjacent to the KNP. This provides the SMMEs with much needed financial support at an important time after the crash in the tourism industry over the past few months.

Examples of PPE distributed to traditional healers.

Although the corona virus pandemic sparked a new type of engagement with traditional healers, SANParks has a long history of working together with traditional healers next to the KNP. This has mostly been through the pepperbark project, where healers are provided with saplings of this endangered tree that they then grow at home and use in their own practices. The relationship between the KNP and the traditional healers has grown as a result of the covid support, and we hope that this continues from strength to strength in the interests of both human wellbeing and conservation.  The project aims to have supported approximately 3000 healers by the end of July 2020.

• “We are so happy to get the masks, sanitiser and messages from KNP. It means that you remember us” – Traditional Healer from a village adjacent to the KNP.

SANParks would like to that the following people for conceptual, planning and implementation support over the past few months:

• K2C staff – Hope, Vusi, Shoki, Mpho, Thembi – for helping think through how to do this, and for translating various bits and pieces of awareness materials
• Cleo Graaf – for sewing masks
• Joris Bertens – from Unembeza, for donating beautiful linen for mask sewing
• Candice Grover – for sourcing lots of additional linen for sewing masks from various private reserves adjacent to the KNP
• SANParks Honorary rangers – funding for the second phase

Distributing PPE to traditional healers along the edge of Kruger National Park.

-By Keneilwe Mmushi, Data Manager and Mpho Lavhengwa, Assistant Data Capturer

The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region thrives on adaptive management, “we manage complexities” COO Marie-Tinka Uys always asserts. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it and as a result the Environmental Monitors (EMs) were not able to be out in the field as usual. We therefore needed to be creative in formulating virus prevention and management mechanisms.

Over the months of April and May, Community-based EMs in conjunction with their respective managers indulged in a series of discussions around COVID-19 regulations, its impacts (environmental, social and economic) as well as intrinsic lessons that come with a pandemic and the lockdown. They used the lockdown as an opportunity to sharpen their minds and find solutions to help communities adapt to COVID-19 related changes. They tirelessly researched and facilitated discussions amongst themselves, using different media forums each day, to find solutions to environmental and livelihood issues, food security, as well as health and business concerns post Covid-19.

Example of an inforgraphic to encourage discussions.

The EMs discussed COVID-19 teachings, analysing  thoughts from Bill-Gates on the intrinsic lessons barred in the pandemic,  such as the importance of spending quality time with family and how the pandemic addresses inequality issues as it affects all people the same way. They further discussed the relationship between alcohol and gender-based violence during the lockdown and the different causes of such high numbers of gender-based violence.

Analysing  thoughts from Bill-Gates on the intrinsic lessons barred in the pandemic

Another interesting topic was how the EMs themselves can help communities and small businesses rebuild after COVID-19. This discussion led to the idea of vegetable gardens. The EMs are now encouraging all households and assisting schools to start vegetable gardens (see Food Garden article). The topic of finding a vaccine for Covid-19 already had people across the world, including one of EMs, voluntarily availing himself as a receptor of the vaccine to measure its potency and help build people’s confidence to participate in the vaccination programme.

Towards the end of Alert level IV of the lockdown, the EMs discussed the current state of the environment in terms of conservation, rehabilitation and vandalization since EMs are not able to move around and monitor the state of the environment. They further discussed the necessary steps needed post-lockdown to conserve the natural environment better.

EMs under Host Institutions (HI) have been on the forefront of ensuring no one stays hungry during the lockdown. Daktari, Eco children, Nourish and Umbabati EMs as well as the Community-based Ecosystem Custodians from Phiring Village were actively involved in ensuring that less fortunate families within the K2C Biosphere received food parcels. Umbabati went the extra mile and provided young children with meals each day. The Phiring EMs offered fresh produce from the local farmers and the school demonstration garden.

This work is funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry & Fisheries and implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks). 

Community-based Ecosystem Custodians from Phiring Village were actively involved in ensuring that less fortunate families within the K2C Biosphere received food parcels.

The Phiring EMs offered fresh produce from the local farmers and the school demonstration garden.

– By Shoki Mafogo, DWS Project Manager

Water and sanitation has always been an integral part of service delivery and human rights, but the subject has been further highlighted during the current Covid-19 pandemic. As a result of the W.A.S.H workshop facilitated by Conservation International, a newly developed activity framework and a One Health lesson plan; the K2C EMs rose to the challenge of creating Tippy Taps that could be used on a household level in their communities to wash hands.

This was a fun activity that not only exhibited the creativity of the EMs, but it tested their ergonomics, their  recycling principles and indirectly evened the playing field for both genders to display their skills and talents. “We are so thankful to the EM management for putting us to task with the Tippy Tap, now we know that we are capable of developing such a productive system that can help mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic and other communicable diseases. Not only for ourselves but for our communities” says Daddy Mathaba, one of the EMs that excelled in this activity.

The criteria which was used to judge the Tippy Taps was Creativity, Functionality; Innovation; Eco-friendliness and durability of tap system.

The winning Tippy Taps can be seen below.

This work is funded by 1) the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry & Fisheries and implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks), 2) USAID Resilient Waters Program and partner 3) Conservation South Africa. 

By Vusi Tshabalala, Project Manager

June is dedicated to the youth of 1976 who stood up against the Apartheid Government and laid down their lives fighting for freedom and the right to equal education.

Since then the month of June has be declared and celebrated as youth month in South Africa. The youth of 1976 fought an oppressive regime, but 44 years later the struggle continues fighting an enemies living inside us, amongst us and around us such as poverty, climate change, depletion of natural resources and lack of service delivery, to name a few. Today we fight an enemy that we cannot see, the invisible covid-19 pandemic. It is incumbent upon the youth of 2020 to work together to fight and conquer the invinsible covid-19 pandemic and all other challenges just like in 1976.

Despite these challenges, we have seen a lot of initiative taken by young leaders across our landscape, Africa and globally to position themselves to contribute to the transformation of lives and add values of our youth.

On the 16th of June 2020 our own K2C youth participated in the virtual address by the Premier of Limpopo, Mr Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, to launch the Limpopo Youth Entrepreneurship Project (YEP), Innovation and Job Creation Initiative. Young People in the Green Economy & Tourism Program are part of the priority projects for the provincial initiative. The Youth Entrepreneurship Project assists youth to bridge the gaps between qualification, entrepreneurship and work place readiness and facilitates social cohesion initiatives including dialogue and recognition awards for social cohesion champions. YEP establishes job creation, innovation and entrepreneurship programs that assist young people to be included in the mainstream of the economy and participate towards Inclusive Growth and Active Citizenry through partnerships with stakeholders such as K2C Biosphere Youth Forum, Vhembe Biosphere, SEDA, LEDA, NYDA, Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders, amongst others. The Premier congratulated Limpopo for being the first province to implement this project and prioritise its young people.

From March 23rd, the AU Office of the Youth Envoy convened 13 consultations of focus groups discussion with over 400 youth leaders from 42 countries, and an average 25 participants per consultation. Based on the outcomes of the focus group consultations, there were two main expectations from youth:

• The creation of youth policy space and framework within the African Union to co-lead the response to the pandemic. Therefore the African Union launched the African Youth Front on Coronavirus with 20 member networks, to learn more visit auyouthenvoy.org/ayfocovid19
• Direct engagement, communication and dialogue with decision-makers. Therefore, the development of a series of 8 webinars with African leaders.

The 8 webinars took place every Wednesdays from the 22^nd of April until the 10^th of June, under the following themes: youth & community engagement, youth & human rights, rural youth & offline engagements, youth unemployment & economics recoveries, the role of women & youth-led civil society, education & e-learning  and lastly the digital divide & transformation. To catch up on all the webinars you can watch the videos online and leave your comments & contributions there.

Lastly looking at the global youth engagement during youth month and lockdown in the environmental sector is the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN). GYBN is an international network of youth organizations and individuals across global regions who have united together with a common goal: preventing the loss of biodiversity and preserving Earth’s natural resources. As the official group for youth in the negotiations under the CBD, GYBN is committed to bringing the opinions and positions of young people into the political process; empowering young people to take action. Recognized and supported by the CBD Secretariat, GYBN seeks to inspire global youth and future leaders to work for the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in order to ensure a healthy global environment and enduring societies. Currently, GYBN has 280 member organizations, representing a total of 664,000 members from 140 countries worldwide. With most of the CBD, OEWG, SBSTTA-20 activities suspended due to the pandemic, most summits, discussions and meetings took place using online platforms and it has been very busy with every country and region doing its part to stay engaged and informed. Two of the platforms to look out for in the African region is the youth4nature, futurefornature, African Wildlife Foundation and UNEP (www.youthenvironment.org/yea).

Happy Youth Month, Happy reading & engagement!

– By Hope Morema (Assistant Administrator) and Dineo Mogakane (Biodiversity Stewardship EM)

Kruger to Canyons soon realised the effects the Covid19 pandemic was having on the region in terms of job losses. The Environmental Monitors also found themselves stuck at home, unable to conduct their daily community patrols as a result of the lockdown regulations.  It was therefore decided to encourage the EMs to start their own vegetable gardens while forced to stay home, and to encourage their communities to do the same. A hands on way to fight food insecurity during the pandemic and after.

This is what Dineo Mogakane, a Bachelors of Agriculture in Extension and Rural Resources Management Graduate, and one of the Biodiversity Stewardship EMs, has to say ‘Home gardens are an important source of food and nutrition and have established a traditional way of providing food. They offer great potential for improving household food security, and alleviating poverty in our country’.

Within the K2C Biosphere, most households are characterized by high levels of poverty and unemployment. Home gardens can help enhance food security through direct access to nutritiously-rich fresh vegetables.

The EMs have been doing their best with the establishment of their own home gardens and have encouraged their communities to do the same to ensure food security and assist in curbing poverty within rural communities. The EMs also assisted in motoring community gardens in their local villages.

One of the EMs attending to his home vegetable garden started during lockdown.

In most communities water availability remains the main factor preventing community members from establishing vegetable gardens and winning the battle against poverty and food insecurity. During the Covid-19 crisis, it would be great if each household could try and utilize what resources they have available to ensure their household’s food security by growing nutritious vegetables through home gardens.

ONE HOUSEHOLD, ONE GARDEN.

This work is funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry & Fisheries and implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks). 

– By Dimakatso Nonyane, Resilient Waters Project Manager

The Environmental Monitors’ Cleaning Campaign and efforts to create a safe environment for all is being realised in their respective communities. One of the biggest challenges of waste management is the need for a dumping area or skip bins that are regularly emptied by the Municipality.

In February 2020 the Environmental Monitors in the Greenvalley area decided to take action following the number of pollution points they had recorded, largely of Nappies and other household waste. Engaging with their communities and CWP members they launched a cleaning campaign to pick up waste that had been dumped in the veld and along river systems in their community. The municipality was contacted to assist with collecting of the waste. The EMs used the campaign to raise awareness around the dangers of polluting water sources that are used for people and livestock. The idea around this was to change the behavior of the community members so that they can practice proper disposal of waste. The communities now see the importance of dumping waste at a designated site rather than dumping in the nearest river or donga.

EMs collecting waste and loading the municipal waste truck.

 After lockdown, when the EMs were on their usual daily patrols again they noticed that community members where now dumping their waste in the spots where the municipality had collected during the awareness campaign. This was a big highlight for the EMs because they realised that their hard work is paying off. Although they know that they still have a long way to go they felt the need to celebrate this milestone as a sign of change.

The Bushbuckridge municipality has promised to provide the Moloro area in Greenvalley with a skip bin and we are hoping that this will encourage other communities to start thinking about proper waste disposal processes too.

“This is very encouraging and it shows that the community needs a solution to waste management, we feel proud when we go out in the morning and patrol our villages and inform the communities of the different environmental issues” said the community based EMs.

 This work is funded by the 1) Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry & Fisheries and implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks), 2) USAID Resilient Waters Program and partners Bushbuckridge Municipality.

– By Cindy Koen, fRfR Project Coordinator

Culture is something that is deeply embedded in the essence of who you are. It guides you in life in terms of the person you are, what you believe in, what you like or dislike, the people you mix with and even your religious beliefs. It allows you to see right from wrong and influences every single decision that you make in life. Culture is way more than just skin deep, it goes into your heart and soul.

But what happens when those cultural beliefs are discriminating others? This issue is not limited to one culture, this is a multi-cultural issue. Let us look at a few examples:

• Women are believed to be ‘dirty’ or ‘contaminated’ during their monthly menstrual cycle.
• Women are ‘asking for it’ if they dress a certain way
• It is a woman’s responsibility to raise children
• Only women do housekeeping work
• Women are inferior to men
• Women need to bow down to men in their household
• Women do not have a say or a voice

This list can go on forever! What do you answer to these questions? Do you agree with them, or do you feel that they are correct and accurate?

When we look at this from a human rights perspective, not even just a women’s rights perspective, every single one of these statements are WRONG!

A woman is certainly not ‘dirty’ or ‘contaminated’ just because she is undergoing a naturally occurring process. It makes her a fighter and it makes her strong. This gives her the ability to work magic in her body and transform mere cells into the potential of forming another human being. That deserves your utmost respect and support, not your judgement.

As for the woman that is ‘asking for it’ by the way she dressed… Well, I don’t know about you, but, NO means NO! Perhaps these men should look at themselves and learn to respect those around them and learn some self-control.

We are made equal; it is time that we stand up for those around us. Stand up and protect the Mothers and Daughters of our societies. It only takes one voice to change someone’s perspective. Like the wise Oprah Winfrey said: “The smallest change in perspective can transform a life. What tiny attitude adjustment might turn your world around?”

 This work is funded by the 1) Government of Flanders

A short film produced as part of the SANBI BLU project focuses on the Blyde River Canyon Reserve and the Mahubahuba, Moarabjang, Sethlare and the Moletele Community Property Associations.  The area has a rich history with the local communities submitting land claims in the area, with the possibility for opportunities for the respective communities to benefit from tourism, and job creation through preserving their natural heritage and the environment. In anticipation of a successful land claim, these Community Property Associations representing villages situated along the Mpumalanga escarpment chose to have their land included in the iconic Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.

This film was the last project the K2C Team worked on with the legendary Laurence Dworkin, he will be sorely missed (see previous tribute article).    

This project is made possible through the input and support of partners that includes AWARD, Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency, SAEON and Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries.

The Biodiversity and Land Use Project (BLU) is implemented by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) together with its partners, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).