WORKING FOR LAND (WfL) DEFINED

Working for Land intends to make more land productive for the communities to sustain their livelihoods.

ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE LAND USE PRACTICES

Working for Land is all about encouraging and supporting sustainable land use practices, raising awareness and promoting resource conservation ethics. It is a sustainable resource utilisation programme based on community partnerships and cooperation. Working for Land focus area or subprogramme also seeks to address the issues of poverty through job creation by implementing various natural resource rehabili¬tation and conservation projects.

This focus area aims to restore and rehabilitate degraded land as well as the composition structure of environment leading to better performing ecosystems. Improvements on ecosystems generally will lead to carbon sequestration, better water yields and quality. This will reduce environmental risks and improve the sustainability of livelihoods while increasing productive potential of land and promote economic empowerment in rural areas. This will also improve natural species diversity and catchment stability.

DFFE AS THE UNCCD FOCAL POINT IN SOUTH AFRICA

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 

(UNCCD) provides a framework for countries affected by desertification to address the problem of land degradation effectively on national and international levels. As a party to the convention, South Africa committed to the development and implementation of a long-term strategy to address issues relating to desertification rendering the DFFE as the focal point of the UNCCD in South Africa.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

• To restore and rehabilitate degraded land.
• To mitigate bush encroachment.
• To maintain and improve the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services.
• To improve productivity to enhance food security.
• To increase resilience of the land and population dependent on the land.
• To mitigate loss of topsoil, which will enhance ecological integrity of the ecosystem.
• To encourage better land use practices.
• To support the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Programme and desertification, land degradation and the effects of drought (DLDD).
• To control erosion and combat desertification.
• To support climate change resilience and adaptation.

DESERTIFICATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. Ecological restoration is widely used to reverse the environmental degradation caused by human activities, linking environment and development to sustainable land manage­ment. The convention addresses the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the dry lands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and people can be found.

LAND DEGRADATION NEUTRALITY (LDN)

The UNCCD defines land degradation neutrality (LDN) as a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems. The goal is to maintain or enhance the land resource base - in other words, the stocks of natural capital associated with land resources and the ecosystem services that flow from them. The definition emphasises the importance of ecosystem services in achieving sustainability of food production. The key national development priorities are to reduce poverty, ensure food security, create jobs and reduce inequality. Implementation of LDN will address some of these national development priorities.

The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Programme seeks to address degradation of land due to desertification, overgrasing, soil erosion, poor storm water management and unsustainable farming practices.

INTERLINKAGE OF LAND DEGRADATION, BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change are interlinked global environmental challenges. An increase in land degradation may lead to a vicious cycle of biodiversity loss and climate change. The Working for Land focus area aims at promoting the greater community with rehabilitated areas of land by planting indigenous trees and grass as well as to make more land available for agricultural purposes. The LDN concept is useful in promoting the adoption of a systems perspective to address the challenge of land degradation. It also intends to make more land productive for the communities to sustain their livelihoods. The major challenges for this sub-programme include among others: soil erosion, bush encroachment, unsustainable cutting of firewood, overgrazing, unplanned housing settlements, unsustainable agricultural production practices and storm water management.

The achievement of LDN will result in environmental and socio-economic benefits at both national and local scales, this includes the following:

• Restoration of degraded lands.
• Ecosystem health and improved supply of ecosystem services.
• Facilitation of a low carbon economy.
• Increased land productivity and economic gains from agriculture.
• Social cohesion through job creation.
• Community ownership of sustainable land-based projects.
• Improvement of food security and water security.
• Improve grazing conditions and increase livestock productivity as well as sustainable livelihoods.

ADVANCEMENT OF CLIMATE ACTION

Achievement of LDN will advance climate action in several ways. These include improving ecosystem resilience, restoring carbon sequestration, raising awareness and exchanging knowledge (scientific and indigenous). The LDN Programme will therefore advance climate change action through both adaptation and mitigation.The working for land focus area aims at empowering the greater community with rehabilitated areas of land by planting trees and make more land available for agricultural land grazing uses. The major challenges for working for land are:

Storm water management to reduce soil erosion. | Unsustainable cutting of firewood. | Educational programmes to inform the communities on land management to improve the sustainability. | Protection of grasslands.

CATEGORIES OF PROJECTS

IMPLEMENTED WITHIN WORKING WfL

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS | 

Construction of light gabions. | Soil crete structure. | Earth works. | Storm water channels. | Stone pitching.

NON - INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS | 

LAND RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION

Projects implemented in this focus area aim at promoting the transition to sustainable and integrated management of land resources. The challenges addressed here can be as result of geological transformation, effects of desertification, soil erosion caused by poor storm water management and adverse land uses such as overgrazing. The deliverables in this category include among others:

• Silt fencing.
• Silt trips.
• Erection of fence on overgrazing land.
• Silt fencing, silt trips.
• Bush encroachment and soil erosion.
• Planting of indigenous trees and grass.
• Small scale removal of invasive shrubs, weeds or grasses.
• Demarcation of fire breaks on the perimeter.
• Sloping of dongas.
• Earth berms.
• Ponding.
• Mulching.