Mopani District Municipality Bioregional Plan

MOPANI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY BIOREGIONAL PLAN

DRAFT 3 COMPILED FOR REVIEW BY SANBI

Complied by:

Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET)

February 2016

Preface

This is the first bioregional plan for the Mopani District and, therefore, does not replace any existing Bioregional Plan. The Mopani District Municipality falls within the Limpopo Province of South Africa; and is comprised of the Greater Tzaneen, Greater Letaba, Greater Giyani, BaPhalaborwa and Maruleng Local Municipalities. The Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality covers the extent of the district municipal boundaries.

The Bioregional Plan serves as the primary biodiversity informant to a range of planning and landuse authorisation processes, although it is important to recognise that the Bioregional Plan does not replace any planning and decision making processes, and does not grant, limit or remove landuse rights.

NuLeaf Planning and Environmental (Pty) Ltd compiled the Mopani Bioregional Plan with support from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), South African National Parks (SANParks) and the various stakeholders within the Mopani District.

This Bioregional Plan was developed in 2015 / 2016 and is based on data sets and information available at that time. The CBA’s and ESA’s forming part of the Limpopo Conservation Plan were discussed in terms of physical aspects (such as updated land cover) and various planning instruments and informants (including protected areas planning, multisectoral planning, environmental planning informants and various regional plans and programmes).

During this process, real and potential threats and nonalignment between the Limpopo Conservation Plan and the assessed aspects as well as the various instruments and informants were identified.

A detailed description of the alignment process is contained in the Process and Consultation Report included as Appendix 1.

Resolutions were agreed upon with key stakeholders, specifically the Local and District Municipalities, in response to potential threats to biodiversity conservation within the district.

No conflicts persisted after the consultation phase, so no revision of the Limpopo Conservation Plan was required.

Key stakeholders accepted the Draft Mopani Bioregional Plan as proposed and presented.

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Acknowledgements

Sections of the Mopani District Municipality Bioregional Plan are extracted directly or adapted from the draft Bioregional Plan for the Waterberg District Municipality, which was produced by Dr Philip Desmet, Ms Deborah Vromans, Dr Stephen Holness and Mr Andrew Skowno of ECOSOL GIS. These sections pertain specifically to the purpose, objectives, users, monitoring and review of Bioregional Plans.

The Guideline Regarding the Determination of Bioregions and the Preparation and Publication of Bioregional Plans (DEAT, 2009) was also used extensively to guide the report structure and content.

The Map of Critical Biodiversity Areas for the Mopani District Municipality is based on the provincial product developed in LCPv2 (Desmet et al., 2013).

Acknowledgements are extended to all the stakeholders within the Mopani District who contributed to the alignment of this Bioregional Plan with the spatial plans, programmes and policies applicable to the Mopani District Municipality. Special thanks are extended to the following persons:

Karen Steenkamp (LEDET) Errol Moeng (LEDET) M A Monoko (LEDET) Ntshaveni Mudau (Mopani District) Marisa Coetzee (SANParks) Eddie Riddell (SANParks) Steve Collins (USAID RESILIM Projects) Stephen Holness (USAID RESILIM Projects) Philip Desmet (Ecosol) MarieTinka Uys (Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve) Tammy Smith (SANBI) Sagwata Manyike (SANBI)

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Contents

Preface ...... i Acknowledgements ...... ii Contents ...... iii List of Tables ...... iv List of Figures ...... iv List of Appendices ...... vi List of Abbreviations ...... vi Executive Summary ...... viii PART 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 Purpose and objectives ...... 1 1.2 Need for a Bioregional Plan ...... 2 1.3 Intended users and uses ...... 3 1.4 Underlying Biodiversity Plan and limitations ...... 5 1.5 Legislative context ...... 6 1.6 Physical context ...... 8 1.7 Methodology ...... 12 PART 2: BIODIVERSITY PROFILE ...... 13 2.1 Physical environment ...... 13 2.2 Natural environment ...... 16 2.3 Manmade environment ...... 34 2.4 Planning environment ...... 40 PART 3: CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AREAS ...... 71 3.1 Description ...... 71 3.2 Interface with other biodiversity plans ...... 74 3.3 Bioregional plan ...... 76 PART 4: GUIDELINES FOR DECISION MAKING ...... 83 4.1 Overarching guidelines ...... 83 4.2 Additional guidelines ...... 99 PART 5: ADDITIONAL MEASURES ...... 99 5.1 Data collation and management ...... 99 5.2 Effective biodiversity management ...... 100 5.3 Building a biodiversity economy ...... 103 5.4 Awareness raising ...... 105

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PART 6: MONITORING AND REVIEW ...... 106 6.1 Monitoring and review ...... 106 PART 7: GIS FILES ...... 109 REFERENCES ...... 111 GLOSSARY ...... 115 APPENDICES ...... 118

List of Tables

Table 1 : Overview of applicable legislation Table 2: Overview of the vegetation types found in Mopani District inclusive of the KNP Table 3: Summary of protection level status of vegetation in Mopani District Table 4: Overview of land cover classes in Mopani District inclusive of the KNP Table 5: Summary of land claims in Mopani District Table 6: Summary of Protected Areas and conservation areas in Mopani District Table 7: Description of Critical Biodiversity Categories Table 8: Extent of Critical Biodiversity Areas in Mopani District Table 9 : Summary of threats and resolutions for the Mopani Bioregional Plan Table 10: Overarching guidelines: Protected Areas Table 11: Overarching guidelines: CBA1 Table 12: Overarching guidelines: CBA2 Table 13: Overarching guidelines: ESA1 Table 14: Overarching guidelines: ESA2 Table 15: Overarching guidelines: ONA Table 16: Overarching guidelines: NNR Table 17: Summary of roles and responsibilities for monitoring and review of the Mopani Bioregional Plan

List of Figures

Figure 1: Locality

Figure 2: Local municipalities

Figure 3: Methodology

Figure 4a: Physical environment: relief Figure 4b: Physical environment: terrain morphology

Figure 5a: Natural environment: vegetation types Figure 5b: Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems threat status Figure 5c: Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems level of endemism Figure 5d: Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems protection status

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Figure 5e: Natural environment: ecological corridors

Figure 6a: Manmade environment: land use Figure 6b: Manmade environment: mining

Figure 7a: Planning environment: Protected Areas Figure 7b: Planning environment: Kruger National Park ILU zones Figure 7c: Planning environment: Foot and Mouth Disease control zones Figure 7d: Planning environment: National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy Figure 7e: Planning environment: Limpopo Protected Areas Expansion Strategy

Figure 8a: Planning environment: Environmental Management Framework Figure 8b: Planning environment: Local Municipality SDF’s

Figure 9a: Planning environment: Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region Figure 9b: Planning environment: FEPA Rivers Figure 9c: Planning environment: National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas Figure 9d: Planning environment: Strategic Water Resources Figure 9e: Planning environment: Important Bird Areas Figure 9f: Planning environment: Wolkberg Centre of Endemism

Figure 10a: Other plans and programmes: RESILIM Olifants Project

Figure 11: Limpopo Conservation Plan

Figure 12a: Interface: MBSP

Figure 13: Mopani Bioregional Plan

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List of Appendices

Appendix 1: Process and Consultation Report

List of Abbreviations

APNR Amalgamated Private Nature Reserves CBA Critical Biodiversity Area CBD: Convention of Biological Diversity CSIR: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research DEA Department of Environmental Affairs DMR Department of Mineral Resources DWAS Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation EA Environmental Authorisation EAP Environmental Assessment Practitioner EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EIP Environmental Implementation Plan EMF Environmental Management Framework EMPr Environmental Management Programme EPWP Extended Pubic Works Programme ESA Ecological Support Area FMD: Foot and Mouth Disease GEF: Global Environmental Facility GIS: Geographic Information System GLTFCA: Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area Ha: Hectares IBA Important Bird Area IDP Integrated Development Plan ILU: Integrated land Use IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature K2C: Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve KNP: Kruger National Park LCPv2: Limpopo Conservation Plan Version 2 LEDET: Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism LUPO LandUse Planning Ordinance MBP: Mopani Bioregional Plan MEC: Member of the Executive Committee MDM Mopani District Municipality MSA Municipal Systems Act (Act No. 32 of 2000) NBA: National Biodiversity Assessment, 2011 NBF National Biodiversity Framework NEMA National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) NEM:BA National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act No. 10 of 2004) NEM:PAA National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (Act No. 57 of 2003) NFA: National Forests Act (Act No. 84 of 1998) NFEPA National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas

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NGO: NonGovernmental Organisation NNR: No Natural (Habitat) Remaining NSBA National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, 2004 NWA: National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) OLCEMF: Olifants and Letaba Catchment Environmental Management Framework ONA: Other Natural Areas PES: Present Ecological State SANBI South African National Biodiversity Institute SANParks: South African National Parks SDF Spatial Development Framework SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SPLUMA: Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Act No. 16 of 2013) UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation WHS: World Heritage Site

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Executive Summary

Purpose and objectives:

The declaring of Bioregions and the gazetting of Bioregional Plans forms part of the legislated tools identified by the National Environment Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) to aid in the conservation and management of South Africa’s biodiversity.

The purpose of a Bioregional Plan is to facilitate the safeguarding of biodiversity within identified biodiversity priority areas that fall outside of the Protected Area Network.

Additionally, the aim is to provide a map of biodiversity priorities with accompanying land use planning and decisionmaking guidelines to inform land use planning, environmental assessment and authorisations, and natural resource management. A bioregional plan is the biodiversity sector's input into various multisectoral planning and authorisation processes.

Need for a Bioregional Plan:

A bioregional plan for the Mopani District is warranted based on the following:

• Biodiversity value. • Pressures on biodiversity and • Protection of biodiversity.

Intended users and uses:

The bioregional plan has both mandatory and recommended users. Mandatory users are obligated to take the bioregional plan into consideration, while recommended users could find the bioregional plan to be a useful planning and development tool.

Underlying biodiversity plan:

The Mopani Bioregional Plan is based on the critical biodiversity maps developed by the Limpopo Conservation Plan version 2 (2013), the current systematic biodiversity plan for the province undertaken by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET).

Physical context:

Mopani District Municipality (MDM) is situated in the northeastern part of the Limpopo Province, approximately 60 km east of Polokwane. There are five local munciplities, namely:

• Greater Taneen; • Greater Letaba; • Greater Giyani; • BaPhalaborwa and

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• Maruleng.

Methodology:

The Bioregional Plan was undertaken as follows:

• Understand and decribe the biodiversity profile, including the physical, natural, manmade and planning environments. • Understand and describe the Limpopo Conservation Plan, specifically in terms of CBA’s, ESA’s, ONA’s and NNR’s. • Overlay relevant planning instruments onto the Conservaton Plan to test the alignment of these with the Conservation Plan. Instruments include those pertaining to Protected Areas Planning, Multisectoral Planning, Other Informants, Land Cover, Mining and Other Plans and Programmes. • Identify and resolve potential threats and conflicts, and worshop these with stakeholders. • Develop the Bioregional Plan. • Conslidate Guidelines. • Recommend and describe monitoring and review procedures.

Significance of biodiversity:

The Savanna biome covers approximately 68% of the bioregion with the remainder being made up of Grassland (16%) and Forest (10%) biomes. Azonal vegetation is found in patches along rivers and wetlands, such as the Little and Great Letaba Rivers.

Mopani District, inclusive of the KNP, has twentyfive different vegetation types. Of these, twentyfour lie within the effective Bioregion (i.e. excluding the KNP).

9 of the 35 vegetation types are classified as Threatened ecosystems. Of these, 5 are classified as Vulnerable , 2 as Endangered and 2 as Critically Endangered . The majority of Threatened ecosystems are dispersed along the escarpment and in the north west of the District.

Nine of the vegetation types occurring within the District are classified as endemic and five as near-endemic . Transvenosus encephalartus , the prehistoric Modjadji palm is limited to the small Modjadji Nature Reserve within Ga kgapane.

In addition to unique and diverse vegetation, the Lowveld region has a number of important geothermal springs (the resort in the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve and Soutini Baleni on the banks of the Little Letaba River.)

Protected Areas, including a portion of the Kruger National Park (KNP), cover 31.7% of Mopani District and private reserves cover an additional 10.2%. The Amalgamated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) represents the bulk of the PNR’s in the District. These conservation areas also represent part of the core area of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region.

Notwithstanding the large percentage under formal protection, 48% of the vegetation types found in the District are under-protected which is the collective

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term used to refer to ecosystems that are unprotected, poorly protected and moderately protected.

The Wolkberg area is highly significant, functioning as an important biodiversity hotspot, Ecological Corridor, Centre of Endemism, Important Bird Area, Strategic Water Source and the source of the Great Letaba River system. In addition, the Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region is one of the highest scoring sites for expansion of Protected Areas in the Province, being particularly valuable in terms of Critical Biodiversity Areas and freshwater features. This was also identified as Limpopo’s largest endangered landscape.

Planning environment:

The following instruments and informants were addressed in terms of understanding the status quo of the planning environment relating to biodiversity conservaton and planning within the district:

• Protected Areas planning, including:

o Protected Areas. o Conservation Areas. o Kruger National Park Integrated Land Use Zones. o Foot and Mouth Disease Control Zones. o National and Limpopo Protectes Areas Expansion Starategy. o The GEF Protected Areas Project.

• Multi sectoral planning, including:

o The Olifants and Letaba Catchment Environmental Management Framework. o Integrated Development Plans for the District and Local Municipalities. o Startegic Development Frameworks for the District and Local Municipalities.

• Other Informants, including:

o Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region. o National Freshwter Ecosystem Priority Areas. o Strategic Water Resources. o Important Bird Areas. o Wolkberg Centre of Endemism.

• Other plans and programmes, including:

o RESILIM programme. o Environmental Outlook: Limpopo.

Critical Biodiversity Areas:

One of the outputs of the Limpopo Conservation Plan is a map of Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA’s) and Ecological Support Areas (ESA’s). These are

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classified into these different categories based on biodiversity characteristics, spatial configuration and requirement for meeting targets for both biodiversity pattern and ecological processes.

• Protected Areas are declared and formally protected under the Protected Areas Act, such as National Parks, legally declared Nature Reserves, World Heritage Sites and Protected Environments that are secured by appropriate legal mechanisms. • Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA’s) are sites that are required to meet each ecosystem’s biodiversity target, and need to be maintained in the appropriate condition for their category. The majority of the CBAs in the Mopani Bioregion are CBA 1, which can be considered irreplaceable in that there is little choice in terms of areas available to meet targets. If CBA 1 areas are not maintained in a natural state then targets cannot be achieved. Those areas falling within CBA 2 are considered optimal . Although they represent areas where there are other spatial options for achieving targets, the selected sites are the ones that best achieve targets of the systematic biodiversity plan. • Ecological Support Areas (ESA’s) are areas that are important for maintaining the ecological processes on which CBAs depend. This category has also been split into ESA 1 and ESA 2 on the basis of land cover. ESA 1 is in a largely natural state while ESA 2 are no longer intact but potentially retain significant importance from a process perspective (e.g. agricultural land maintaining landscape connectivity). • Other Natural Areas are areas that still contain natural habitat but that are not required to meet biodiversity targets. • No Natural Areas Remaining are areas without intact habitat remaining.

Mopani Bioregional Plan:

The proposed Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality was based on the Limpopo Conservation Plan v2 (Desmet et al ., 2013) and adapted to take into account stakeholder comments, threats and agreed resolutions. These threats and resolutions were tested during an extensive stakeholder consultation process (refer to Appendix 1). The agreed resolutions are summarised below:

Protected Areas:

• Threats due to:

o Mining and o Incompatible SDF zoning.

• Actions in response to te Bioregional Plan include the following:

o Remove existing mining area from PA network. Offset loss of PA/CBA1 by addition of area to the PA network. o Enforce environmental performance requirements for operation and closure of the mine(s). o Prioritise conservation areas and PNR’s for proclamation as PA’s o Verify designation of Private Nature Reserves and conservation areas.

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o Revise SDF land uses to align with Protected Areas (as per SANBI database). o Enforce EIA and WULA requirements in all Protected Areas. o Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in Protected Areas.

CBA1 and 2 areas:

• Threats due to:

o Potential loss of irreplaceable / optimal sites due to transformed land uses (towns, settlements, mining) o Potential threat to irreplaceable / optimal sites due to altered land uses (degraded land, agriculture, forestry) o Threat to irreplaceable / optimal sites due to mine expansion and new mines within mining rights areas o Threat to irreplaceable / optimal sites due to incompatible SDF zonation

• Actions in response to the Bioregional Plan include the following:

o Verify the nature and extent of land use transformation / alteration, if any o Verify the loss of biodiversity targets, if any o Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions and to achieve provincial targets o Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan o Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA areas. Institute penalties if required o Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA areas. Institute penalties if required o Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use o Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. o Monitor trends in other areas. o Revise Mining Rights areas to exclude CBA areas of the Bioregional Plan o Enforce EIA requirements for mine expansion and new mines in all CBA areas regardless of mining right status. o Enforce planning controls to stop the expansion and development of mines in CBA areas o Revise SDF land uses to align with CBA areas of the Bioregional Plan o Where necessary as an interim measure, utilise the Bioregional Plan in parallel with the SDF to adjudicate compatibility of land use o Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in CBA areas

ESA1 areas:

• Threats due to:

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o Potential loss of ecological processes that support CBA’s due to transformed land uses (towns, settlements, mining) o Potential threat to ecological processes that support CBA’s due to altered land uses (degraded land, agriculture, forestry) o Threat to ecological processes that support CBA’s due to mine expansion and new mines within mining rights areas o Threat to ecological processes that support CBA’s due to incompatible SDF zonation

• Actions in response to the Bioregional Plan include the following:

o Verify the nature and extent of land use transformation / alteration, if any o Verify the loss of support areas and ecological process, if any o Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions o Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan o Enforce EIA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required o Enforce WULA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required o Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use o Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. o Monitor trends in other areas. o Revise Mining Rights areas to exclude ESA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan o Enforce EIA requirements for mine expansion and new mines in all ESA1 areas regardless of mining right status o Enforce planning controls to stop the expansion and development of mines in ESA1 areas o Revise SDF land uses to align with ESA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan o Where necessary as an interim measure, utilise the Bioregional Plan in parallel with the SDF to adjudicate compatibility of land use o Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in ESA1 areas

Guidelines for decision-making:

Overarching guidelines provide guidance on landuses compatible with the land management objectives of each category on the Map of Critical Biodiversity Area Map. The guidelines of compatible and incompatible landuses are designed to aid planners to identify the appropriate zones and controls to impose on areas designated as Critical Biodiversity Areas or Ecological Support Areas.

Importantly, the Mopani Bioregional Plan provides guidance on appropriate land uses and does not grant or remove existing landuse rights or take the place of development application authorisation processes.

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The overarching guidelines should be used in conjunction with other sector specific guidelines applicable within the Province. Examples of such guidelines include the following:

• Mining and Biodiversity Guideline (SANBI, 2013), • Grazing and Burning Guidelines (SANBI, 2014), • Guidelines for working in Freshwater Priority Areas (Nel et al ., 2011), • The Grassland Ecosystem Guidelines (SANBI, 2013) and • Guidelines for incorporating biodiversity into Environmental Impact Assessment (Brownlie et al ., 2009).

Of specific relevance to the Mopani District are the various planning instruments and informants discussed in sections 2.4 and 3.4. Embedded in these documents are additional guidelines applicable to the Bioregion. These include the following:

• Limpopo Protected Area Expansion Strategy Technical Report (Desmet e t al , 2014), • Environmental Management Framework for the Olifants and Letaba Rivers Catchment Area (Environomics, 2009), • Guidelines for Development within Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region (unpublished report), • Veterinary Procedural Notice for Foot and Mouth Disease Control in South Africa (DAFF, 2014), • State of the Rivers Report: Letaba and Luvuvhu River Systems (WRC, 2001) and • Technical Report for the National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas project (Nel et al , 2011).

Additional measures:

In addition to the guidelines for decisionmaking, the Bioregional Plan recommends additional measures to support biodiversity management, conservation and planning within the Bioregion. These include ethe following:

• Data collation and management. • Effective biodiversity management. • Building a biodiversity economy and • Awareness raising.

Monitoring and review:

The Mopani District Municipality is the lead implementing agency for the Mopani Bioregional Plan. The following is a summary of their and other anticipated roles and responsibilities in terms of the Bioregional Plan:

• District municipality:

o Monitoring, reviewing and updating the Bioregional Plan. o Establishment of a biannual or annual monitoring and reporting programme upon gazetting of the Bioregional Plan. o Presentation of the Bioregional Plan to the Formal Municipality Council for adoption upon gazetting of the Bioregional Plan.

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o Compliation of an annual Audit Report on the effectiveness of the Bioregional Plan. o The review and revision of the published Bioregional Plan as per the review process (6.1.3).

• Coordination Committee:

o The ongoing evaluation of the use of the Bioregional Plan in land use planning and decisionmaking. o Recommendation to review and revise the Bioregional Plan.

• Local Municipalities:

o Representation on the Coordination Committee. o Revision of SDF’s in response to the Bioregional Plan. o Gathering of data on the performance indicators (6.1.2). o Feeding data to the MDM and the Coordination Committee for use as key indicators for the monitoring effectiveness of the Bioregional Plan.

• LEDET:

o Reviewing and updating the systematic biodiversity plan on which the Bioregional Plan is based (i.e. the Limpopo Conservation Plan). o Representation on the Coordination Committee.

The primary purpose of ongoing monitoring is to evaluate the ongoing implementation of the Bioregional Plan. In this respect, implementation monitoring indicators are proposed, which do not require investment into baseline biodiversity data gathering, but rather focus on the evaluation of the implementation mechanism. This should allow indicators to be evaluated on at least an annual basis.

However, it will be necessary to evaluate the biodiversity outcome of the implementation of the Bioregional Plan in order to conduct the required fiveyear review of the Bioregional Plan. Additional biodiversity monitoring indicators have been proposed in this regard.

The Bioregional Plan must be reviewed and updated (where necessary) at least every five years. The review process should examine the following:

• Progress towards the full implementation of the Bioregional Plan (as measured against the performance indicators). • The biodiversity outcome of the implementation actions (as measured against the performance indicators). • The need (or lack thereof) for an update of the underlying systematic biodiversity plan. Although the update of a systematic biodiversity plan is a data intensive and time consuming process, it is likely that this will be at least every five years. • The need (or lack thereof) for an update of the Bioregional Plan.

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Should the review process indicate that it is necessary to update the Bioregional Plan or components of the Bioregional Plan, then this should be undertaken, and the revised Bioregional Plan should be resubmitted to the Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) for approval. Ideally, this should be timed to precede the revision cycle for municipal SDFs.

Responsibility for the update of the Bioregional Plan lies with the Mopani District Municipality, the primary implementing agent of the Bioregional Plan. Importantly, the underlying Limpopo Conservation Plan remains the responsibility of the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET).

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PART 1: INTRODUCTION

The two main economic sectors in Mopani District are mining and agriculture. The mining industry is concentrated in the BaPhalaborwa Local Municipality and is dominated by copper and phosphates. The key focus of the agricultural industry is exportation of subtropical fruit such as tomatoes, bananas, mangoes, oranges and pineapples where it predominates in Tzaneen, Maruleng and Greater Letaba Local Municipalities.

These primary activities result in habitat modification, land degradation and ultimately the loss of biodiversity within the affected areas. Additionally, the Mopani District has experienced a steady population growth of 3 % in the past 10 years which places further pressure on already stressed natural resources in the municipality. The Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District is, therefore, an appropriate tool for addressing the management and conservation of biodiversity.

1.1 Purpose and objectives

The purpose of a Bioregional Plan is to facilitate the safeguarding of biodiversity within identified biodiversity priority areas that fall outside of the Protected Area Network 1.

Additionally, the aim of a Bioregional Plan is to provide a map of biodiversity priorities with accompanying land use planning and decision making guidelines to inform landuse planning, environmental assessment and authorisations, and natural resource management by a range of sectors whose policies and decisions impact on biodiversity. Bioregional plans are intended to feed into multisectoral planning and assessment processes such as Environmental Management Frameworks, Spatial Development Frameworks, Strategic Environmental

1 National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004)

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Assessments and Environmental Impact Assessments2. A bioregional plan is the biodiversity sector's input into various multisectoral planning and authorisation processes.

The Mopani Bioregional Plan is consistent with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the National Environmental Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) and the National Biodiversity Framework (NBF) in that the Bioregional Plan identifies and recognizes critical biodiversity areas and provides guidelines for the management and conservation thereof. Furthermore, it also supports the principles of integrated development planning and sustainable development by ensuring that the critical biodiversity areas identified are not in conflict with other landuse activities.

The Bioregional Plan provides a spatial representative of critical biodiversity areas (CBA) and ecological support areas (ESA) within the Mopani District. CBA’s and ESA’s are areas required to meet biodiversity patterns and/or ecological process targets. The Bioregional Plan aligns CBA’s and ESA’s with existing IDPs, SDFs, sector plans, EMF’s and the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve planning as well as with other regional plans and programmes. The primary objectives of the Bioregional Plan are:

• To avoid and/ or prevent loss and degradation of biodiversity in the priority areas (CBAs, ESAs) • To inform landuse planning and decision making.

1.2 Need for a Bioregional Plan

A bioregional plan for the Mopani District is warranted based on the following:

• Biodiversity value : Mopani District has a range of diverse ecosystems which supports many threatened flora and fauna. These ecosystems include indigenous forests, such as the Woodbush Forest Reserve, National Parks and Nature Reserves, mountain escarpments (Wolkberg Wilderness) and numerous wetlands. Three Important Birding and Biodiversity Areas occur within the municipality. More than half of Mopani District is covered by endemic and near endemic vegetation and nine ecosystems are listed as threatened by the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (NSBA) Terrestrial Ecosystem Status.

• Pressures on biodiversity : Agriculture and human settlement expansion are the main pressure sources that are exerted on biodiversity within the Mopani District. Uncontrolled creep of rural and urban settlements and associated land uses threaten to encroach on CBA’s and ESA’s alike. Although mining is concentrated in the BaPhalaborwa Local Municipality, and it is not widespread throughout the region, large parts of the District do, however, fall within mining rights areas which could result in an increase in mining activity. In addition, forestry activities, which are concentrated in the Tzaneen and Greater Letaba Local Municipalities,

2 DEAT (2009). Guideline Regarding the Determination of Bioregions and the Preparation and Publication of Bioregional Plans. Government Gazette No. 32006, Notice No. 291, 16 March 2009.

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occur in areas with high levels of endemism and within the most critically endangered ecosystems in the District.

• Protection of biodiversity: While the protected area expansion strategy plays a vital role in conserving biodiversity, very little of Mopani District has been earmarked for protected area expansion and, thus, will not be the leading conservation mechanism in the region. As such, integrated management of municipal and environmental planning tools such as, SDF’s and EMF’s will be the significant role player for the conservation and management of biodiversity in the Mopani District.

1.3 Intended users and uses

The intended users of the Bioregional Plan, as stated in NEM:BA 3 are as follows:

1.3.1 Mandatory users

• Local and District Municipalities i.e. Mopani District and the 5 local municipalities which fall in it. All critical biodiversity areas identified in the Bioregional plan must align with municipal planning tools (IDP’s, SDF’s etc.).

• Any organ of state that must prepare an environmental implementation plan (EIP) or environmental management framework (EMF) in terms of Chapter 3 of NEMA.

• Environmental decision makers who are required by section 2(1)(6) of NEMA to apply the NEMA section 2 principles in their decisionmaking:

National:

o National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) o National Department of Agriculture which should take o bioregions(s), bioregional plan(s) and identified critical biodiversity areas Into account in their authorisations (e.g. for ploughing virgin land, and for subdivision of agricultural land) o Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation (DWAS) which should take bioregion(s), bioregional plan(s) and identified critical biodiversity areas into account in their decisionmaking, for example in granting water licences o Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF)

3 DEAT (2009). Guideline Regarding the Determination of Bioregions and the Preparation and Publication of Bioregional Plans. Government Gazette No. 32006, Notice No. 291, 16 March 2009.

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o Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) which should take bioregion(s), bioregional plan(s) and identified critical biodiversity areas into account in their authorisations for prospecting and mining

Provincial:

o Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) o Department of Agriculture (LDA) which should take bioregions, bioregional plans and identified critical biodiversity areas into account in their comments on applications o Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) o Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure (LDPW) o Local and District Municipalities which, should take account of bioregion(s), bioregional plan(s) and identified critical biodiversity areas in issuing planning authorisations

1.3.2 Recommended Users

• Government departments and agencies whose decisions and actions impact on biodiversity and the natural environment, but whose core business and expertise is not biodiversity conservation. These include:

o Local and District Municipalities in addition to integrating critical biodiversity areas in the relevant bioregional plan into their IDPs and SDFs, should also integrate critical biodiversity areas and other relevant guidelines and recommendations from the bioregional plan into Environmental Management Frameworks ("EMFs") developed in terms of Chapter 8 of the EIA Regulations, 21 and zoning schemes (also known as planning or landuse schemes) o National and Provincial environmental departments which should take the provisions of bioregional plans into account in the development of provincial supplements to the NEMA EIA regulations (such as maps of sensitive areas) in terms of section 24A and in developing EMFs and National and Provincial Guidelines in terms of the Chapter 8 EIA regulations o Provincial conservation authorities which should use bioregional plans to guide their inputs into landuse planning, landuse decision making and natural resource management, if they have these functions o National and Provincial Department of Agriculture o Provincial departments responsible for spatial planning which should take bioregional plans into account in the development of provincial spatial plans or frameworks, and in their support to or approval of municipal spatial plans such as SDFs o Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation o Catchment management agencies which should integrate the relevant bioregional plan(s) in their Catchment Management Strategies and their planning about water allocations; o Department of land Affairs which should take bioregional plans into account in planning and implementing land reform programmes, and

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in the development of policy, legislation or guidelines for landuse planning and management o The Department of Housing which should avoid critical biodiversity areas in identifying suitable sites for new housing developments o The Department of Public Works which should take bioregional plans into account in identifying appropriate locations and routes for roads and other infrastructure

• Working for Water, Working for Wetlands, Land Care and other programmes that deal with maintaining and restoring natural resources, which should take bioregional plans into account in planning and scheduling their activities, prioritising critical biodiversity areas where possible

• Environmental and planning consultants undertaking Strategic Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Assessments, or the development of an IDP, SDF or EMF for a municipality.

• Conservation NGOs (i.e. organisations whose core business is biodiversity conservation). These organisations should use bioregional plans to guide their comments on planning tools such as SDFs and on development applications.

• Private landowners individuals and companies who want more information about the biodiversity value of their landholdings and who wish to make a contribution to conserving the nation's natural heritage by ensuring that the use of their land is compatible with biodiversity conservation and/or by securing priority sites in stewardship contracts.

1.4 Underlying Biodiversity Plan and limitations

As stated in the Guidelines for the publication of Bioregional Plans, a Bioregional Plan must be a spatial plan showing terrestrial and aquatic features in the landscape that are critical for conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem functioning.

A systematic biodiversity plan is a plan which identifies priority areas for biodiversity conservation based on internationally recognised systematic biodiversity planning principles, methodologies and techniques. A systematic biodiversity plan should possess four crucial features, namely: the principles of representation and persistence, setting of quantitative biodiversity targets, and efficiency and conflict avoidance in the spatial configuration.4

4 DEAT (2009). Guideline Regarding the Determination of Bioregions and the Preparation and Publication of Bioregional Plans. Government Gazette No. 32006, Notice No. 291, 16 March 2009.

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The Limpopo Conservation Plan fulfils all of the requirements as above as a revised and updated version of the vegetation types described in Mucina and Rutherford 2006 was utilized and wetland and river systems were included, as well as, data on the distribution and habitat of threatened species. The Limpopo Conservation Plan also focuses on three key areas (namely climate change, hydrological processes and species requirements) to ensure that biodiversity persists in the future. Additionally, biodiversity targets were set for both biodiversity pattern and process features indicating how much of each feature is required to ensure representation and persistence. 5

Owing to the identification of critical biodiversity and ecological support areas, the protection of protected areas, as well as, the fact that quantitative biodiversity targets have been set which identifies how much of a certain biological features needs to be conserved in order for it to persist in the near future.

The following limitations apply to this Bioregional Plan:

• The Bioregional Plan does not negate the need for site assessments, particularly Environmental Impact Assessments required in terms of NEMA. On site verification of identified CBA’s and ESA’s is still required. • The systematic biodiversity plan is designed to be used on a 1:50 000 scale which provides a broad overview of the entire Limpopo Province. While this plan can be used a finer scale, specialist interpretation of the specific features identified will be required on a site level. • The Limpopo Conservation Plan was developed using nationally prescribed methods (SANBI, 2014) and based on the best available data at the time of its development. The limitation of input data need to be acknowledged during development planning processes, particularly at the sitelevel. • Continuous changes to land use and land use patterns may result in encroachment into natural areas / critical biodiversity areas, and as a result, additional areas may need to be reassigned or designated as CBA’s in order to meet biodiversity targets as set out in the Limpopo Conservation Plan. The reassignment of CBA’s does not fall within the scope of the Bioregional Plan, although recommendations in terms of the need for such reassignment will be addressed.

1.5 Legislative context

Table 1 : Overview of applicable legislation

Name Overview National To provide for cooperative environmental governance by Environmental establishing principles for decisionmaking on matters affecting Management Act the environment, institutions that will promote cooperative (Act No. 107 of governance and procedures for coordinating environmental 1998) functions exercised by organs of state; to provide for certain aspects of the administration and enforcement of other

5 Desmet, P.G., Holness, S., Skowno, A. and Egan, V.T. (2013). Limpopo Conservation Plan v.2: Technical Report. Contract Number EDET/2216/2012. Report for Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) by ECOSOL GIS.

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environmental management laws; and to provide for matters connected therewith. National The purpose of the Biodiversity Act is to provide for the Environmental management and conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity Management: within the framework set out by NEMA and the protection of Biodiversity Act (Act species and ecosystems that warrant national protection. As part No. 10 of 2004) of its implementation strategy, the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment was developed. The Act lists species that are threatened or require protection to ensure their survival in the wild, while regulating the activities, which may involve such listed threatened or protected species and activities which may have a potential impact on their longterm survival. The Act has listed flora and fauna species. National The Act provides for the protection and conservation of Environmental ecologically viable areas representative of South Africa’s Management: biological diversity and its natural landscapes and seascapes; for Protected Areas Act the establishment of a national register of all national, provincial (Act No. 57 of 2003) and local protected areas; for the management of those areas in accordance with national norms and standards; for intergovernmental cooperation and public consultation in matters concerning protected areas, and for matters in connection therewith. National Spatial The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (NSBA) classifies Biodiversity areas as worthy of protection based on its biophysical Assessment, 2004 characteristics, which are ranked according to priority levels. National Biodiversity The purpose of the NBA is to assess the state of South Africa’s Assessment, 2011 biodiversity based on best available science, with a view to understanding trends over time and informing policy and decisionmaking across a range of sectors. National Biodiversity The purpose of the NSF is to provide a framework to coordinate Framework and align the efforts of the many organisations and individuals involved in conserving and managing South Africa's biodiversity, in support of sustainable development. The NBF provides a framework for conservation and development which is detailed in 33 Priority Actions. List of Threatened The purpose of listing threatened ecosystems is primarily to species / ecosystems reduce the rate of ecosystem and species extinction. This includes preventing further degradation and loss of structure, function and composition of threatened ecosystems. Threatened ecosystems are identified using different criteria such as: • Irreversible loss of natural habitat • Ecosystem degradation and loss of integrity • Limited extent and imminent threat • Threatened plant and animal species associations • Priority areas for meeting explicit biodiversity targets as defined in a systematic biodiversity plan National Forests Act This Act provides for the management, utilisation and protection (Act No. 84 of of forests through the enforcement of permitting requirements 1998): associated with the removal of protected tree species, as indicated in a list of protected trees (first promulgated in 1976 and updated since). The National Water This Act aims to provide management of the national water Act (Act No. 36 of resources to achieve sustainable use of water for the benefit of 1998) all water users. Municipal Systems This Act aims to empower local government to fulfil its Act (Act No. 32 of Constitutional objects, regulate key municipal organisational,

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2000) planning participatory and service delivery systems. Spatial Planning and This act is a framework act for all spatial planning and land Land Use use management legislation in South Africa. It seeks to promote Management Act consistency and uniformity in procedures and decisionmaking in (Act No. 16 of 2013) this field. Convention of South Africa is a signatory to the CBD, which requests countries Biological Diversity to: (CBD) • Establish a system of protected areas to conserve biodiversity; • Develop guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas; • Promote the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and the maintenance of viable populations of species. Biosphere reserves: The primary objectives of biosphere reserves are the The Seville Strategy conservation of biological diversity; sustainable use and fair and and the Statutory equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of Framework of the genetic resources (in accordance with the Convention on World Network. Biological Diversity). UNESCO, Paris (UNESCO, 1996)

1.6 Physical context

1.6.1 Locality

Mopani District Municipality (MDM) is situated in the Northeastern part of the Limpopo Province, approximately 60 km east of Polokwane.

MDM is bordered in the north by the Vhembe District Municipality, in the south by Mpumalanga Province (through Ehlanzeni District Municipality), in the west by Capricorn District Municipality and in the east by Mozambique. Almost a third of the District lies within the borders of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

The District spans a total area of 2 001 837 Ha (20 018 km²), inclusive of a the KNP portion, which extends from Olifants to Tshingwedzi camps. There are 16 urban areas (towns and townships), 354 villages (rural settlements) and a total of 125 Wards 6.

Refer to Figure 1.

1.6.2 Local municipalities

Refer Figure 2. Mopani District Municipality consists of five Local Municipalities 7, namely:

• Greater Tzaneen which comprises of a land area of 3 240 km². The municipal area is characterized by extensive and intensive farming activities (commercial timber, cash crops, tropical and citrus fruit production); mountainous, inaccessible terrain in the west and south, and uneven topography (gentle slopes) to the north and east. There are

6 Mopani District Municipality Integrated Development Plan, 2011-2016 (2013/14) 7 Mopani District Municipality Integrated Development Plan, 2011-2016 (2013/14)

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areas with exceptional natural beauty and considerable untapped tourism potential. • Greater Letaba has 80 settlements with total area coverage of 1 891 km 2. Resources are relatively scarce throughout the municipality, although Greater Letaba forms part of the African Ivory Route, and therefore has potential to develop ecotourism. • Greater Giyani covers an extent of 4 171,6 km² and has 93 sparsely located villages, many of which rely on susbsistence agriculture. Primary economic activities within the municipality relate to government and administration. The municipality has potential for tourism and conservation development due to existing natural heritage sites, mining, latent farming schemes and the processing of natural products (Mopani worms and Marula fruit). Kruger National Park has also given the go ahead for the opening of a commercial gate around Muyexe (i.e. Shangoni gate). • Ba-Phalaborwa includes a unique natural environment comprising a number of conservation areas and eco tourism development. These, and the large mining development form the key economic drivers within the municipality. Phalaborwa has been identified as a provincial growth point in Limpopo. • Maruleng municipal area extent is 3 247 km². The municipal area is characterised by typical Lowveld vegetation and is evenly sloped with isolated kopies and ridges. Of note is that Maruleng has been identified as a Presidential Poverty Node.

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Figure 1 : Locality

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Figure 2 : Local Municipalities

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1.7 Methodology

Figure 3 : Methodology

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PART 2: BIODIVERSITY PROFILE

2.1 Physical environment

2.1.1 Terrain morphology

Mopani District is predominately characterized by plains and undulating plains, with the south western boundary formed by the high mountains of the escarpment. Elevations range from around 200m a.s.l on the plains to more than 2 200 m a.s.l at the highest points of the escarpment.

The Olifants River catchment (including the Letaba and Shingwedzi catchments) is a sub catchment of the Limpopo Basin and is the largest tributary of the Limpopo River.

The District is represented by two secondary catchments, namely the Great Letaba Catchment in the north, and the Lower Olifants Catchment in the south. These rivers converge far to the east, just before the Mozambican border.

The Great Letaba River originates in the Wolkberg in the south west of the District. Some tributaries of the Olifants also originate in the Wolkberg, and the primary Olifants River descends the escarpment here as well.

These rivers flow in an easterly direction through the District, away from the escarpment and towards the coast, passing through the KNP and Mozambique enroute.

Refer Figure 4a and 4b.

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Figure 4a: Physical environment: relief

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Figure 4b: Physical environment: terrain morphology

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2.2 Natural environment

2.2.1 Significance of biodiversity

Mopani District, inclusive of the KNP, has twentyfive different vegetation types. Of these, twentyfour lie within the effective Bioregion (i.e. excluding the KNP).

9 of the 35 vegetation types are classified as Threatened ecosystems . Of these, 5 are classified as Vulnerable , 2 as Endangered and 2 as Critically Endangered . The majority of Threatened ecosystems are dispersed along the escarpment and in the north west of the District.

Notwithstanding the large percentage under formal protection, 48% of the vegetation types found in the District are under-protected which is the collective term used to refer to ecosystems that are unprotected, poorly protected and moderately protected.

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2.2.2 Terrestrial ecosystems

2.2.2.1 Threatened ecosystems

Ecosystem threat status refers to the degree to which an ecosystem is still intact, or alternatively losing vital aspects of its structure, function or composition. Ecosystems are listed as Threatened based on their risk of extinction as a result of irreversible loss of natural habitat, ecosystem degradation and loss of integrity. The main purpose of listing threatened ecosystems is, therefore, to counteract this risk.

SANBI has developed a system for assessing threat status that uses a suite of criteria to assign national ecosystem status to South African vegetation types. The National Threatened Ecosystems List covers a list of threatened terrestrial ecosystems published by the Minister of Environmental Affairs in December 2011 in terms of NEM:BA.

• Vulnerable ecosystems are located in the far north and south of the Bioregion, and to a lesser extent in the central part, mostly on the plains. Included are the following vegetation types:

o Granite Lowveld Bushveld o Lowveld Rugged Mopaneveld o Makhado Sweet Bushveld o Makuleke Sandy Bushveld o Northern Escarpment Quartzite Sourveld

• Endangered ecosystems are located in the west of the Bioregion, on the undulating plains and hills and at the foot of the escarpment in the south west. Included are the following vegetation types:

o Tzaneen Sour Lowveld o Legogote Sour Lowveld

• Critically Endangered ecosystems occur only within the mountainous areas surrounding Haenertsburg, Politsi and Duiwelskloof. Included are the following vegetation types:

o Woodbush Granite Grassland o Lowveld Riverine Forest

Refer to Table 2 and Figure 5b.

2.2.2.2 Level of endemism

56% of the vegetation in the District is classified as endemic or near endemic (i.e. 36% endemic and 20% near-endemic ).

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Endemic ecosystems are located in the west of the Bioregion, on the undulating plains and hills and at the foot of the escarpment in the south west. A strip also extends across plains across the interior and into the KNP.

Nearendemic ecosystems are located on the plains in the north east of the Bioregion as well as in the east, with small patches within the mountainous areas surrounding Haenertsburg, Politsi and Duiwelskloof.

36% of the endemic and near-endemic vegetation types are classified as threatened.

Refer to Table 2 and Figure 5c.

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Table 2: Overview of vegetation types found in Mopani District inclusive of the KNP

Remainingextent within SA (%) EndemisminProvince EcosystemStatus BiodiversityTarget (%) Provincial- Levels Protection of - Provincial No VegetationType Biome AreainMDM (Ha) of % SAextent inMDM 1 Granite Lowveld Bushveld S 628500.8 31.7 79.2 Vulnerable 19 Not 2 Gravelotte Rocky Bushveld S 28345.4 87.6 85.5 Endemic Least Threatened 19 Poor 3 Legogote Sour Lowveld S 2675.6 0.75 50.4 Endangered 19 Not 4 Lowveld Riverine Forest F 528.7 3.3 97.6 Critically Endangered 31 Well 5 Lowveld Rugged Mopaneveld S 277322.9 88.0 80.2 Near endemic Vulnerable 19 Well 6 Makhado Sweet Bushveld S 2649.2 0.3 72.8 Endemic Vulnerable 19 Not 7 Makuleke Sandy Bushveld S 4194.2 2.0 73.3 Endemic Vulnerable 19 Well 8 Mamabolo Mountain Bushveld S 6220.9 9.1 93.9 Endemic Least Threatened 24 Poor 9 Mopane Basalt Shrubland S 173482.4 61.9 99.6 Near Endemic Least Threatened 19 Well 10 Mopane Gabbro Shrubland S 25139.2 81.0 99.7 Near Endemic Least Threatened 19 Well 11 Northern Escarpment Afromontane Fynbos G 47.4 4.8 99.3 Least Threatened 27 Not 12 Northern Escarpment Quartzite Sourveld G 11720.8 8.6 61.6 Vulnerable 27 Well 13 Northern Lebombo Bushveld S 42207.3 31.5 99.8 Least Threatened 24 Well 14 Northern Mistbelt Forest F 16477.0 26.9 83.7 Least Threatened 30 Well 15 Ohrigstad Mountain Bushveld S 198.7 0.1 90.7 Near endemic Least Threatened 24 Poor 16 Phalaborwa Timbavati Mopaneveld S 139647.7 62.7 95.1 Least Threatened 19 Well 17 Polokwane Plateau Bushveld S 625.3 0.1 83.2 Endemic Least Threatened 19 Poor 18 Poung Dolomite Mountain Bushveld S 309.5 0.3 94.1 Endemic Least Threatened 24 Poor 19 Subtropical Alluvial Vegetation Az 4444.3 6.7 84.5 Near Endemic Least Threatened 31 Well

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20 Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands Az 162.0 0.2 96.4 Least Threatened 24 Poor 21 Subtropical Salt Pans Az 168.3 5.1 89.5 Least Threatened 24 Well 22 Tsende Mopaneveld S 360270.4 68.5 88.4 Endemic Least Threatened 19 Well 23 TshokwaneHlane Basalt Lowveld S 3483.1 1.0 83.5 Least Threatened 19 Well 24 Tzaneen Sour Lowveld S 240084.4 70.1 59.2 Endemic Endangered 19 Poor 25 Woodbush Granite Grassland G 31941.1 94.0 10 Endemic Critically Endangered 27 Poor

Key:

Biome : S = Savanna, F = Forest, G = Grassland, Az = Azonal Vegetation Endemism : Endemic = More than 80% of national extent occurs in Limpopo Province; Near Endemic = More than 60% of national distribution within Limpopo Province. Levels of Protection : Not Protected = Zero or less than 5% of biodiversity target; Poorly Protected = 5–49% of biodiversity target; Moderately Protected = 50–99% of biodiversity target; and, Well Protected= >100% of biodiversity target.

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2.2.2.3 Protection status

Ecosystem types are categorised as not protected, poorly protected, moderately protected or well protected, based on the proportion of each ecosystem type that occurs within a protected area recognised under the Protected Areas Act.

NEM:PAA sets out several categories of Protected Areas, namely Special Nature Reserves, National Parks, Nature Reserves and Protected Environments. It also recognises World Heritage Sites, Marine Protected Areas, Specially Protected Forest Areas and Mountain Catchment Areas, all of which are declared in terms of other legislation 8.

Determining the ecosystem protection level is significant in that it highlights which ecosystems are under protected by Protected Areas.

The ecosystem protection level status is assigned as follows:

Well Protected : If an ecosystem type has more than 100% of its biodiversity target met in Protected Areas. Moderately Protected : When less than 100% of the biodiversity target is met in Protected Areas. Poorly Protected : If less than 50% of the biodiversity target is met in Protected Areas. Not Protected : If less than 5% of the biodiversity target is met in Protected Areas.

Formal Protected Areas cover 31.7% of Mopani District and private reserves cover an additional 10.2%. This is a combined total of 41.9% of the District with protection status.

Note: In addition to the above, there are also areas which are informally conserved through private nature reserves or conservation orientated game or stock farms, but no national mechanism yet exists for the validation of these areas in terms of their contribution towards achieving national biodiversity targets. Whilst these areas do make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation nationally the lack of a provincial or national database of these areas or verification of conservation management effectiveness of these areas means their contributions towards achieving targets is not considered in the Levels of Protection calculation.

Within Mopani District, 48% of the ecosystems are under protected. Four ecosystems are not protected at all, which includes three threatened ecosystems (Granite Lowveld Bushveld and Lowveld Rugged Mopaneveld classified as Vulnerable and Legogote Sour Lowveld classified as Endangered ). Eight ecosystems are poorly protected, and thirteen well protected.

Woodbush Granite Grassland is not only Critically endangered and poorly protected, but also endemic to Limpopo province. 94% of this vegetation type is

8 Driver A et al. 2012 .National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: An assessment of South Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems. Synthesis Report. South African National Biodiversity Institute and Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria.

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 21 found in MDM, however, only 10% is still in a natural state. 0% of this vegetation type is protected. The loss of this vegetation type can be directly attributed to forestry which covers the area from Haenertsburg to Duiwelskloof.

In general, well and moderately protected ecosystems lie in the central and eastern parts of the Bioregion, mostly on the plains, while the western, more hilly part of the Bioregion as well as the escarpment along the south western boundary are poorly protected or not protected at all.

Note: It can be said that vegetation types of which the majority are located in Protected Areas have a higher level of protection and require a lesser degree of consideration within the Bioregional Plan. However, these vegetation types should not be excluded from CBA’s or ESA’s as they may house species of conservation concern or other significant ecological processes.

Refer to Table 3 and Figure 5d.

Table 3: Summary of protection level status of vegetation in Mopani District

Not Protected ( < 5% of the biodiversity target is met) Granite Lowveld Bushveld Legogote Sour Lowveld Makhado Sweet Bushveld Northern Escarpment Afromontane Fynbos Poorly Protected ( < 50% of the biodiversity target is met) Gravelotte Rocky Bushveld Mamabolo Mountain Bushveld Ohrigstad Mountain Bushveld Polokwane Plateau Bushveld Poung Dolomite Mountain Bushveld Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands Tzaneen Sour Lowveld Woodbush Granite Grassland Moderately Protected (< 100% of the biodiversity target is met) N/A Well Protected ( >100% of biodiversity targets are met) Lowveld Riverine Forest Lowveld Rugged Mopaneveld Makuleke Sandy Bushveld Mopane Basalt Shrubland Mopane Gabbro Shrubland Northern Escarpment Quartzite Sourveld Northern Lebombo Bushveld Northern Mistbelt Forest Phalaborwa Timbavati Mopaneveld Subtropical Alluvial Vegetation Subtropical Salt Pans Tsende Mopaneveld Tshokwane Hlane Basalt Lowveld

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Figure 5a : Natural environment: vegetation types

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Figure 5b : Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems threat status

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Figure 5c : Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems level of endemism

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Figure 5d : Natural environment: terrestrial ecosystems protection status

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2.2.2.4 Important terrestrial features

• Threatened species:

Plants:

The Wolkberg Centre of Endemism ( Northern Mistbelt Forest ) is located on the escarpment of the Drakensberg Mountains in the south west of the District. The Wolkberg Centre flora are prolific with more than 40 species endemic or near endemic to the dolomites and 90 to the quartz and shale derived substrates.

The three families with the largest number of endemics on the quarzitic and related rock types are the Asteraceae, Iridaceae and Liliaceae . The asteraceous genus Helichrysum, with 10 species being the most prolific in producing endemics. Gladiolus has more than ten species endemic to the region as a whole. The Liliaceae is the family with the largest number of dolomite endemics to the region as a whole, followed by the Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae and Acanthaceae .

For mosses, the Wolkberg Centre is one of the main southern African centres of diversity and a secondary centre of endemism. Significantly, nearly all the endemics (notably the quarzitic ones) are grassland species. Most of the taxa endemic to the Wolkberg Centre appear to be palaeoendemics 9.

The Modjadji Nature Reserve is home to the only pure cycad forest in southern Africa. Transvenosus encephalartus , the prehistoric Modjadji palm is limited to this small reserve, and can grow to be thousands of years old and may reach up to 13m in height.

Mammals:

Gunning's Golden Mole, Amblysomus gunning (Endangered) is endemic to Limpopo. They are known only to occur in the Grootbosch Forest and the Agatha Forest Reserve.

Reptiles:

Methuens Dwarf Gecko, Lygodactylus methueni (Vulnerable) are endemic to the Woodbush Forest area and Haenertsburg Common.

Birds:

The Blue Swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea (Vulnerable) and Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus (Critically Endangered) are endemic to South Africa, where a very small population of around 30 individuals occurs over 600 km to the north in the Magoebaskloof area of Limpopo Province

Amphibians:

9 Environmental Management Framework for the Olifants and Letaba Rivers Catchment Area, 2009.

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The Forest Rain Frog, Breviceps sylvestris (Endangered) is endemic to the Limpopo Province, occurring on the Blouberg, Soutpansberg, Wolkberg and Drakensberg ranges.

Insects:

Wolkberg Zulu Butterfly, Alaena margaritacea (Critically Endangered) is endemic to Limpopo where a small one colony can be found near Haenertsburg.

2.2.3 Aquatic ecosystems

2.2.3.1 Freshwater features

There are several main rivers which flow through MDM, forming part of either the Olifants or the Letaba River systems. There are also numerous permanent and seasonal tributaries of both systems, as well as, several dams and wetlands.

The National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas (NFEPA) project identified 47 wetland ecosystem types within 12 wetland vegetation groups 10 within the district (including the KNP). These include both natural and artificial wetlands of the following types:

• Channelled valley bottom wetlands, • Flats, • Seeps, • Unhandled valley bottom wetlands, • Depressions, • Floodplain wetlands and • Valleyhead seeps.

There are no Ramsar sites within the District.

In addition to the wetland ecosystem types, the NFEPA also identified 27 river ecosystem types within 5 different ecoregions within the district (including KNP). These include permanent, seasonal and ephemeral rivers occurring in the following geomorphological zones:

• Mountain streams, • Upper foothill rivers, • Lower foothill rivers and • Lowland rivers.

Refer to Table 4.

10 Within the NFEPA project, wetland vegetation groups were derived from grouping the 438 SA vegetation types into 133 wetland vegetation groups that serve as a regional context within which wetlands are located.

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2.2.3.2 Threatened ecosystems

As with terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems have also been listed in terms of their threat status. These threatened aquatic ecosystems were identified in the National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas (NFEPA) project.

31 of the 47 identified wetland ecosystem types within the District have a threat status of Critically endangered , 5 are Endangered , and 1 is Vulnerable . This means that 79% of all wetlands ecosystem types within the District are threatened.

In terms of rivers, 6 of the 27 river ecosystem types are listed as Critically endangered , 4 as Endangered and 4 as Vulnerable . This means that 52% of all river ecosystem types within the District are threatened.

2.2.3.4 Protection status

As with terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems have also been categorised in terms of their level of protection based on the proportion of each ecosystem type that occurs within a protected area recognised under the Protected Areas Act.

34 of the identified wetland ecosystem types are Not protected , 5 are Poorly protected , 1 is Moderately protected and 7 are Well protected .

3 of the river ecosystem types are Not protected , 11 are Poorly protected , 5 are Moderately protected and 8 are Well protected .

2.2.4 Important ecological processes

The Mopani District is important for supporting a range of ecological processes which are critical for ensuring long term persistence of biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services, especially in the context of climate change.

Wellfunctioning, largely undisturbed and natural ecosystems can improve the natural resilience to the adverse effects of climate change and the vulnerability of people thereto. Riparian corridors and buffers; areas with temperature, rainfall and altitudinal gradients; areas of high diversity; areas of high plant endemism; refuge sites including southfacing slopes and kloofs; and priority large unfragmented landscapes are all features in the environment which are more significant than others for supporting this resilience 11 .

A Districtwide network of intact natural habitat in an ecologically viable configuration maximises the retention of valuable ecological infrastructure, and should be viewed as the primary climate change adaptation strategy adopted by district and local authorities.

11 Holness, S. 2015. An exploratory integrated spatial prioritization for the Olifants Catchment: Bringing livelihoods, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and biodiversity issues together to identify an integrated set of natural and semi-natural priority areas for supporting overall system resilience.

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2.2.4.1 Ecosystem services and ecological infrastructure

Ecological Infrastructure refers to the functioning ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people. In this respect, the natural and near natural environments within the Mopani District deliver vital ecosystem services, such as clean, fresh water, carbon sequestration, oxygen production and flood risk reduction. In so doing, the environment supports the surrounding settlements and associated economic activities.

The ecological infrastructure necessary for the provision of ecosystem services include healthy mountain catchments, rivers, wetlands, nodes and corridors of natural habitat, which form a network of interconnected structural elements in the landscape. 12 The permanent loss of extensive areas of natural vegetation cover would have deleterious effects downstream, for example: flooding, siltation of dams, erosion, and reduction in water quality.

The Mopani Bioregion enjoys a wealth of ecological infrastructure which should be preserved if it is to continue to deliver important ecosystem services to the communities.

Refer Figure 5e.

2.2.4.2 Hydrological processes

Many key hydrological processes fall within the Bioregion, but extend beyond the Mopani District borders as well. Mopani District falls within the Olifants and Luvuvhu and Letaba Water Management Areas. The Olifants River Basin is the main drainage region for the District. The Great Letaba, Little Letaba and its tributaries, and the Olifants Rivers are perennial, northeast flowing, and high flow river systems owing to the escarpment. The Letaba River joins with the Olifants River which then flows through the KNP and further to Mozambique where it confluences into the Limpopo River.

It is, therefore, important to note that any changes to the hydrological processes upstream could have a detrimental effect on the hydrological processes downstream, such as, the Limpopo River. Upstream activities including overgrazing, mining and industrial activities have already had an impact on the Olifants River in terms of increased sedimentation. This in turn has an effect on the ecosystems further downstream.

It is also of significance that functioning hydrological systems remain in a natural state in order to effectively mitigate climate change.

2.2.4.3 Climate change mitigation

Biosequestration, whereby atmospheric carbon dioxide is captured and stored by biological processes, plays a vital role in climate change mitigation. Forests, soils

12 Holness, S. 2015. An exploratory integrated spatial prioritization for the Olifants Catchment: Bringing livelihoods, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and biodiversity issues together to identify an integrated set of natural and semi-natural priority areas for supporting overall system resilience.

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 30 and oceans are known as natural carbon sinks as they absorb and store carbon dioxide. Biosequestration, thus, aids in the long term reduction of global warming through the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

It is important to note that while reforestation is significant in climate change mitigation, it is not sufficient. Afforestation and destruction of established natural ecosystems needs to be prevented and these areas preserved if biosequestration is to make a significant contribution.

2.2.7.3 Climate change adaptation

Aspects important for supporting climate change adaptation include the following:

• Corridors and connectivity :

An ecological corridor is an area of habitat that allows for the connecting of wildlife populations separated by human activities or infrastructure, such as, roads and developments. Corridors help maintain or recover a certain degree of cohesion in otherwise fragmented ecosystems. Through the connection of fragmented habitats, the viability of animal and plant species is improved by:

o enlarging habitats, for example to improve the search for food, o dispersion of young animals, o reuse of "empty" habitats. 13

Ecological connectivity is critical for the long term persistence of biodiversity in the face of ongoing climate change. Connected natural landscapes allow biodiversity to respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Maintaining landscape connectivity represents a major contribution which the region can make to facilitating climate change adaptation within the District, Limpopo Province and South Africa as a whole.

Mountains, ridges and rivers, including wetland systems, represent important natural corridors in the District.

Two ecological corridors are relevant for the Bioregion. The first spans the width of the District from the Wolkberg Wilderness and Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve in the west to the boundary of the KNP in the east. The second ecological corridor includes the Wolkberg Wilderness Escarpment and is an important biogeographical corridor with unique biodiversity. It runs from the Wolkberg Wilderness and Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve along the escarpment, south east to Mollatse Canyon NR and north towards Morebeng.

In addition, conserving large unfragmented landscapes through Protected Areas assists in maintaining ecological processes which support climate change adaptation. These processes are more likely to remain functional in unfragmented landscapes than in fragmented ones.

13 SICIREC, 2009. Ecological Corridors and Biodiversity.

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Refer Figure 5h.

• Climate change refugia and high diversity areas

Areas with significantly different or moderated climates provide species with local climate change refuges. These include features such as kloofs and south facing mountain slopes. High diversity areas and centres of endemism can also be viewed as climate change refuge areas. These centres are significant in that they represent areas where species have persisted through previous eras of climate change.

• Minimizing climate change impacts on society:

Climate change is likely to result in significant increases in climate variability. In the urban context, perhaps the most important consequence is an increase in the likelihood of extreme flood events. Protection of intact natural habitat (especially wetlands, floodplains and intact riparian habitat) is extremely important for reducing the magnitude of flood events as these areas play an important role in regulating hydrological processes, such as storm runoff. In addition, these areas (especially floodplains) are extremely high risk for communities living in these areas, and ensuring that infrastructure and agricultural development is avoided where possible in high risk areas will reduce the long term impact of climate change, particularly on poor communities.

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Figure 5e: Natural environment: ecological corridors

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2.3 Manmade environment

2.3.1 Land cover

The land cover data for the District 14 shows that the most extensive and widely dispersed land cover includes Woodland / Open Bushland, Thicket / Dense Bushland and Grassland. Indigenous forest is more limited in extent and confined to the mountainous areas in the west of the District along with significant areas under Exotic plantation .

Human settlement is concentrated in the area between Giyani and Gakgapane in the north west, in Phalaborwa and surrounds in the east and along the foot of the escarpment from Tzaneen to Hoedspruit. Much of this settlement is rural in nature.

Commercial agriculture is concentrated in Tzaneen and surrounds, the area to the west of Hoedspruit and along the Great Letaba River, particularly where the R529 follows the valley. Another node is evident between Mhadawa and Moetladimo in the south west of the District. Subsistence agriculture and grazing occurs where settlement occurs, but is especially widespread north of the Great Letaba River where rural settlement appears most prolific and scattered. Degraded / eroded land occurs in small patched throughout, but a large area to the north west of Gakgapane, along the R81 is concerning.

The land cover data indicates that 86% of the Mopani District is in a natural or nearnatural state. This high percentage is due mostly to the large proportion of the District which lies within the KNP and other Protected Areas. 9,85% is altered by agriculture, forestry erosion and degraded areas and a further 4,15% is severely or irreversibly transformed by towns, settlements and mining.

Table 4: Overview of land cover classes in Mopani District inclusive of the KNP

No Land cover description Extent (Ha) % of District Natural or near natural Waterbody (perennial & nonperennial) 9 363,8 0,47 Indigenous Forest 19 103,4 0,95 Thicket / Dense Bushland 416 715,7 20,82 Woodland / Open Bushland 793 522,7 39,65 Low Shrubland 10 849,8 0,54 Grassland 471 345,8 23,55 Altered Bare Rock / Soil 2 474,1 0,12 Degraded Land / Erosion 2 047,3 0,10 Cultivated (subsistence) 57 148,2 2,86 Cultivate (Commercial – rainfed) 30 850,5 1,54 Cultivated (Commercial – irrigated) 4 645,3 0,23 Cultivated (Orchard / Vine) 55 359,7 2,77 Exotic Plantation 44 657,0 2,23 Transformed

14 2013-2014 Land Cover, DEA (30m resolution)

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Builtup Areas (urban) 7 147,2 0,36 Builtup Areas (rural) 67 618,8 3,38 Other Built infrastructure 3 014,7 0,15 Mining 5 319,7 0,27 TOTAL 2 001 183,7 100

Note: The resolution of the 20132014 land cover data utilised in this Bioregional Plan is coarser than the high resolution land cover assessment (2009), which was used for the development of the CPlan in 2013. This land cover adat is too coarse for detailed assessment, but the overlay is valuable in that it shows potential changes in land use since 2009.

Refer to Figure 6a.

2.3.2 Mining and mining rights

Mining has been an important economic sector in Mopani since 1996. Active and continually producing mines are found predominately in BaPhalaborwa local municipality along a belt running from Naphuno to Phalaborwa. A number of abandoned mines also occur along this belt. The largest mining cluster in the District occurs to the south east of Phalaborwa.

Phalaborwa has been declared a Spatial Development Initiative (SDI), which is focussed along the main road link from Phalaborwa to Nelspruit. However, no projects or development initiatives have been implemented within this SDI thus far.

Mining rights areas are located mainly along the Phalaborwa belt discussed above and in the far north of the District in the vicinity of Hartbeesfontein. Smaller mining rights areas are located north of Haenertsburg and south east of Gakgapane. These are areas where mining is possible in the future.

Other significant mineral zones in the region are the Murchison Greenstone Belt (extending from Gravellotte towards Leewkop in the Kruger National Park), the Giyani Greenbelt extending from Giyani north east to the KNP and the Rooiwater Complex.

There are a number of mega projects that mining companies have been considering for implementation or exploration in the district, concentrated in the Phalaborwa area, Mica to the south west and Gravellotte to the west, as well as Tzaneen in the far west of the District. There are also small mining initiatives in these areas, including the Giyani and Murchison sequence greenstone areas 15 .

Refer to Figure 6b.

2.3.3 Cultural historic features

Registered natural heritage sites include Westfalia Estates, Manotsa and Madrid and Shiluvane. To promote the wealth of heritage activities, Mopani DM has established District Heritage Council, however, this still needs to be strengthened.

15 Mopani District Municipality, website: http://www.mopani.gov.za/local_economy/mining.php

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 35

2.3.4 Land claims

190 land claims are currently in process in the District, with 146 of these yet to be validated. Delay in settling registered Land Claims keeps the affected land unutilized and barren and further causes unnecessary demand and surplus for land for development.

Table 5: Summary of land claims in Mopani District

VALIDCLAIMS INPROGRESS No Extent (Ha) MUNICIPALITY TOTALMUNICIPAL AREA(km2) CLAIMS IN PROCESS OF No. CLAIMS YETTO BE VALIDATED %OFMUN. AREA CLAIMED(valid) Greater Giyani 4 171,6 44 1 1410,14 43 2,3 Greater Letaba 1 890,9 72 16 80639,91 56 24,9 Greater Tzaneen 3 242,6 37 12 24286,94 25 12,8 BaPhalaborwa 7 461,6 28 11 77178,37 17 9,6 Maruleng 3 244,3 4 1 1982,32 3 0,6 Mopani/ Total 20 011,0 190 44 185 497,69 146 7,3

2.3.5 Water use and supply

There are several dams within Mopani District, of which the Tzaneen Dam, Middle Letaba Dam, Ebenezer Dam, Magoebaskloof Dam, Nsami Dam and Modjadji Dam (all in the Letaba Catchment) are the largest. These dams supply water to various towns including Polokwane, Tzaneen, Haenertsburg, Modjadjiskloof and also to a number of rural villages. A new dam (Nwamitwa Dam) is proposed on the Great Letaba River at the confluence with the Nwnedzi River (east of Ritavi).

There are also smaller dams, including Dap Naude, Vergelegen, Hans Merensky, Thabina and Lorna Dawn Dams 16 . No large dams exist in the Lower Olifants Catchment, although a number of unnamed dams are evident within private properties in the District.

The Blyderivierspoort Dam, which is located outside of the District to the south, supplies water for irrigation, local industrial and domestic demands and supports the supply from the Phalaborwa Barrage to the urban and industrial centre at Phalaborwa.

Water use in the Great Letaba catchment is dominated by irrigation. The Great Letaba Irrigation Scheme covers an extensive area along the river to the border of the Hans Merensky NR. Water use in the Lower Olifants Catchment is also mainly by agriculture, and to a lesser extent by mining, especially in the Phalaborwa area. Extensive irrigation occurs along the lower reaches of the

16 Mopani District Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2011-2016 (2013/14)

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Olifants near Hoedspruit and in the upper reaches of the GaSelati River (north of Moetladima).

Water supply schemes in the Middle and Klein Letaba River catchments include the Sekgopo and Tshitale / Sekgosese borehole schemes and the Middle Letaba and Giyani water schemes. These latter schemes use the Middle Letaba and Nsami Dams as their main resource of water. Water is also supplied from the Letaba River for mining purposes near Gravelotte as well as to domestic users.

According to the Reconciliation Strategy for the Levuvhu and Letaba Water Supply System (2014), the demands from the Letaba River currently exceed the yield capability of the system. This strategy recommended various measures within the Letaba catchment to maintain a water balance between the water needs and availability up to the year 2040.

Major threats to water security within the District include the following:

• Malfunctioning Water Treatment Works including the GaKgapene WWTW Molototsi River), the ModjadjiskloofDuiwelskloof WWTW (Brandboontjies River), the Lenyenye WWTW (Thabina River;) and the Giyani WWTW (Klein Letaba River), • Commercial and citrus plantations, • Extensive agriculture and nutrientrich runoff, • Industrial centres, with increases in toxins and metals (Tzaneen, Nkowankowa and Giyani), • High sediment loads due to erosion and forestry (operational problems are already being encountered at the Phalaborwa Barrage), • Mine water decant from extensive upstream mining (Olifants River) and • Return flows from widespread mining (along the GaSelati River up to Phalaborwa).

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Figure 6a : Manmade environment: land use

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 38

Figure 6b : Manmade environment: mining

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2.4 Planning environment

2.4.1 Protected Areas planning

2.4.1.1 Protected Areas

Protected Areas are declared and formally protected under NEM:PAA, and include National Parks, legally declared Nature Reserves, World Heritage Sites and Protected Environments that are secured by appropriate legal mechanisms. The following Protected Areas occur within the Mopani District 17 :

• Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves and occupies the entire eastern section of the Mopani Bioregion. The boundary of the National Park also represents the boundary of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA).

• Letaba Ranch Nature Reserve is located just north of Phalaborwa on the border of the Kruger National Park. The border between Letaba and KNP is unfenced. The Mtomeni Camp, based in the Letaba Ranch Nature Reserve, is part of The African Ivory Route.

• Hans Merensky Nature Reserve lies on the banks of the Great Letaba River just west of the KNP. Most of the reserve is accessible on foot which is one of its biggest attractions.

• Wolkberg Wilderness encapsulates the last and northern most stand of the Drakensberg mountain range and was proclaimed, in part, because of its many endemic species. It abuts the Lekgalameetse NR, and only a small portion encroaches into the Bioregion in the far south west.

• Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve is also located within the Wolkberg Mountains and is characterised by a wealth of biodiversity. It abuts the aforementioned Wolkberg Wilderness, and only small area encroaches into the Bioregion in the far south west. The Mafefe Camp, based in the Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve, is part of The African Ivory Route.

• Modjadji Nature Reserve is located close to Modjadjikloof, in the heart of Gakgapane. The reserve features the world's largest concentration of a singlespecies cycad, also known as the 'Modjadji palm'. The Modjadji Camp, based in the Modjadji Nature Reserve, is part of The African Ivory Route.

• Grootbosch Forest Reserve lies in the heart of Magoebaskloof, a mountainous region known for its untouched afromontane forests. The reserve is the second largest indigenous forest in South Africa.

17 The listed Protected Areas include both statutary protected areas and designated private nature reserves as identified by SANBI and made available for public use. In addition to this database, the Protected Areas Database (Department of Environmental Affairs) was accessed to cross check designation of private nature reserves ( http://egis.environment.gov.za/sapad_map.aspx?m=66 ). Discrepancies between the databases exist, and ultimately for the purpose of this Bioregional Plan, the SANBI data was utilised.

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 40

• Tzaneen Dam Nature Reserve is situated on the banks of the Tzaneen Dam, just north west of the town of Tzaneen.

• Ebenzer Dam Nature reserve is situated on the banks of the Ebenzer Dam, just east of the town of Haenertsburg. • Bulwer Nature Reserve is located north east of Sefikeng, adjacent to the R36. No information is available on this reserve, although it was verbally reported by LEDET: Protected Areas Planning that this reserve has since been deproclaimed.

• Man’Ombe Nature Reserve is located in the north eastern part of Giyani.

Refer to Table 8 and Figure 7a.

2.4.1.2 Conservation areas

Conservation areas are areas of land not formally protected by law but informally protected by the current owners and users; and managed at least partly for biodiversity conservation. Because there is no longterm security associated with conservation areas, they are not considered a strong form of protection.

The Amalgamated Private Nature Reserve (APNR) area is a consolidation of a group of privately owned game farms in the central Lowveld region. Only Selati Game Reserve lies within the Mopani District, but abuts directly Klaserie, Thornybush, Timbavati and Andover NR’s.

Madrid Private Reserve lies just to the west of the conservancy, but does not form part of the APNR.

Lastly, Agatha Forest Reserve is situated in the mountains above the Letsitele Valley east of the town of Heanertsburg. This reserve has not been mapped.

These reserves are not, however, proclaimed Protected Areas, and therefore do not enjoy the level of protection afforded to Protected Areas, especially in terms of incompatible land use and mining.

Note: In addition to the above, it is expected that larger parts of the Mopani DM are informally conserved through private nature reserves or conservation orientated game or stock farms. Presently there is no national mechanism for the validation of these areas in terms of their contribution towards achieving national biodiversity targets. Whilst these areas do make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation nationally the lack of a provincial or national database of these areas or verification of conservation management effectiveness of these areas means their contribution towards achieving targets is not considered in the Levels of Protection calculation.

Protected Area Management Plans are the overarching management planning documents compiled for Protected Areas. All protected areas are required to have management plans in place as per the requirements of NEM:PAA. The objective of a management plan is to ensure the protection, conservation and management of the protected area concerned in a manner that is consistent with

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 41 the objectives of NEM:PAA and for the purpose for which it was declared. These management plans set out ambitions as articulated through the vision and objectives for the protected area and detail how these will be achieved and delivered through management guidelines and implementation / action plans, and govern all decision making within the Protected Area.

Refer to Table 8 and Figure 7a.

Table 6: Summary of Protected Areas and conservation areas in Mopani District

Extent Management Name (Ha) in Management Plan Authority Bioregion Protected Areas Kruger National Park SANParks 564 115,30 • Kruger National Park Management Plan • The Kruger National Park Zonation Plan and revision (PDZ) • Kruger National Park Tourism Management Plan Letaba Ranch Nature LEDET 29 436,69 Letaba Ranch 5 year Reserve Strategic Plan Hans Merensky Nature LEDET 5 092,47 Hans Merensky 5 year Reserve Strategic Plan Wolkberg Wilderness LEDET 3 821,36 Wolkberg Wilderness 5 year Strategic Plan Lekgalameetse Nature LEDET 1 158,78 Unknown Reserve Modjadji Nature Reserve LEDET 304,76 Unknown Grootbosch Forest LEDET 4 790,96 Unknown Reserve Tzaneen Dam Nature DWS 1 832,37 Unknown Reserve Ebenezer Dam Nature DWS 79,51 Unknown Reserve Bulwer Nature Reserve LEDET 3 429,08 Unknown Man’Ombe Nature LEDET 1 384,51 Unknown Reserve Conservation areas APNR Private 191 638,00 Unknown Madrid PNR Private 12 032,50 Unknown Agatha Forest Nature Unknown Unknown Unknown Reserve

2.4.1.3 Kruger National Park Integrated Land Use zones

Owing to high development rates within the country and the subsequent destruction and extinction of biodiversity and natural environments, the buffer zone concept around National Parks has been established.

Recently, however, buffer areas are rather being referred to as Integrated Land Use (ILU) zones due to sensitivities with the notion of living in a buffer area.

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 42

These ILU zones aim to reduce or mitigate the negative influences of activities occurring outside of the National Parks and on the Park borders.

ILU zones are subdivided into the following categories:

• Priority natural areas which are areas required for the long term persistence of biodiversity within and around the park and include areas identified for future park expansion, reasonably natural areas of high biodiversity value, adjacent natural areas, areas critical for maintaining ecological links and connectivity. • Catchment protection areas which include surface water catchment areas which feed rivers flowing into or through National Parks, and ground water catchment areas or aquifers which feed springs and seeps into National Parks. • Viewshed protection areas are areas in need of viewshed protection, and include those areas visible from the National Park (i.e. wilderness areas and areas lit up at night) and approaches to the National Park which provide vistas of the Park.

The south eastern portion of the Mopani District, mostly corresponding with the APNR is a Natural Priority Area for the KNP. The entire northern bank of the District, inclusive of Giyani, Hartbeesfontein and Duiweskloof is a Catchment Protection Area, as well as, a small portion to the southwest of Hoedspruit. A Viewshed Protection area follows the western border of the KNP at a width of 1 5km.

Refer Figure 7b.

Of note is that at the time of the development of this Bioregional Plan, a project known as the KNP Integrated Land Use Zone Strategy was still underway. This project, along with SANParks Socio-economic Beneficiation Strategy looks to align internal Park management objectives with key priorities and processes within the external regional land use zone.

Refer also to section 3.4.2.2, which details a programmes with aligned aims within the GLTFCA.

2.4.1.4 Foot and Mouth Disease control zones

African Buffalo are carriers of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and it is highly contagious. For these reasons FMD Control Zones were developed to contain the spread of the disease 18 .

The World Organisation for Animal Health ( Office International des Epizooties ) (OIE) defines the control zones as follows:

• An infected zone as a zone in which a disease has been diagnosed. In South Africa, infected zones are clearly demarcated geographical areas where FMD is endemic owing to the presence of the FMD carrier buffalo.

18 Veterinary Procedural Notice for Foot and Mouth Disease Control in South Africa. Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: Directorate Animal Health, 2014

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• Protection zones are zones established to protect the health status of animals in a free country or free zone, from those in a country or zone of a different animal health status, using measures based on the epidemiology of the disease under consideration to prevent spread of the causative pathogenic agent into a free country or free zone. The protection zones are clearly defined geographical areas between the infected and free zones. Protected zones are divided into 2 subzones: Protection zones with vaccination and Protection zones without vaccinations. • Free Zones are zones in which the absence of the disease under consideration has been demonstrated. In South Africa, free zones are the remaining areas exclusive of the Infected and Protection zones.

Within Mopani, the entire KNP, Letaba Ranch NR as well as the south eastern part of the District east of the R40 fall within the Infected zone. Most of the APNR also lies within this zone. Hoedspruit lies partially within this zone.

The Protection zone occupies a significant part of the District in the north east, including Giyani Gakgapane and Mica. Gravelotte lies on the edge of this zone.

The remainder of the District west of the Protection zone has Free zone status, although High surveillance areas are, however, included in the free zones adjacent to the Protection zone.

Refer Figure 7c.

2.4.1.5 Protected Area Expansion Strategy

The National Protected Area Expansion Strategy (NPAES) provides South Africa’s first national assessment of priority areas for Protected Area expansion based on systematic biodiversity planning principles. It deals with both terrestrial and aquatic environments.

The goal of the NPAES is to achieve costeffective Protected Area expansion for ecological sustainability and increased resilience to climate change. It sets targets for Protected Area expansion, provides maps of the most important areas for Protected Area expansion, and makes recommendations on mechanisms for Protected Area expansion.

The NPAES focus areas within the District are located primarily within the escarpment in the south west, and to a lesser extent to the north west.

Refer Figure 7d.

The NPAES requires that each protected area agency should develop its own agency specific Protected Area expansion implementation plan based on the protected area targets and focus areas developed in the NPAES. The Limpopo Protected Area Expansion Strategy (LPAES) fulfils this role, utilising updated information, and taking the existing expansion activities into account to produce a Protected Area expansion strategy, priority areas map and clear action plan for the next 3 years.

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 44

Strategically, 20year spatial vision for the Limpopo Protected Ares Network identifies 2 Protected Area development nodes, namely the Eastern Drakensberg node (in the Tzaneen Haenertburg area) and the Canyon-Mariepskop node in the Lekgalameetse / Wolkberg area. Two Protected Areas Development Corridors intersect along the escarpment in the south west of the District, namely the Rim of Africa Mountains and the Kruger to Kalahari corridors.

A refinement of the above produced the following LPAES focus regions within the Mopani District:

• The Selati Letaba focus region north east of Hoedspruit, • The Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region in the vicinity of Haenertsburg, • The Bulwer Corridor north east of Sefikeng and • The DrakensbergStrydimspoortberge encompassing the escarpment in the south west of the District.

The Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region is one of the highest scoring sites in the Province, being particularly valuable in terms of Critical Biodiversity Areas and freshwater features. This was also identified as Limpopo’s largest endangered landscape. The DrakensbergStrydimspoortberge were also highlighted as of very high value.

Risks to these focus regions are as follows:

• Cultivation in the Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region, • Land degradation in the Bulwer Corridor, • Plantations in the Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region and • Urban impacts in the Haenertsburg Modjadji focus region.

Refer to Figure 7e.

2.4.1.6 GEF Protected Areas Project

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and SANPARKs, as the implementing authority, have undertaken a project which aims to improve the management effectiveness of the Protected Areas network as the current Protected Area estate does not effectively represent the full range of globally important species and habitats in the three biodiversity hotspots in South Africa. As a result, key critical biodiversity areas within these remain under protected and are at risk of loss or degradation of habitat from several factors.

The project seeks to expand representation of globally important terrestrial habitats in South Africa by establishing new Protected Areas covering 197 000 ha.

Traditional PA expansion through land purchase is no longer cost effective given the shrinking budgets of conservation agencies. Hence, the project focuses on using low cost mechanisms for land acquisition and management in order to rapidly expand the PA network to secure globally important biodiversity.

The project utilizes contractual and stewardship arrangements with private and communal landowners, as well as transfers and formalization of conservation

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 45 tenure of state land to rapidly expand the PA network. This is done both at a site level, and also across the PA network. A major focus is ensuring appropriate, costeffective and efficient comanagement of the low cost PA expansion areas, as well as ensuring these areas are fully integrated into the state PA network 19 .

The relevance of the GEF Protected Areas project (under development at the time of compilation of this Bioregional Plan) to the Mopani District is the establishment of new Protected Areas in lowland areas of the Maputaland Pondoland Albany hotspot (Kruger to Canyons).

The target is to add 63 000 Ha to the Protected Areas network, with focus on the northern areas of the Maputaland Pondoland Hotspot and the Kruger National Park. Included are important biodiversity areas such as KNP buffer areas, important vegetation types, including Woodbush Granite Grassland , Northern Mist Belt Forest and Lowveld Riverine Forest .

19 Government of South Africa. UNDP Project Document: Improving Management Effectiveness of the Protected Area Network, UNDP GEF PIMS no. 4943.

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Figure 7a : Planning environment: Protected Areas

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 47

Figure 7b: Planning environment: Kruger National Park ILU zones

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Figure 7c: Planning environment: Foot and Mouth Disease control zones

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Figure 7d: Planning environment: National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy

Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality 50

Figure 7e: Planning environment: Limpopo Protected Areas Expansion Strategy

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2.4.2 Multi sectoral planning

2.4.2.1 Environmental Management Framework

The Olifants and Letaba Catchment Environmental Management Framework (OLCEMF) is a study of the Olifants River catchment, the Letaba River catchment and the Shingwidzi subcatchment areas in terms of both the biophysical and sociocultural systems to determine the optimal landuses within specific areas. Different management zones include geographical areas that require active control to ensure that their potential is realized and sensitive features are protected. OLCEMF has 8 environmental management zones of which the following have reference in terms of the Mopani District:

• Zone F: Nature conservation / tourism focus area This area of natural beauty includes the Kruger National Park, the mountains of the escarpment and exclusive private nature reserves in a relatively sparsely populated area. The eastern part of the District as well as the far western and south western parts and a large section west of Phalaborwa is located within this zone. • Zone G: Tzaneen / Phalaborwa Activity corridor This is an important agricultural area supported by mining, manufacturing and nature orientated tourism in an area that is transitional between Zone F and Zone H. The central, western and south western part of the District along the foot of the escarpment is located within this zone. • Zone H: Dry rural Lowveld area This area is rural in nature with a high level of poverty that depends on subsistence farming. The government and education sectors are important in this area. The northern part of the District including Giyani and Gakgapane is located within this zone.

Refer Figure 8a.

2.4.2.2 Integrated Development Plans

An IDP is a super plan for an area that gives an overall framework for development within the local municipality. It aims to coordinate the work of local and other spheres of government in a coherent plan to improve the quality of life for all the people living in an area. A framework for how land should be used, what infrastructure and services are needed and how the environment should be protected are also detailed and included.

The mission of Mopani District Municipality is:

• To provide integrated sustainable equitable services through democratic responsible and accountable governance, and • Promoting the sustainable use of resources for economic growth to benefit the community.

According to the Mopani Integrated Development Plan, 20112016 (2013/2014), Mopani’s economy is sustained by two major industries: Mining and agriculture. Additionally, MDM has a good comparative advantage on Ecotourism due to its close proximity to the Kruger National Park. The MDM also boosts a range of nature reserves and privately owned game farms.

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2.4.2.2 Spatial Development Frameworks

A Spatial Development Framework (SDF) is regarded as an integral part of an IDP. SDF’s seek to arrange development activities, land uses and the built form in such a manner that they can accommodate the ideas and desires of people without compromising the natural environment and how services are delivered.

The overall intention of the Mopani District Municipality Spatial Development Framework (2014) is to spatially represent the District’s Vision and how it intend to reach it. It provides direction towards a future District spatial structure and form that can facilitate sustainable growth and development at the economic, community and environmental dimensions. This SDF focuses on development nodes represented by existing urban centres.

The SDF’s of the 5 Local Municipalities within the District have been combined into a single graphic to illustrate to combined vision for the District and to test the interfaces between the planning categories.

In this respect, each SDF has been developed independently, and as such has used different terminology to describe the land use zones. With the exception of Maruleng, all local municipality SDF’s predate SPLUMA (2013) and are either undergoing review or are due for review within the next year or two.

The following is relevant in terms of these local SDF’s:

• The Greater Tzaneen LM SDF (2009) has identified towns, settelements, mining and agriculture as primary drivers within the planning environment. No acknowledgement of Protected Areas exists in the SDF, and the extent of forestry is not shown at all. • The Greater Letaba LM SDF could not be sourced, nor could any contact be make with the Local Muncipality. • The Greater Giyani LM SDF (2013) shows the dispersed settlements within the area as the main driver. Associated with these are various forms of agriculture and grazing, with extremely limited allowance for conservation in areas vaguely corresponding with Protected Areas. No Protected Areas are formally noted within the SDF. • The Ba-Phalaborwa LM SDF (2009) is extremely simple if compared to Giyani. Large consolidated towns and settlements are shown, as well as mining,ecotourism and conservation. The latter corresponds roughly with the Protected Areas within the LM, but is not aligned. • The Maruleng LM SDF (2014) is the most sophisticated within the district showing both existing and proposed land uses within the municipality. Towns and settlements re shown as existing and expansion areas, and conservation is depicted as Protected Areas, Conservaies and expansion areas. There is some misalignment with PA’s within the LM.

Refer Figure 8b.

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Figure 8a : Planning environment: Environmental Management Framework

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Figure 8b: Planning environment: Local Municipality SDF’s

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2.4.3 Other informants

2.4.3.1 Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region

The primary objectives of biosphere reserves are the conservation of biological diversity; sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources (in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity). Furthermore, a biosphere reserve is intended to fulfil three functions, namely:

• Conservation to preserve genetic resources, species, ecosystems and landscapes; • Development to foster sustainable economic and human development; and • Logistic support to support demonstration projects, environmental education and training as well as research and monitoring related to local, national and global issues of conservation and sustainable development.

Biosphere Reserves are internationally recognized by UNESCO and are categorized into three interrelated zones:

• Core Zone, which comprises a strictly protected ecosystem that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation. • Buffer Zone, which surrounds or adjoins the core areas, and is used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can reinforce scientific research, monitoring, training and education. • Transition Zone, which is the part of the reserve where the greatest activity is allowed, fostering economic and human development that is socioculturally and ecologically sustainable.

The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve (K2C) is situated in the North Eastern section of the country and includes both the Kruger National Park and the Blyde River Canyon, as well as, the Wolkberg Wilderness. The current boundaries of the registered Biosphere extend from the Little Letaba River in the north to the Sabie River in the south and from the Blyde Escarpment in the west to the Mozambique border in the east.

The K2C covers a large portion of the MDM, inclusive of the Kruger National Park, Tzaneen, and the Hans Merensky NR.

The Core zone includes the KNP, Lekgalameetse NR, part of Wolkberg Wilderness and an extension of Motlatse Canyon NR in the far south. The buffer zone corresponds mostly with the APNR, but includes Hoedspruit and a section of the escarpment in the south west, linking with Lekgalameetse NR. The transition zone cover all other areas within the biosphere reserve.

Refer Figure 9a.

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2.4.3.2 National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas

The National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas (NFEPA) identifies rivers, wetlands and estuaries in South Africa that are most important for sustaining the integrity and continued functioning of our freshwater ecosystems. The NFEPA status of rivers indicates which rivers should remain in good condition [with a Present Ecological State (PES) of A/B] in order to contribute to national biodiversity goals and support sustainable water use. Rivers with a PES below A/B should be rehabilitated. The following is relevant for the Mopani District:

• The Shigwedzi River which forms the northern boundary of the Bioregion is classified as a Class A river. No other Class A rivers are located within the Bioregion. • Class B rivers are to be found in the far south in the northern flowing tributaries of the Olifants River, as well as in the north east. The latter includes a tributary and parts of the Little Letaba River before it joins the Great Letaba River. • The remainder of rivers within the Bioregion are Class C or D. The majority have a present ecological state of D which is Largely modified. The Groot and Klein Letaba Rivers are classified as C (moderately modified), (unmodified, natural).

Refer Figure 9b.

River FEPA’s achieve biodiversity targets for river ecosystems and fish species, and are identified in rivers that are currently in a good condition (A or B ecological category). These areas correspond mostly with the Class B rivers discussed above.

River ecosystem types where less than 20% of their total length is in A or B condition are identified as Phase 2 FEPAs, as well as, moderately modified rivers (C). Phase 2 FEPA’s within the Bioregion are limited to two small patches in the south west and north east respectively.

Fish sanctuaries in rivers lower than an A or B ecological condition are identified as Fish Support Areas. Fish Support Areas also include subquaternary catchments that are important for migration of threatened fish species. A fish support area, which originates in the KNP, extends along the GaSelati River for the width of the Bioregion, through Phalaborwa and to Lekgalameetse NR.

Upstream Management Areas are areas where human activities need to be managed to prevent degradation of downstream river FEPAs and fish support areas. These areas occur along the Little Letaba River in the north, along the tributary of the GaSelati River in the centre and along much of the Olifants River and tributaries in the south of the Bioregion.

Mining and agricultural activities are those sectors that impact most on freshwater features in the Mopani District, as well as urban and rural settlement. Changes in water quality (e.g. acid mine drainage, waste water from treatment plants, fertilizer and pesticide runoff) and changes in water flow regimes within urban areas (e.g. catchment hardening and increased storm water flows) are the most significant impacts.

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Refer Figure 9c.

2.4.3.3 Strategic Water Resources

The revised National Water Resource Strategy recognizes that water is scarce and that it requires careful management to enable provision of basic water services and equitable allocation, while meeting the needs of inclusive economic growth without threatening the integrity of aquatic ecosystems.

South Africa is considered to be one of the driest countries (per capita) with 98% of its surface water already developed. 8% of the country’s land surface area contributes 50% of its runoff and the country has a growing water quality problem. This, coupled with failing water infrastructure, represents a major challenge to water security in the near future.

Strategic water source areas are those areas that supply a disproportionate amount of mean annual runoff to a geographical regional of interest, and are important particularly because they have the potential to contribute significantly to overall water quality and supply. Conversely, Deterioration of water quality and quantity in these areas can have a disproportionately large negative effect on the functioning of downstream ecosystems and the overall sustainability of growth and development in the regions they support.

The Wolkberg, located along the northern escarpment of the Drakensberg Mountains, is a high priority water production area and an identified National Strategic Water Source Area. It is also the origin of the Great Letaba headwater streams.

Refer Figure 9d.

Of note is that previous work on strategic water source areas focused mainly on surface water runoff, and has not considered groundwater. In this regard, a project is underway by the Water Research Commission (July 2015-December 2017) to bridge this gap.

As an integration of Environmental Importance and Water Resource Use Importance, the Letaba Status Quo and Delineation of IUA’s (2013) identified socalled hotspots , which represent areas which are already stressed or will be stressed in the future. The hotspots are also an indication of areas where detailed investigations would be required if development was being considered. Three areas are of relevance in the Letaba catchment:

• The upper reaches of the Great Letaba River from source areas to the confluence with the Nwanetzi River, • The Great Letaba River in the vicinity of Hans Merensky NR and • The Little Letaba River from the Middle Letaba Dam to the boundary on the KNP.

The Classification of Significant Water Resources in the Olifants Water Management Area (2011) identified IUA’s (Integrated Units for Assessment) within the catchment, but did not go so far as to recommend hotspots .

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2.4.3.4 Important Bird Areas

The Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) Programme identifies and works to conserve a network of sites critical for the longterm survival of bird species. IBA’s are determined by an internationally agreed set of criteria and must satisfy at least one of the following rating criteria:

• A1 Globally threatened species • A2 Restrictedrange species • A3 Biomerestricted species • A4 Congregations including:

i: Site known or thought to hold, on a regular basis, >1% of a biogeographic population of a congregatory water bird species;

ii: Site known or thought to hold, on a regular basis, >1% of the global population of a congregatory seabird or terrestrial species;

iii: Site known or thought to hold, on a regular basis, > 20,000 water birds or >10,000 pairs of seabirds of one or more species;

iv: Site known or thought to exceed thresholds set for migratory species at bottleneck sites.

Three IBAs are located within the Bioregion:

• Blyde River Canyon 20 IBA is located in the far south of the District. Globally threatened include Southern Bald Ibis, Cape Vulture Taita Falcon, Blue Swallow, Bush Blackcap, Secretarybird and Denham's Bustard.

Regionally threatened species include Crowned Eagle, Lanner Falcon, Half collared Kingfisher, Orange Ground Thrush, Whitebacked Night Heron, Blackrumped Buttonquail, Striped Flufftail, African Finfoot and Black Stork.

Restrictedrange and biomerestricted species include the common Knysna Turaco, Grey Cuckooshrike, Kurrichane Thrush, Buffstreaked Chat, Chorister RobinChat, Barratt's Warbler, Yellowthroated Woodland Warbler, Olive BushShrike, Swee Waxbill and Forest Canary. Uncommon species are Forest Buzzard, Whitestarred Robin, Gurney's Sugarbird, Southern Bald Ibis, Striped Flufftail, Orange Ground Thrush and Brown Scrub Robin.

• Wolkberg Forest Belt 21 IBA is located in the west of the District, incorporating an arc of hills and a series of forests and forest reserves west of Tzaneen. Globally threatened species include the Bush Blackcap) and Crowned Eagle.

20 http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-directory/item/151-sa0127-blyde-river- canyon 21 http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-directory/item/146-sa005-wolkberg- forest-belt

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Regionally threatened species include Whitebacked Night Heron, Striped Flufftail, African Finfoot, Cape Parrot, Halfcollared Kingfisher, Bat Hawk and Orange Ground Thrush.

The restrictedrange and biomerestricted species include Knysna Turaco, Greyheaded BushShrike, Whitestarred Robin, Yellowthroated Woodland Warbler, Whitebellied Sunbird and Swee Waxbill.

It should be noted that the Black Hawk, Martial Eagle and the Crowned Eagle breed in the plantations and forest reserves. It is also one of the very few areas in South Africa holding Blackfronted BushShrike which inhabits forest and forest edges.

• Kruger National Park 22 IBA includes several provincial and privately owned reserves that are adjacent to the park's western border.

Globally threatened species include Cape Vulture, Hooded Vulture, White backed Vulture, Lappetfaced Vulture, Whiteheaded Vulture, Kori Bustard, Crowned Eagle, Bateleur, Secretarybird and Martial Eagle.

Regionally threatened species include Whitebacked Night Heron, Southern GroundHornbill, Saddlebilled Stork, Tawny Eagle, African Finfoot, African Grass Owl, Pel's Fishing Owl, Black Stork, Marabou Stork, African Pygmy Goose, Bat Hawk, Lanner Falcon, Greater Paintedsnipe, Halfcollared Kingfisher and Lemonbreasted Canary.

Restrictedrange and biomerestricted species include Arnot's Chat, Stierling's WrenWarbler, Gorgeous BushShrike, Meves's Starling Lemon breasted Canary,

Refer Figure 9e.

2.4.3.5 Wolkberg Centre of Endemism

A geographical region can be called a Centre of Endemism when distinguished by a particular combination of endemic plant taxa. Although a Centre of Endemism is considered a high priority in terms of biodiversity conservation, it does not enjoy any formal protection in its own right.

3 Protected Areas are located within the Wolkberg Centre of Endemism, namely the Wolkberg Wilderness just south of Haenertsburg, Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve immediately adjacent to the Wolkberg Wilderness, and the Motlatse Canyon Nature Reserve further to the south east.

Refer Figure 9f.

22 http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-directory/item/143-sa002-kruger- national-park

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Figure 9a : Planning environment: Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region

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Figure 9b: Planning environment: FEPA Rivers

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Figure 9c: Planning environment: National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas

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Figure 9d: Planning environment: Strategic Water Resources

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Figure 9e: Planning environment: Important Bird Areas

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Figure 9f: Planning environment: Wolkberg Centre of Endemism

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2.4.4 Other plans and programmes

2.4.4.1 RESILIM programme

USAID’s Resilience in the Limpopo River Basin (RESILIM) program is a 5year programme designed to address ongoing degradation in the Limpopo River Basin in southern Africa, where people face water shortages, increased floods, and declines in crop productivity as climate change further stresses an already water limited region.

This initiative aims to reduce the vulnerability of people and ecosystems to the effects of climate change through improved transboundary governance and management of natural resources.

There are 2 projects of relevance to this District, discussed in more detail below.

RESILIM Olifants Project 23

The RESILIMO project (under development at the time of compilation of this Bioregional Plan) focuses on the Olifants River Basin and the way in which people living in South Africa and Mozambique depend on the Olifants and its contributing waterways. The project is an exploratory examination of the catchment to help understand the spatial issues and the potential for linking systemic and systematic assessments with the aim of improving water security and resource management to support livelihoods and resilient economic development in the catchment.

Climate change will impact on biodiversity, and with this the ability of ecosystems to provide services that support human society. This is particularly important in rural areas, where the link between people and the environments that support them is far more direct than in more urbanized environments. These rural people are far more vulnerable to the direct impacts of floods, droughts, fires etc. Natural landscapes also play a critical role in delivering the key ecosystem services (such as sufficient quantity of clean drinking water) on which people depend.

Through the development of an integrated systemic view of the Olifants catchment, the RESILIMO brings together social, water, biodiversity and climate change issues in order to prioritise areas important for Ecosystembased Adaptation to climate change impacts. This is based on 4 spatial assessment of the landscape:

• Areas supporting climate change resilience, • Ecological infrastructure, • Biodiversity priorities and • Priorities for supporting livelihoods.

23 Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) and USAID. An exploratory integrated spatial prioritisation for the Olifants Catchment, February 2015.

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The southern part of the District, south of Tzaneen, but incorporating Phalaborwa, falls within the Olifants Catchment, and is thus covered by this initiative.

Of importance is that large parts of the Wolkberg in the south of the study area is highlighted as high value. The remainder of the catchment within the District ranges within the lowmoderate range of values, climbing to moderatehigh values in the east, lower down in the catchment. In these areas, the major river systems (i.e. the Olifants and the GaSelati) are easily discernible as high value areas.

Refer Figure 10a.

GLTFCA Integrated Livelihood Diversification Strategy 24

The RESILIMB is a programme that facilitates transboundary cooperation at a basin level to improve the transboundary water resources management in the Limpopo River Basin and strengthen the climate resilience of communities and ecosystems in the basin.

The GLTFCA Integrated Livelihood Diversification Strategy (under development at the time of compilation of this Bioregional Plan) recognises that there has been a growing pressure to reconsider how communities are engaging with the Protected Areas around which they live. Where communities have not benefited from living with and in their environments, they have proven to be more susceptible to organised crime syndicates running the large rhino poaching as well as, increasingly, elephant poaching operations.

This strategy aims to improve the livelihoods of community members living adjacent to the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) and will form part of an integrated development plan currently being developed for the area. The strategy is a collaborative partnership between the USAID RESILIM B Programme, the GLTFCA, and the Peace Parks Foundation.

This project looks to identify, develop and strengthen those livelihood initiatives and activities, which can support the TFCA vision. In this respect, the scoping report has identified a range of sectors that are successfully functioning in the project area at present. In each of these sectors, there are further opportunities for growth:

• Photographic tourism, • Consumptive tourism (hunting), • Agriculture (cultivation), • Livestock, • Communitybased resource management (resource harvesting), • Biodiversity economy (bioprospecting, wildlife economy) and • Other sectors (mining, business development and trade, local economic development).

24 Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD). Our Olifants: Resilience in the Limpopo River Basin- Olifants Catchment.

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Understanding the impact of climate change in order to create resilient livelihood sustaining options is another important element of this strategy. 25

2.4.4.2 Environmental Outlook: Limpopo

The Limpopo Environmental Outlook (under development at the time of compilation of this Bioregional Plan) is about observing trends in resource utilisation and making predictions on sustainability. In order to change negative trends, management interventions are required, which are to be actively implemented and maintained on an ongoing basis. The Environmental Outlook aims to identify environmental issues and challenges within Limpopo, provide environmental management responses and recommendations.

25 Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA): Integrated Livelihood Diversification Strategy: Draft Scoping Report, 19 October 2015.

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Figure 10a : Other plans and programmes: RESILIM Olifants Project

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PART 3: CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AREAS

The current Systematic Biodiversity Plan for the province is the Limpopo Conservation Plan (version 2), 2013. The purpose of the Conservation Plan is to inform landuse planning and development on a provincial scale and to aid in natural resource management.

One of the outputs of the Conservation Plan is a map of Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA’s) and Ecological Support Areas (ESA’s). These are classified into these different categories based on biodiversity characteristics, spatial configuration and requirement for meeting targets for both biodiversity pattern and ecological processes.

Figure 11 presents these categories for the Mopani District Municipality as detailed in the Conservation Plan. These are discussed in more detail in Section 3.1 below.

3.1 Description

Table 7: Description of Critical Biodiversity Categories

Category Definition/ Description Protected • Formal Protected Areas and Protected Areas pending Areas declaration under NEM:PAA, including National Parks, Nature Reserves, Special Nature Reserves and Protected Environments. Critical • Irreplaceable sites. Biodiversity • Areas required to meet biodiversity pattern and/or Area 1 (CBA 1) ecological processes targets. • No alternative sites are available to meet targets. • Natural and nearnatural sites, including some degraded areas. Critical • Best Design Selected Sites. Biodiversity • Areas selected to meet biodiversity pattern and/or Area 2 (CBA 2) ecological process targets. • Alternative sites may be available to meet targets. • Natural, nearnatural and degraded sites, including areas modified by agriculture. Ecological • Natural, near natural and degraded areas supporting CBAs Support Area 1 by maintaining ecological processes. (ESA 1) Ecological • Areas with no natural habitat that is important for Support Area 2 supporting ecological processes. (ESA 2) Other Natural • Natural and intact but not required to meet targets, or Areas identified as CBA’s or ESA’s. No Natural • Areas with no significant direct biodiversity value. Habitat • Areas with no natural habitat or degraded natural areas Remaining that are not required as ESA’s, including intensive agriculture, urban, industry and built infrastructure.

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• Areas identified in the SDF’s for development.

Protected Areas are declared and formally protected under the Protected Areas Act, such as National Parks, legally declared Nature Reserves, World Heritage Sites and Protected Environments that are secured by appropriate legal mechanisms.

Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA) are sites that are required to meet each ecosystem’s biodiversity target, and need to be maintained in the appropriate condition for their category. The majority of the CBAs in the Mopani Bioregion are CBA 1, which can be considered irreplaceable in that there is little choice in terms of areas available to meet targets. If CBA 1 areas are not maintained in a natural state then targets cannot be achieved.

Those areas falling within CBA 2 are considered optimal . Although they represent areas where there are other spatial options for achieving targets, the selected sites are the ones that best achieve targets of the systematic biodiversity plan.

Ecological Support Areas (ESAs) are areas that are important for maintaining the ecological processes on which CBAs depend. This category has also been split into ESA 1 and ESA 2 on the basis of land cover. ESA 1 is in a largely natural state while ESA 2 are no longer intact but potentially retain significant importance from a process perspective (e.g. agricultural land maintaining landscape connectivity).

Other Natural Areas are areas that still contain natural habitat but that are not required to meet biodiversity targets.

No Natural Areas Remaining are areas without intact habitat remaining.

Table 8: Extent of Critical Biodiversity Areas in Mopani District.

CBA Map Category Extent (Ha) Extent (%) Protected Area 615 569.8 30.8 CBA 1 371 520.8 18.7 CBA 2 272 025.8 13.6 ESA 1 189 656.3 9.5 0 ESA 2 168 382.2 8.4 0 Other Natural Areas 238 021.8 11.9 No Natural Areas Remaining 145 670.1 7.3

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Figure 11: Limpopo Conservation Plan

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3.2 Interface with other biodiversity plans

3.2.1 Mpumalanga Biodiversity Sector Plan

The Mpumalanga Biodiversity Sector Plan (MBSP) is the Systematic Biodiversity Plan for Mpumalanga Province. The relevance of MBSP is that it interfaces with the Limpopo Conservation Plan along the southern boundary of the District, and beyond to the south west, along the provincial boundary.

Of importance is that the MBSP has a slightly different categorisation of CBA’s to that detailed in section 3.1. The MBSP categories are as follows:

• Protected Areas • Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA’s) • Ecological Support Areas (ESA’s) • Other Natural Areas (ONA’s) • Moderately or Heavily Modified Areas (sometimes called ‘transformed’)

Refer Figure 12a which shows the interface between the MBSP and the Limpopo Conservation Plan.

The following is noteworthy:

• The delineation of Protected Areas are aligned. • In terms of CBA’s, some misalignment is evident. Larger, more intact CBA’s are evident in Limpopo, which interface with significantly smaller, more fragmented CBA’s in Mpumalanga. The Limpopo CBA’s do, however interface with ESA’s and ONA’s on the Mpumalanga side. • In terms of ESA’s, misalignment is again evident, with larger more intact ESA’s interfacing with smaller, more fragmented ESA’s in Mpumalanga. Again ESA’s on the Limpopo side interface with ONA’s and Modified areas in Mpumalanga.

Based on the above, it is suggested that criteria and methods for defining and delineating CBA’s have differed in the two provinces, resulting in a misalignment along the provincial boundary.

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Figure 15a : Interface: MBSP

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3.3 Bioregional plan

The Map of the Bioregional Plan for the Mopani District Municipality was based on the Limpopo Conservation Plan v2 (Desmet et al ., 2013) and adapted to take into account stakeholder comments, threats and agreed resolutions. These threats and resolutions are detailed in the table below.

Refer to Figure 16 for a graphic representation of agreed resolutions. This map also represents the Bioregional Plan for Mopani District.

Table 9 : Summary of threats and recommended resolutions for the Mopani Bioregional Plan

CATEGORY THREAT RESOLUTION ACTION IN RESPONSE TO (BIOREGIONAL PLAN) BIOREGIONAL PLAN Protected Area compatible with: Threat to PA’s due to mining • None required • Remove existing mining area from PA (Letaba Ranch) network Offset loss of PA/CBA1 by • Conservation addition of area to the PA network • Ecotourism • Enforce environmental performance • Support infrastructure requirements for operation and closure of the mine(s) • Prioritise conservation areas and PNR’s for proclamation as PA’s Threat to PA’s due to • None required • Verify designation of Private Nature incompatible SDF zoning Reserves and conservation areas • Revise SDF land uses to align with Protected Areas (as per SANBI database) • Enforce EIA and WULA requirements in all Protected Areas • Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in Protected Areas CBA1 compatible with: Potential loss of irreplaceable • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land sites due to transformed land use transformation, if any • Conservation uses (towns, settlements, • Verify the loss of biodiversity targets, • Game farming (strict controls) mining) if any • Ecotourism (strict controls) • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan

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• Extensive livestock (strict controls) (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to • Support infrastructure reflect required exclusions and to • Urban open space achieve provincial targets • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. • Monitor trends in other areas. Potential threat to irreplaceable • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land sites due to altered land uses use alteration, if any (degraded land, agriculture, • Verify the loss of biodiversity targets, forestry) if any • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions and to achieve provincial targets • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA1 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA1 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. • Monitor trends in other areas. Threat to irreplaceable sites due • None required • Revise Mining Rights areas to exclude to mine expansion and new CBA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan mines within mining rights • Enforce EIA requirements for mine areas expansion and new mines in all CBA1

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areas regardless of mining right status. • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA1 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce planning controls to stop the expansion and development of mines in CBA1 areas Threat to irreplaceable sites due • None required • Revise SDF land uses to align with to incompatible SDF zonation CBA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan • Where necessary as an interim measure, utilise the Bioregional Plan in parallel with the SDF to adjudicate compatibility of land use • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA1 areas. • Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in CBA1 areas CBA2 compatible with: Potential loss of optimal sites • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land due to transformed land uses use transformation, if any • All CBA1 activities (towns, settlements, mining) • Verify the loss of biodiversity targets, • Existing agriculture if any • Game farming (managed) • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan • Ecotourism (managed) (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to • Extensive livestock (managed) reflect required exclusions and to • Intensive livestock (managed) achieve provincial targets • Support infrastructure • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA2 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA2 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. • Monitor trends in other areas. Potential threat to optimal sites • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land

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due to altered land uses use alteration, if any (degraded land, agriculture, • Verify the loss of biodiversity targets, forestry) if any • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions and to achieve provincial targets • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA2 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA2 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. • Monitor trends in other areas. Threat to optimal sites due to • None required • Revise Mining Rights areas to exclude mine expansion and new mines CBA areas of the Bioregional Plan within mining rights areas • Enforce EIA requirements for mine expansion and new mines in all CBA2 areas regardless of mining right status • Enforce WULA requirements in all CBA2 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce planning controls to stop the expansion and development of mines in CBA2 areas Threat to optimal sites due to • None required • Revise SDF land uses to align with incompatible SDF zonation CBA2 areas of the Bioregional Plan • Where necessary as an interim measure, utilise the Bioregional Plan in parallel with the SDF to adjudicate compatibility of land use • Enforce EIA requirements in all CBA2 areas • Enforce planning controls to stop the

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development of incompatible land uses in CBA2 areas ESA1 compatible with: Potential loss of ecological • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land processes that support CBA’s use transformation, if any • All CBA2 activities due to transformed land uses • Verify the loss of support areas and • Low density rural residential (eco function) (towns, settlements, mining) ecological process, if any • Smallholdings (eco function) • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan • Resorts (eco function) (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce WULA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use. • Monitor trends in other areas. Potential threat to ecological • None required • Verify the nature and extent of land processes that support CBA’s use alteration, if any due to altered land uses • Verify the loss of support areas and (degraded land, agriculture, ecological process, if any forestry) • Amend the Mopani Bioregional Plan (and Limpopo Conservation Plan) to reflect required exclusions • Capacitate local, district and provincial authorities to enforce the Bioregional Plan • Enforce EIA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce WULA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required. • Enforce planning controls to stop the spread of incompatible land use • Monitor threat areas for further spread of incompatible land use.

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• Monitor trends in other areas. Threat to ecological processes • None required • Revise Mining Rights areas to exclude that support CBA’s due to mine ESA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan expansion and new mines • Enforce EIA requirements for mine within mining rights areas expansion and new mines in all ESA1 areas regardless of mining right status • Enforce WULA requirements in all ESA1 areas. Institute penalties if required • Enforce planning controls to stop the expansion and development of mines in ESA1 areas Threat to ecological processes • None required • Revise SDF land uses to align with that support CBA’s due to ESA1 areas of the Bioregional Plan incompatible SDF zonation • Where necessary as an interim measure, utilise the Bioregional Plan in parallel with the SDF to adjudicate compatibility of land use • Enforce EIA requirements in all ESA1 areas • Enforce planning controls to stop the development of incompatible land uses in ESA1 areas

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Figure 13: Mopani Bioregional Plan

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PART 4: GUIDELINES FOR DECISION MAKING

4.1 Overarching guidelines

This section contains guidelines on landuses compatible with the land management objectives of each category on the Map of Critical Biodiversity Area Map.

The guidelines of compatible and incompatible landuses are designed to aid planners to identify the appropriate zones and controls to impose on areas designated as Critical Biodiversity Areas or Ecological Support Areas when developing Spatial Development Frameworks, Land Use Management Schemes, Environmental Management Frameworks or similar strategic landuse planning tools. The guidelines also give the evaluators of Environmental Impact Assessments an indication of appropriate landuses within each category.

Also included are land management guidelines for Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas. These management recommendations are designed to inform a wide range of landuse planning and decisionmaking processes, as well as conservation implementation activities. The recommendations only provide guidance to decisionmakers and serve as an informant to planning processes on appropriate land management and activities; and therefore do not grant or remove existing landuse rights or take the place of development application authorisation processes.

Where there is conflict in recommendations of the guidelines the recommendation with the least environmental impact should be adopted as the recommendation.

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4.1.1 Protected Areas

Table 10: Overarching guidelines: Protected Areas

DESCRIPTION: Formal Protected Areas and Protected Areas pending declaration under NEMPA. INTENT: • Maintain in a natural state with limited or no biodiversity loss. • Rehabilitate degraded areas to a natural or near natural state, and manage for no further degradation. • Development subject to Protected Area objectives and zoning in a NEMPAA compliant and approved management plan. • Maintain formal conservation protection. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS: As per Government Notice No. R985, certain types of development proposed inside or within a certain proximity to a Protected Area identified in terms of NEM: PAA will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses are conservation and associated activities such as ecotourism and required support infrastructure. All other land uses are not permitted.

• Mining is prohibited in protected areas (including National Parks, Nature Reserves, World Heritage Sites, Protected Environments, and Nature Reserves) and areas declared under Section 49 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. • Mining may only be allowed in Protected Environments if both the Minister of Mineral Resources and Minister of Environmental Affairs approve it. GUIDELINES: General: • No Further loss of natural habitat should occur i.e. land in this category should be maintained as natural vegetation cover as far as possible. • These areas of land can act as possible biodiversity offset receiving areas. • Control of illegal activities (such as dumping), which impact biodiversity should be prioritized in CBA areas.

Protection: • Maintain or obtain formal conservation protection.

Rehabilitation: • Degraded or disturbed PA’s should be prioritized for rehabilitation through programmes such as Working for Water, Working

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for Wetlands.

Development: • Tourism and recreational infrastructure and services developed within the nature reserve must be appropriate to the purpose for which the reserve has been proclaimed, and must not threaten its biodiversity or ecological function. • Tourism and recreational infrastructure and services must be developed in response to tourism market demands and opportunities within the reserve, and should be carefully assessed to determine its viability.

• In cases where mining activities were conducted lawfully in protected areas before Section 48 of the Protected Areas Act came into effect, the Minister of Environmental Affairs may, after consulting with the Minister of Mineral Resources, allow such mining activities to continue, subject to prescribed conditions that reduce environmental impacts.

• Sustainable use of natural and biological resources may be undertaken under strictly controlled conditions, provided that it does not compromise the ecological functioning or biodiversity conservation imperatives of the reserve. • The PA must strive to continually improve its environmental management systems through reducing or mitigating the environmental impacts of, inter alia: administrative and visitor infrastructure; visitor activities; solid waste disposal; water supply and distribution systems; energy supply and distribution networks; sewage systems; and herbicide and fuel supplies. • Administrative and operations infrastructure and services must be limited, and appropriately scaled, to the necessary administrative and operational requirements of the reserve, and must not threaten its biodiversity or ecological function.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Maintain water quality and flow regimes should be maintained as close to natural as possible. • Where Environmental Reserves or Environmental Flow Requirements have been determined these should be strictly adhered to. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid damage to PA’s. • Where PA’s include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year flood line), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, a 32m buffer around rivers) or buffers around wetlands, particular attention should applied to ensure that these remain in a natural state or are rehabilitated to this state. In addition to avoiding land transformation, other activities such as livestock access may need to be controlled and alien vegetation managed to avoid damage to banks. Do not permit infilling, excavation, drainage, hardened surfaces (including buildings and asphalt), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Areas that are degraded or disturbed should be rehabilitated, through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands and a systematic alien vegetation eradication programme implemented. Rehabilitation work should be undertaken in a way that does not negatively impact on the survival of threatened species.

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4.1.2 CBA 1

Table 11: Overarching guidelines: CBA1

DESCRIPTION: Irreplaceable Sites areas required to meet biodiversity pattern and / or ecological processes targets and where no alternative sites are available to meet these targets. INTENT: • Maintain in a natural state with limited or no biodiversity loss. • Rehabilitate degraded areas to a natural or near natural state, and manage for no further degradation. • Obtain formal conservation protection where possible. • Implement appropriate zoning to avoid nett loss of intact habitat or intensification of land use. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS: As per Government Notice No. R985, any development that occurs in the Limpopo Province within:

• A Protected Area identified in terms of NEM:PAA; • National Protected Area Expansion Strategy focus areas; • Sensitive areas as identified in an environmental management framework; • Critical Biodiversity Areas; • Core areas in Biosphere Reserves

Will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. Environmental screening, EIAs and their associated specialist studies must be conducted. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses include conservation and associated activities, urban open space systems, as well as, extensive game farming and ecotourism operations and livestock production with strict control on environmental impacts and carrying capacity. • Urban land uses (residential, business, mining and industrial), intensive animal production, arable agriculture and small holdings are not permitted.

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far as possible. • These areas of land can act as possible biodiversity offset receiving areas. • Prioritise CBA’s for land care projects, Working for Water (WfW) and NGOs to direct their conservation projects, programmes and activities. • An Ecological Management Plan should be compiled where required for CBA’s. EMP to include alien plant control, fire management, etc. • Control of illegal activities (such as hunting and dumping), which impact biodiversity should be prioritized in CBA areas.

Protection: • CBA’s not formally protected should be rezoned where possible to conservation or appropriate open space zoning, and where possible declared in terms of NEM: Protected Areas Act. • The Stewardship program should prioritise privately owned erven in CBAs to be incorporated into the protected area network through Stewardship Agreements and incentives (e.g. rates rebates).

Rehabilitation: • Degraded or disturbed CBA’s should be prioritized for rehabilitation through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands.

Development: Where infrastructure is proposed: • Rezoning of properties to afford additional landuse rights that will result in increased biodiversity loss should not be granted. • Permission to increase the permitted number of units per erf or per Ha should not be granted. • Developments should be limited to existing developed / degraded footprints, if present. • Units carefully dispersed or clumped to achieve least impact, particularly with regard to habitat loss and fragmentation. • The installation of infrastructure in CBAs is not desirable and should only be considered if all alternative alignment and design options have been assessed and found to be nonviable. Under such conditions, at least a Basic Assessment (BA) should be undertaken, and if approved, a comprehensive EMP must be developed and bestpractice restoration efforts strictly implemented. • Ecological specialist to conduct the ecological assessment.

Where development proposals other than the preferred biodiversitycompatible landuses (see table above are submitted in terms of the NEMA: EIA regulations or Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO): • A Screening Exercise should be undertaken by a Biodiversity Specialist or Ecologist to verify the CBA map category on site. • If the site is verified as a CBA, developments other than the preferred biodiversitycompatible landuses should be investigated in detail and the mitigation hierarchy applied in full. • If the application is pursued they should be informed by a specialist biodiversity assessment.

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If mining authorisation is granted: • The authorisations should set limits on allowed activities and impacts, and may specify biodiversity offsets that would be written into licence agreements and/or authorisations. This must be monitored to ensure that these limits and biodiversity offsets are implemented.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Maintain water quality and flow regimes should be maintained as close to natural as possible. • Where Environmental Reserves or Environmental Flow Requirements have been determined these should be strictly adhered to. • All effluent (including municipal, mining and industrial waste water) as well as acid mine drainage should be treated to required specifications before release. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid damage to CBA areas. • Where CBAs include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year flood line), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, a 32m buffer around rivers) or buffers around wetlands, particular attention should applied to ensure that these remain in a natural state or are rehabilitated to this state. In addition to avoiding land transformation, other activities such as livestock access may need to be controlled and alien vegetation managed to avoid damage to banks. Do not permit infilling, excavation, drainage, hardened surfaces (including buildings and asphalt), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Areas that are degraded or disturbed should be rehabilitated, through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands and a systematic alien vegetation eradication programme implemented. Rehabilitation work should be undertaken in a way that does not negatively impact on the survival of threatened species.

4.1.3 CBA 2

Table 12: Overarching guidelines: CBA2

DESCRIPTION: Optimal Sites – areas selected to meet biodiversity pattern and/or ecological process targets where alternative sites may be available to meet these targets. INTENT: • Maintain in a natural state with limited or no biodiversity loss. • Maintain current agricultural activities. • Ensure that land use is not intensified and that activities are managed to minimize impact on threatened species. • Avoid the conversion of agricultural land to more intensive land uses, which may have a negative impact on threatened species of ecological processes. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS:

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As per Government Notice No. R985, any development that occurs in the Limpopo Province within:

Will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. Environmental screening, EIAs and their associated specialist studies must be conducted. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses include current agricultural practices, animal production, game and ecotourism operations, as well as, all permissible activities for CBA 1. • Urban land uses (residential, business, mining and industrial, infrastructure) and more intensive agricultural production than currently occurring are not permitted.

• Highest risk for mining in Critically endangered and Endangered ecosystems , Critical Biodiversity Areas, river and wetland freshwater ecosystems, Priority Areas (FEPAs), and a 1km buffer around these FEPAs, as well as Ramsar Sites. GUIDELINES: General: • Loss of natural habitat should be minimized i.e. land in this category should be maintained as natural vegetation cover as far as possible. • These areas of land can act as possible biodiversity offset receiving areas. • Prioritise CBAs for land care projects, Working for Water (WfW) and NGOs to direct their conservation projects, programmes and activities. • An Ecological Management Plan should be compiled where required for CBA’s. EMP to include alien plant control, fire management, etc. • Control of illegal activities (such a hunting and dumping), which impact biodiversity should be prioritized in CBA areas.

Rehabilitation:

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• Degraded or disturbed CBA’s should be prioritized for rehabilitation through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands.

Development: Where infrastructure is proposed: • Rezoning of properties to afford additional land use rights that will result in increased biodiversity loss through conversion of land from agriculture should not be granted. • Permission to increase the permitted number of units per erf or per ha should not be granted. • Developments should be limited to existing developed / degraded footprints, if present and should avoid encroaching on natural or agricultural landscapes. • Should additional infrastructure be required, the requirements of threatened species should be taken into account. At least a Basic Assessment (BA) should be undertaken for any development which results in the intensification of land use, and if the intensification of land use is approved, a comprehensive EMP must be developed to minimize impacts on threatened species. • Ecological specialist to conduct the ecological assessment.

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hardened surfaces (including buildings and asphalt), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Areas that are degraded or disturbed should be rehabilitated, through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands and a systematic alien vegetation eradication programme implemented. Rehabilitation work should be undertaken in a way that does not negatively impact on the survival of threatened species.

4.1.4 ESA 1

Table 13: Overarching guidelines: ESA1

DESCRIPTION: Natural, near natural and degraded areas supporting CBA’s by maintaining ecological processes. INTENT: • Maintain ecosystem functionality and connectivity allowing for limited loss of biodiversity pattern. • Implement appropriate zoning and land management guidelines to avoid impacting ecological processes. • Avoid intensification of land use. • Avoid fragmentation of natural landscape. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS: As per Government Notice No. R983, R984 and R985, all proposed developments:

• Of a certain category or type; • That exceeds a certain area or extent; • That is likely to result in pollution or emissions; • That occurs in close proximity to water resources; • Within sensitive areas as identified in an environmental management framework;

Will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses include conservation and associated activities, extensive game farming and ecotourism operations, extensive livestock production, urban open space systems and low density rural residential, small holdings or resorts. • Urban land uses (residential, business, mining and industrial, infrastructure), intensive animal production, arable agriculture are not permitted.

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information to guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy. GUIDELINES: General: • Maintain in a functional state, avoid intensification of land uses, and rehabilitate to a natural or semi natural state where possible. In transformed areas, which are important for maintaining ecological processes, current land uses should be maintained, intensification of use (e.g. a transition from agriculture to urban) should be avoided, and where possible areas should be rehabilitated. • No further loss of natural habitat should be allowed, and land in this category currently in a degraded state should be rehabilitated or restored to a natural or seminatural state once the current land use has ceased. • Maintain current land uses where these play a role in supporting ecological processes. • Ensure land use changes do not impact negatively on ecological processes. • The maintenance of connectivity between CBAs, continued ecosystem functioning within the CBA corridors, and the prevention of degradation of adjacent CBA’s must be achieved. • After the CBA’s, ESA1’s should be prioritised for land care projects, Working for Water (WfW) and NGO’s to direct their conservation projects, programmes and activities. • An Ecological Management Plan should be compiled where required for ESA’s. EMP to include alien plant control, fire management, etc.

Development: Where infrastructure is proposed: • Rezoning of properties to afford additional land use rights that will result in increased impact on ecological processes should not be granted, unless significant net conservation gains can be achieved, ecosystem functioning and connectivity of Ecosystem Support Areas (ESAs) will not compromised, and biodiversity impacts with regard to species and habitats are of at an acceptable significance and mitigated where possible. • Developments should be limited to existing developed / degraded footprints, where possible. • Units carefully dispersed or clumped to achieve least impact, particularly with regard to impacts on ecological processes. • Ecological specialist to conduct the ecological assessment.

Where development proposals other than the preferred biodiversitycompatible landuses are submitted in terms of the NEMA: EIA regulations or Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO) for areas which remain intact: • A Screening Exercise should be undertaken by a Biodiversity Specialist or Ecologist to verify the CBA map category on site. • If the site is verified as an ESA, developments other than the preferred biodiversitycompatible landuses should be carefully screened to ensure that developments are planned and activities undertaken in a way that minimizes impact on ecological processes. Impacts should be mitigated. • If the application is pursued they should be informed by a specialist biodiversity assessment.

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In transformed areas which are still important for supporting ecological processes: • Current land uses should be maintained, intensification of use (e.g. Transition from extensive agriculture to urban) should avoided and where possible areas should be rehabilitated. • Developments should be screened to ensure that they do not have an unacceptable impact on ecological processes.

If mining authorisation is granted: • The authorisations may set limits and specify biodiversity offsets that would be written into licence agreements and/or authorisations. This must be monitored to ensure that these limits and biodiversity offsets are implemented.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Maintain water quality and flow regimes should be maintained as close to natural as possible. • Where Environmental Reserves or Environmental Flow Requirements have been determined these should be strictly adhered to. • All effluent (including municipal, mining and industrial waste water) as well as acid mine drainage should be treated to required specifications before release. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid damage to ESA areas. • Where ESA’s include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year floodline), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, the 32m around rivers) or buffers around wetland particular attention should applied to ensure that these remain in a natural state or are rehabilitated to this state. • Areas that are degraded or disturbed should be rehabilitated, through programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands and a systematic alien vegetation eradication programme implemented. • Creation of berms, roads, culverts, canalisation, channelization, alien vegetation, impoundment, abstraction, well points, storm water or other point source inflows, irrigation return flows, grazing / trampling, agriculture, golf courses, suburban gardens, artificial deepening, and drainage, should be avoided where possible within the 1:20 year flood line.

4.1.5 ESA 2

Table 14: Overarching guidelines: ESA2

DESCRIPTION: Areas with no natural habitat that is important for supporting ecological processes. INTENT: • Avoid additional / new impacts on ecological processes. • Maintain current landuse. • Avoid intensification of land use, which may result in additional impact on ecological processes. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS:

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As per Government Notice No. R983, R984 and R985, all proposed developments:

Will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses include conservation and associated activities, extensive game farming and ecotourism operations, extensive livestock production, urban open space systems and low density rural residential, small holdings or resorts. • Existing activities should be maintained but where possible, a transition to less intensive land uses or ecological restoration should be favoured. • Any land use or activity that results in additional impacts on ecological functioning mostly associated with the intensification of land use in these areas is not permitted.

• Moderate risk for mining in ESA’s, Vulnerable ecosystems and focus areas for Protected Area expansion (land based and offshore protection). • EIA’s and their associated specialist studies should focus on confirming the presence and significance of these biodiversity features, identifying features (e.g. threatened species) not included in the existing datasets, and on providing sitespecific information to guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy. GUIDELINES: General: • Additional impacts on ecological processes should be avoided. In transformed areas, which are important for maintaining ecological processes, current land uses should be maintained, intensification of use (e.g. a transition from agriculture to urban) should be avoided, and where possible areas should be rehabilitated. • The maintenance of connectivity between CBAs, continued ecosystem functioning within the CBA corridors, and the prevention of degradation of adjacent CBA’s must be achieved. • In some cases the rehabilitation of ESA2’s may be the suitable for land care projects, Working for Water (WfW) and NGOs to direct their conservation project, programmes and activities. • An Ecological Management Plan should be compiled where required for ESA’s. EMP to include alien plant control, fire management, etc.

Development: Where infrastructure is proposed:

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• Infrastructure should be designed to avoid additional impacts on ecological processes.

In transformed areas which are still important for supporting ecological processes: • Current land uses should be maintained, intensification of use (e.g. a transition from agriculture to urban) should be avoided, and where possible areas should be rehabilitated. • Developments should be screened to ensure that they do not have an unacceptable impact on ecological processes.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Maintain water quality and flow regimes should be maintained as close to natural as possible. • Where Environmental Reserves or Environmental Flow Requirements have been determined these should be strictly adhered to. • All effluent (including municipal, mining and industrial waste water) as well as acid mine drainage should be treated to required specifications before release. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid damage to ESA areas. • Where ESA2’s include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year floodline), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, the 32m around rivers) or buffers around wetlands, particular attention should applied to ensure that there is no additional impact on ecological functioning, and where possible these areas rehabilitated to improve ecological functioning. In addition to avoiding intensification of land use, other activities such as livestock access may need to be controlled and alien vegetation managed to avoid damage to banks. Do not permit infilling, excavation, drainage, hardened surfaces (including buildings), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Creation of berms, roads, culverts, canalisation, channelization, alien vegetation, impoundment, abstraction, well points, storm water or other point source inflows, irrigation return flows, grazing / trampling, agriculture, golf courses, suburban gardens, artificial deepening, and drainage, should be avoided where possible within the 1:20 year flood line.

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4.1.6 Other Natural Areas

Table 15: Overarching guidelines: ONA

DESCRIPTION: Natural and intact but not required to meet targets, or identified as CBA or ESA. INTENT:

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS: As per Government Notice No. R983, R984 and R985, all proposed development:

• Of a certain category or type; • That exceeds a certain area or extent; • That is likely to result in pollution or emissions; • That occurs in close proximity to water resources

Will be subject to, at a minimum, a Basic Assessment Process. ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES: • Compatible land uses include all those permitted in the ESA’s, as well as livestock production, rural and urban development. • Urban land uses (residential, business, mining and industrial, infrastructure), intensive animal production, arable agriculture are permitted in terms of the applicable land use zoning, Town Planning Scheme or with Environmental Authorisation. GUIDELINES: General: • Where possible existing Not Natural areas should be favoured for development before Other natural areas as before Other natural areas may later be required either due to the identification of previously unknown important biodiversity features on these sites, or alternatively where the loss of CBA has resulted in the need to identify alternative sites.

Development: • Areas are subject to all applicable town and regional planning guidelines and policy. • Ensure land use changes do not impact negatively on ecological processes. • Developments should be planned and designed to ensure that they do not have an unacceptable impact on the environment. • Infrastructure should be designed to avoid additional impacts on ecological processes.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Ecological connectivity should be sought on an urban scale through innovative, collaborative and sustainable planning and

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design. • Water quality and flow regimes should be incorporated into planning and design, and functionality developed / maintained as close to natural as possible. • All effluent (including municipal, mining and industrial waste water), as well as, acid mine drainage should be treated to required specifications before release. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid erosion and to minimise peak flow. • Where ONA’s include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year floodline), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, the 32m around rivers) or buffers around wetlands, particular attention should applied to ensure that there is no additional impact on ecological functioning, and where possible these areas rehabilitated to improve ecological functioning. In addition to avoiding intensification of land use, other activities such as livestock access may need to be controlled and alien vegetation managed to avoid damage to banks. Do not permit infilling, excavation, drainage, hardened surfaces (including buildings), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Creation of berms, roads, culverts, canalisation, channelization, alien vegetation, impoundment, abstraction, well points, storm water or other point source inflows, irrigation return flows, grazing / trampling, agriculture, golf courses, suburban gardens, artificial deepening, and drainage, should be avoided where possible within the 1:20 year flood line.

4.1.7 No Natural Habitat Remaining

Table 16: Overarching guidelines: NNR

DESCRIPTION: Areas with no significant direct biodiversity value. Not Natural or degraded natural areas that are not required as ESA, including intensive agriculture, urban, industry and human infrastructure. INTENT:

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS: As per Government Notice No. R983, R984 and R985, all proposed development:

• Of a certain category or type; • That exceeds a certain area or extent; • That is likely to result in pollution or emissions; • That occurs in close proximity to water resources

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• Urban land uses (residential, business, mining and industrial, infrastructure), intensive animal production, arable agriculture are permitted in terms of the applicable land use zoning, Town Planning Scheme or with Environmental Authorisation. GUIDELINES: General: • Where possible existing Not Natural areas should be favoured for development before Other natural areas as before Other natural areas may later be required either due to the identification of previously unknown important biodiversity features on these sites, or alternatively where the loss of CBA has resulted in the need to identify alternative sites.

Aquatic ecosystems: • Ecological connectivity should be sought on an urban scale through innovative, collaborative and sustainable planning and design. • Water quality and flow regimes should be incorporated into planning and design, and functionality developed / maintained as close to natural as possible. • All effluent (including municipal, mining and industrial waste water), as well as, acid mine drainage should be treated to required specifications before release. • Storm water flow should be managed to avoid erosion and to minimise peak flow. • Where ONA’s include floodplains (e.g. areas within the 1:100 year floodline), riparian areas (e.g. as a minimum, the 32m around rivers) or buffers around wetlands, particular attention should applied to ensure that there is no additional impact on ecological functioning, and where possible these areas rehabilitated to improve ecological functioning. In addition to avoiding intensification of land use, other activities such as livestock access may need to be controlled and alien vegetation managed to avoid damage to banks. Do not permit infilling, excavation, drainage, hardened surfaces (including buildings), intensive agriculture or any new developments within a river or wetland. • Creation of berms, roads, culverts, canalisation, channelization, alien vegetation, impoundment, abstraction, well points, storm water or other point source inflows, irrigation return flows, grazing / trampling, agriculture, golf courses, suburban gardens, artificial deepening, and drainage, should be avoided where possible within the 1:20 year flood line.

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4.2 Additional guidelines

The overarching guidelines provide advice on land uses and activities most compatible with maintaining the ecological integrity of CBA’s and ESA’s, as well as other parts of the landscape. They should, however, be used in conjunction with other sectorspecific guidelines applicable within the Province. Examples of such guidelines include the following:

PART 5: ADDITIONAL MEASURES

This section has borrowed extensively from the City of Cape Town Bioregional Plan (2012) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Final Bioregional Plan (2014).

5.1 Data collation and management

Appropriate land use decisionmaking is greatly enabled by the availability of accurate, uptodate information. A system to regularly record changes in land use / rezoning approvals that impact on biodiversity would be of great benefit to authorities and decision makers in the Provincial and Municipal biodiversity and multisectoral planning sectors.

In this respect it is recommended that a database be developed and maintained to track the loss of biodiversity and inform daytoday decisionmaking around rezoning and development applications. This database should be developed on a

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GIS platform for integration and overlay with other environmental instruments and must be updated at least once a year.

Supporting database to allow for fully integrated decision making include the following:

• Consolidated and coordinated database of approved rezoning applications within each Local Municipality. • Consolidated and coordinated database of Environmental Authorisations issued by National DEA and LEDET (updated at least annually). • Consolidated and coordinated database of granted prospecting rights, mining permits and mining rights (updated at least annually). • Consolidated and coordinated database of land claims, both valid and in process (updated at least annually).

Critical to all of the above is capacity building and training at Local and District Municipality level, as well as within LEDET, in terms of:

• The role of the Bioregional Plan (and associated instruments and informants) in land use development and management. • The correct and efficient use of spatial information and supporting documentation. • The dissemination of relevant information to role players in various sectors and industries. • The effective update of databases to ensure relevance.

5.2 Effective biodiversity management

5.2.1 Invasive alien management

Alien invasive plants include annual grasses, woody and herbaceous perennial and freshwater species. Invasive plants represent a significant threat to biodiversity in terms of fire hazard, water availability, light and space.

Management interventions include a range of actions including prevention, early detection, rapid response, control, eradication and containment, depending on the nature of the site and the management objectives thereof.

Mopani District, in collaboration with LEDET must develop an invasive alien plant clearing strategy, which is to be updated every five years. In addition, adequate budget must be provided for invasive alien plant control operations on public land, and private landowners should be encouraged to control invasive alien plants on their properties (e.g. through the provision of property rates rebates for landowners who adequately control invasive alien plants on their properties). LEDET should support invasive alien plant control operations on private land where Biodiversity Stewardship are in place.

The negative impacts of invasive alien animal species on biodiversity within the District should also be considered. Activities such as the illegal pet trade and the widespread grazing of goats and cattle, especially in rural communities, should be addressed in speciesspecific programmes.

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5.2.2 Biodiversity management plans

Biodiversity management plans are one of the planning tools provided for by the NEM: Biodiversity Act to ensure that all land acquired for conservation is managed appropriately. In this respect, Management Plans are required for all Protected Areas in order to ensure that targets are reached and that management activities are properly coordinated.

Management activities may also be monitored and evaluated in order to review and improve management activities. In this respect, a Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METTSA) allows for rapid site level assessment.

Protected Areas also require subsidiary plans, such as Fire Management Plans to guide annual operations.

Where high concentrations of threatened species and Centres of Endemism are concerned, it is important to monitor an agreed subset of species, in order to assess management impacts and to make changes to management plans if required.

5.2.3 Protected Area expansion

Protected area expansion within the District will require the conservation of a combination of public and private land.

Where possible, stateowned properties located Critical Biodiversity Areas should be rezoned to conservationcompatible uses. Where these areas lie within identified LPAES zones, these should be proclaimed and formally incorporated into the Protected Areas network.

The Stewardship Programme is a voluntary conservation initiative that focuses on biodiversity conservation on private land identified as a priority in the LPAES. For landowners outside of the urban edge, Stewardship agreements can offer incentives such as rates rebates and biodiversity management advice and assistance. Inside the urban edge, where development rights may already exist, there is the possibility of land swaps, limited development rights or biodiversity offsets in combination with enhanced development rights as part of the conditions of approval in an Environmental Impact Assessment or Land Use Planning Ordinance process.

Importantly, the necessary mechanisms and resources must be put in place to ensure adequate management.

5.2.4 Biodiversity offsets

Where a significant negative impact to biodiversity cannot be minimized or mitigated, desirable developments may be approved based on a biodiversity offset. An onsite offset would entail a stewardship agreement and management mechanism for the conservation area set aside, while and offsite offset would conserve biodiversity at an alternative site. In many cases, this approach could result in greater gains for biodiversity conservation than the ‘nodevelopment’

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option.

For a biodiversity offset to contribute effectively to protected area expansion and biodiversity conservation, biodiversity offsets should be located in CBA’s. Biodiversity offsets can comprise either single or composite areas in order to compensate adequately for residual biodiversity loss.

5.2.5 River health

River systems are key to providing direct ecosystem services in the form of water provision, but also to reduce the vulnerability of dependent communities to the effects of climate change (such as flooding and drought).

At present, the demands from the Letaba River exceed the capability of the system, and both it and the Olifants system are threatened by increasing water quality issues. In this respect, the various role players and authorities within the district should manage the state of river health individually and collectively as follows:

• Department of Water Affairs and Forestry: o Determine the ecological reserve for the Letaba River and Olifants Rivers (i.e. the statutory concept that makes quality objectives legally binding and provides the basis for issuing water use licences). o Formulate and administer water use licences (for water abstraction and discharge of treated effluent) in line with the instream quality and quantity objectives. o Audit and control compliance with licence conditions. o Manage water releases from storage dams to simulate seasonal variations in flows and natural hydrological fluxes as closely as possible.

• Forestry Sector o Ensure that a sufficient buffer zone is maintained along all rivers to protect riparian habitats and their functionality. o Minimise erosion potential, especially related to construction and maintenance of access roads and harvesting of timber during the rainy season.

• Working for Water Programme: o Coordinate programmes to eradicate or control invasive alien plants o See that riparian zones are properly restored after alien plants have been removed.

• Local Government: o Ensure that sewage treatment plants adhere to required operating standards and that treated sewage is of acceptable quality before it is discharged to a river. o Issue fines where necessary.

• Agricultural Sector: o Protect riparian zones. o Use water efficient technologies. o Comply with livestock carrying capacities.

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5.2.6 Priority areas for rehabilitation

Restoration activities within the District should focus on reserves and other secure sites. Biodiversity remnants in CBA’s and degraded wetlands, as well as areas invaded by alien invasives are priorities. In severe cases, the indigenous seed banks may have been depleted and plant reintroduction may be required.

It is clear that a protocol is required for the prioritisation of areas for rehabilitation and restoration within the District in order to properly plan works and involve appropriate key partners.

Key informants are the ecosystem threat status of the vegetation and the importance of restoration for ecological processes.

5.3 Building a biodiversity economy

Building a biodiversity economy involves promoting economic activity that uses biodiversity in a sustainable way. This includes the creation of opportunities through biodiversity for economic development in previously disadvantaged communities, the promotion of sustainable agriculture and fisheries, and the promotion of landuses that are compatible with biodiversity.

5.3.1 Ecotourism

The importance of the natural environment in underpinning livelihoods in the District has been emphasised in this Bioregional Plan. This occurs directly through job creation and indirectly through the provision of ecosystem services.

Mopani District enjoys a wealth of ecotourism opportunity, both through its diverse biodiversity and landscape offering, but also its array of existing Protected Areas, including the Kruger national Park, catering for all markets.

There is huge potential to increase the tourism value of the many Protected Areas within the District, as well as unlocking the ecotourism potential of other CBA sites.

The development of publicprivate partnerships through the sensitive and appropriate development of high potential sites would provide local businesses and individuals to benefit from ecotourism ventures.

Of importance is that such development must be directed by appropriate Conservation and Development planning, with designated areas for high, medium and low impact activities.

5.3.2 Wildlife economy

Parts of the Mopani District are well suited to the development of the game farming industry. Farming with game has the potential to be more ecologically and economically sustainable than farming with livestock.

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The main activity for which game is utilized is hunting, including both recreational and trophy hunting. This industry, including the breeding of species to support it, has potential to contribute substantially to the biodiversity economy in the District, provided that it is correctly managed and controlled (for example, preventing or limiting the introduction of nonindigenous species).

In the Mopani District, the provisions of the Foot and Mouth Disease control zones will be of relevance for some species.

5.3.3 Skills development and training

The development of a biodiversity economy within the municipal area will create a demand for a new set of skills within the workforce.

An opportunity for skills development is the creation of indigenous plant nurseries to supply plants for cultural and medicinal use. Ecotourism establishments, such as game lodges, require staff skilled in the hospitality sector and in ecological management. Opportunities also exist to create new industries and produce various products from invasive alien plant biomass, such as timber, firewood and charcoal.

5.3.4 Natural resource use

It is probable that a significant portion of the Mopani District population makes use of natural resources for cultural and medicinal purposes, as a source of fuel, and as a means to supplement income. The unsustainable harvesting of natural resources will, however, impact on biodiversity and on the ability of the environment to supply goods and services to the population.

Threatened ecosystems, centres of Endemism and Important Water Resource areas, such as the Wolkberg are particularly vulnerable, especially where settlements are located in close proximity. Even managed Protected Areas are experiencing increasing pressure on biodiversity owing to illegal harvesting of many indigenous species.

In this respect, areas of natural vegetation, outside of the Protected Area and CBA network, should be set aside for harvesting practices to take place. In order to reduce the impact of resource use on natural areas, the development of nurseries for indigenous plants of cultural and medicinal value should be encouraged. Harvesting within CBA’s and of Threatened species should not be permitted to take place at all.

5.3.5 Expanded Public Works Programme

In addition to employment opportunities within Protected Areas and game farms, resource management also has the potential to generate temporary jobs. Many people are employed in conservation areas through the national Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), and receive valuable skills training while carrying out socially useful activities.

Relevant conservationbased programmes supported by the EPWP include the following:

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• The Working for Water Programme collaborates with local communities on projects to control invasive alien plants. At the same time, the programme creates an enabling environment for skills training, HIV and AIDS projects and other sociodevelopment initiatives. Shortterm contract jobs (with an emphasis on recruiting women, youth, and the disabled) are created through the clearing activities undertaken.

• Working for Wetlands focusses on the rehabilitation, wise use and protection of wetlands in a manner that maximizes employment creation, supports small businesses and transfers relevant and marketable skills to beneficiaries.

• Working on Fire employs more than 5000 young men and women who have been fully trained as veld and forest fire fighters and are stationed in more than 200 teams throughout South Africa. Working on Fire addresses the prevention and control of wildland fires to enhance the sustainability and protection of life, poverty and the environment through the implementation of Integrated Fire Management (IFM) practices.

• LandCare is a community based and government supported approach to the sustainable management and use of agricultural natural resources. The overall goal of LandCare is to optimize productivity and sustainability of natural resources so as to result in greater productivity, food security, job creation and better quality of life for all.

The efforts of the EPWP programmes should be aligned to the network of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas, where possible. Where private landowners enter into conservation agreements with LEDET, these landowners should be prioritised for assistance by EPWP programmes.

5.4 Awareness raising

Communication, Education and Public Awareness are key to building and maintaining support for biodiversity conservation initiatives and to ensure that the importance of conserving the natural environment in order to underpin sustainable development is generally known.

A Biodiversity Communications Strategy would go far to guide action plans and activities in various sectors. Of importance in this regard are industries involved in site clearing, such as Construction and Mining.

An improved awareness of the important of biodiversity conservation and / or legal requirements associated with the natural environment and water is essential to minimizing construction impacts on CBAs and ESAs within the District.

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PART 6: MONITORING AND REVIEW

6.1 Monitoring and review

6.1.1 Roles and responsibilities

Table 17: Summary of roles and responsibilities for monitoring and review of the Mopani Bioregional Plan

Role Representation Responsibility District • As determined • Monitoring, reviewing and updating Municipality MDM the Bioregional Plan. • Establishment of a biannual or annual monitoring and reporting programme upon gazetting of the Bioregional Plan. • Presentation of the Bioregional Plan to the Formal Municipality Council for adoption upon gazetting of the Bioregional Plan. • Compliation of an annual Audit Report on the effectiveness of the Bioregional Plan. • The review and revision of the published Bioregional Plan as per the review process (6.1.3). Coordination • LEDET • The on going evaluation of the use Committee • DMR of the Bioregional Plan in landuse • DWS planning and decisionmaking. • DAFF • Recommendation to review and • Mopani District revise the Bioregional Plan. Municipality • Mopani Local Municipalities Local • Planning • Representation on the Coordination Municipalities departments Committee. • Revision of SDF’s in response to the Bioregional Plan. • Gathering of data on the performance indicators (6.1.2). • Feeding data to the MDM and the Coordination Committee for use as key indicators for the monitoring effectiveness of the Bioregional Plan.

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LEDET • As determined by • Reviewing and updating the LEDET systematic biodiversity plan on which the Bioregional Plan is based (i.e. the Limpopo Conservation Plan). • Representation on the Coordination Committee.

6.1.2 Performance indicators

The primary purpose of ongoing monitoring is to evaluate the ongoing implementation of the Bioregional Plan, rather than to evaluate the biodiversity outcomes of implementation or to describe the state of biodiversity within the region. Therefore, the following implementation monitoring indicators are proposed:

• Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas that are contained within conservation orientated zones within Spatial Development Frameworks, Land Use Management Schemes and Environmental Management Frameworks. For this purpose, conservation orientated zones are defined as areas where the primary purpose is conservation or where there are significant restrictions on allowable land uses. • Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas that are under some form of conservation management (including both formal protection and conservation stewardship agreements). • Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas where subdivision has been approved or where increased development rights have been granted. • Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas where appropriate biodiversity management interventions have been applied (e.g. clearing of invasive alien species).

The advantage of these indicators is that they do not require investment into baseline biodiversity data gathering, but rather focus on the evaluation of the implementation mechanism. This should allow indicators to be evaluated on at least an annual basis.

• Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas that have been severely modified due to various landuse changes. • Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas that are in a natural or nearnatural state (key aspects would be level of invasive alien vegetation infestation, level of degradation due to overgrazing, sand mining or dumping etc.).

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• Percentage and area (hectares) of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas that have been rehabilitated to a satisfactory ecological condition.

6.1.3 Review

The Bioregional Plan must be reviewed and updated (where necessary) at least every five years. The review process should examine the following:

6.1.4 Updating

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PART 7: GIS FILES

NO NAME DESCRIPTION FIELDS SOURCE 1 SG Surveyor general information Chief Directorate National Geo Spatial Information 2 LM Local municipality boundaries Shapefiles: National Demarcation Board 3 Ph_TM Terrain morphology Generated by MetroGIS 4 N_VT Vegetation types Shapefiles: SANBI 5 N_TS Terrestrial ecosystems threat status Shapefiles: SANBI 6 N_LOE Terrestrial ecosystems level of endemism Shapefiles: SANBI 7 N_PS Terrestrial ecosystems protection status Shapefiles: SANBI 8 N_EC Ecological Corridors Shapefiles: Limpopo CPlan 9 M_LU Land Use Shapefiles: DEA, 201314 National Land Cover 10 M_Mi Mining Shapefiles: Council for Geoscience 11 Pl_PA Protected Areas Shapefiles: SANBI 12 Pl_ILU Kruger National Park Integrated Land Use Shapefiles: SANParks Zones 13 Pl_FMD Foor and Mouth Disease Control Zones DAFF, Digitised: MetroGIS 2015 14 Pl_NPAES National Protected Areas Expansion Strategy Shapefiles: SANBI 15 Pl_LPAES Limpopo Protected Areas Expansion Strategy Shapefiles: ECOSOL GIS 16 Pl_EMF Environmental Management Framework for Shapefiles: MetroGIS/Environomics the Olifants and Letaba Rivers Catment Area 17 Pl_SDF Local municipality SDF’s • Greater Giyani Local Municipality Spatial Development Framework digitised: MetroGIS 2015. • Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality Spatial Development Framework digitised: MetroGIS 2015. • Greater Letaba Local

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Municipality Spatial Development Framework – not sourced. • Ba Pahalborwa Local Municipality Spatial Development Framework digitised: MetroGIS 2015. • Maruleng SDF shapefiles: ECOSOL GIS 18 Pl_K2C Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve Shapefiles: Dr. S Holness 19: Pl_FEPA FEPA rivers Shapefiles: SANBI 20 Pl_NFEPA National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas Shapefiles: SANBI 21 Pl_SWR Strategic Water Resources Shapefiles: Dr. S Holness 22 Pl_IBA Important Bird Areas Shapefiles: BirdLife SA 23 Pl_COE Wolkberg Centre of Endemism Shapefiles: SANBI 24 Pl_RESILIM RESILIM Olifants Project Shapefiles: Dr. S Holness 25 MBP Mopani Bioregional Plan MetroGIS/Nuleaf

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REFERENCES

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BC Gildenhuys & Associates (2013). Greater Giyani Spatial Development Framework: Planning for Sustainable Development. Greater Giyani Local Municipality, November 2013.

Cadman, M., Petersen, C., Driver, A., Sekhran, N., Maze, K. and Munzhedzi, S. (2010). Biodiversity for Development: South Africa’s landscape approach to conserving biodiversity and promoting ecosystem resilience. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

City of Cape Town Municipality: Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning Directorate: Environmental Resource Management Department (2012). City of Cape Town Bioregional Plan (Draft).

DEAT (2005). South Africa’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

DEAT (2009). Guideline Regarding the Determination of Bioregions and the Preparation and Publication of Bioregional Plans. Government Gazette No. 32006, Notice No. 291, 16 March 2009.

Department of Environmental Affairs (2011). National list of ecosystems that are threatened and in need of protection. Government Gazette No. 34809, Notice No. 1002, 9 December 2011.

Department of Environmental Affairs (2012). Biodiversity Policy and Strategy for South Africa: Strategy on Buffer Zones for National Parks. Government Gazette No. 35020, Notice No. 106, 8 February 2012.

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (2009). National Biodiversity Framework. Government Gazette No. 32474, Notice No. 813, 3 August 2009.

Department of Water Affairs (2013). National Water Resource Strategy: Water for an Equitable and Sustainable Future. 2 nd Edition.

Department of Water Affairs, South Africa (2013). Classification of Water Resources and Determination of the Resource Quality Objectives in the Letaba Catchment. Status Quo assessment, IUA and biophysical node delineation and identification. Prepared by: Rivers for Africa eFlows Consulting (Pty) Ltd. DWA Report, RDM/WMA02/00/CON/CLA/0113.

Department of Water Affairs, South Africa, 2014. Development of a Reconciliation Strategy for the Luvuvhu and Letaba Water Supply System: Reconciliation Strategy. Prepared by: WRP Consulting Engineers DMM Development Consultants, Golder Associates Africa, Worley Parsons, Kyamandi, Hydrosol and Zitholele Consulting. DWA Report, P WMA 02/B810/00/1412/10.

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Desmet, P. G & Cloete, J. (2014) Making the Case for Protected Areas in Limpopo. Contract Number EDET/QUT/2371/13. Report for Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment & Tourism (LEDET) by ECOSOL GIS, Port Elizabeth.

Desmet, P. G., Holness, S., Skowno, A. & Egan, V.T. (2013) Limpopo Conservation Plan v.2: Technical Report. Contract Number EDET/2216/2012. Report for Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment & Tourism (LEDET) by ECOSOL GIS.

Desmet, P.G., Holness, S., Skowno, A., Mphaphuli, D. and Ramatsae, M.C. (2014). Limpopo Protected Area Expansion Strategy Technical Report. Contract Number (EDET/QUT/2371/13). Report for Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) by ECOSOL GIS.

Directorate Water Resource Classification. Department of Water Affairs, South Africa (2011). Classification of Significant Water Resources in the Olifants Water Management Area (WMA 4): Integrated Units of Analysis (IUA) Delineation Report. Report No: RDM/WMA04/00/CON/CLA/0311

Driver A., Sink, K.J., Nel, J.N., Holness, S., Van Niekerk, L., Daniels, F., Jonas, Z., Majiedt, P.A., Harris, L. & Maze, K. 2012. National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: An assessment of South Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems. Synthesis Report. South African National Biodiversity Institute and Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria.

Driver, A., Maze, K., Rouget, M., Lombard, A.T., Nel, J., Turpie, J.K., Cowling, R.M., Desmet, P., Goodman, P., Harris, J., Jonas, Z., Reyers, B., Sink, K. and Strauss, T. (2005). The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment 2004. Priorities for biodiversity conservation in South Africa. Strelitzia 17. SANBI.

EcoAfrica (2015). Limpopo Environmental Outlook Report 2015/2016: Environmental Issues and Themes Process Document.

Environomics (2009) Environmental Management Framework for the Olifants and Letaba Rivers Catchment Area: Draft Report

Government of South Africa (2010). National Protected Area Expansion Strategy 2008: Priorities for expanding the protected area network for ecological sustainability and climate change adaptation. Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria.

Government of South Africa (2015). National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria

Government of South Africa. UNDP Project Document: Improving Management Effectiveness of the Protected Area Network, UNDP GEF PIMS no. 4943.

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (2015). Strategy to improve livelihoods being developed. http://www.greatlimpopo.org/2015/06/strategytoimprove livelihoodsbeingdeveloped/. Accessed on 27 October, 2015.

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Guidelines for Development within Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region (unpublished report)

Holness, S. (2015) An exploratory integrated spatial prioritization for the Olifants Catchment: Bringing livelihoods, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation and biodiversity issues together to identify an integrated set of natural and seminatural priority areas for supporting overall system resilience. USAID Southern Africa and AWARD, February 2015.

Holness, S. and Skowno, A. (2014). Bioregional Plan for the West Rand District Municipality. Report for South African National Biodiversity Institute: Grasslands Programme by EcoSol GIS. Final Draft March 2014.

Jamela Consulting (2009). Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality Spatial Development Framework. Greater Tzaneen Municipality, May 2009.

Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region Prospectus.

Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) (2015). Waterberg District Municipality Bioregional Plan. Draft 2 for Review by SANBI, March 2015.

Limpopo DFED (2004). Limpopo State of the Environment Report (Phase 1). Limpopo Department of Finance and Economic Development.

MTPA (2014). Mpumalanga Sector Plan Handbook. Compiled by Lotter, M.C., Cadman, M.J. and LechmereOertel, R.G. Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, Mbombela (Nelspruit).

Nel, J., Colvin, C., Le Maitre, D., Smith, J., and Haines, I. (2013). South Africa’s Strategic Water Resource Areas. CSIR Report Number CSIR/NRE/ECOS/ER/2013/0031/A.

Nel, J.L. and Driver, A. (2012). National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: Technical Report. Volume 2: Freshwater Component. CSIR Report Number CSIR/NRE/ECO/IR/2012/0022/A. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Stellenbosch.

Nel, J.L., Murray, K.M., Maherry, A.M., Petersen, C.P., Roux, D.J., Driver, A., Hill, L., Van Deventer, H., Funke, N., Swartz, E.R., SmithAdao, L.B., Mbona, N. , Downsborough, L. and Nienaber, S. (2011) Technical Report for the National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas project. WRC Report No. 1801/2/11

RESILIM (2015). Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA): Integrated Livelihood Diversification Strategy: Draft Scoping Report. October 2015.

SANBI (2012). GIS Meta data: Detailed Report Mining and Biodiversity Guidelines. South African Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

State of the Rivers Report (2001). Letaba and Luvuvhu River Systems. WRC Report No. TT 165/01. Water Research Commission, Pretoria.

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Stewart, W. and B. Reeves (2010) Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Draft Bioregional Plan. NMBM Public Health Directorate, Environmental management SubDirectorate. SRK Report 400919/2.

Stolton, S., Hockings, M., Dudley, N., MacKinnon, K., Whitten, T. and Leverington, F. (2007) Reporting Progress in Protected Areas A SiteLevel Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool: second edition. World Bank/WWF Forest Alliance published by WWF, Gland, Switzerland.

Veterinary Procedural Notice for Foot and Mouth Disease Control in South Africa (2014). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: Directorate Animal Health, 2014.

Water Research Commission (2015). Enhancement of the method to identify and delineate South Africa’s Water Source Areas (K5/2431): Project Summary.

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GLOSSARY

Biodiversity: The diversity of genes, species and ecosystems on Earth, and the ecological and evolutionary processes that maintain this diversity.

Biodiversity stewardship: A model for expanding the protected area network in which conservation authorities enter into contract agreements with private and communal landowners to place land that is of high biodiversity value under formal protection. Different categories of agreement confer varying degrees of protection on the land and hold different benefits for landowners. The landowner retains title to the land, and the primary responsibility for management remains with the landowner, with technical advice and assistance provided by the conservation authority.

Biodiversity target: The minimum proportion of each ecosystem type that needs to be kept in a natural or nearnatural state in the long term in order to maintain viable representative samples of all ecosystem types and the majority of species associated with those ecosystem types.

Biome: An ecological unit of wide extent, characterised by complexes of plant communities and associated animal communities and ecosystems, and determined mainly by climatic factors and soil types. A biome may extend over large, more or less continuous expanses or land surface, or may exist in small discontinuous patches.

Bioregional plan (published in terms of the Biodiversity Act): A map of Critical Biodiversity Areas and Ecological Support Areas, for a municipality or group of municipalities, accompanied by contextual information, land and resourceuse guidelines and supporting GIS data. A bioregional plan represents the biodiversity sector’s input into planning and decisionmaking in a range of other sectors. The development of the plan is usually led by the relevant provincial conservation authority or provincial environmental affairs department. A bioregional plan that has not yet been published in the Government Gazette in terms of the Biodiversity Act is referred to as a biodiversity sector plan.

Conservation area: Areas of land not formally protected by law but informally protected by the current owners and users; and managed at least partly for biodiversity conservation. Because there is no longterm security associated with conservation areas, they are not considered a strong form of protection. Also see Protected Area .

Critical Biodiversity Area: Terrestrial and aquatic areas required to meet biodiversity targets for ecosystems, species or ecological processes, as identified in a systematic biodiversity plan.

Critically Endangered ecosystem: An ecosystem type that has very little of its original extent (measured as area, length or volume) left in a natural or near natural condition. Most of this ecosystem type has been severely or moderately modified from its natural state. This ecosystem type is likely to have lost much

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of its natural structure and functioning; and the species associated with the ecosystem may have been lost.

Ecological Support Area: Terrestrial and aquatic areas that are not essential for meeting biodiversity targets but play an important role in supporting the ecological functioning of one or more Critical Biodiversity Areas; or in delivering ecosystem services.

Ecosystem protection level: Indicator of the extent to which ecosystems are adequately protected or underprotected. Ecosystem types are categorised as well protected, moderately protected, poorly protected, or not protected, based on the proportion of the biodiversity target for each ecosystem type that is included within one or more protected areas. Unprotected, poorly protected or moderately protected ecosystem types are collectively referred to as under- protected ecosystems .

Ecosystem services: The benefits that people obtain from ecosystems, including provisioning services (such as food and water), regulating services (such as flood control), cultural services (such as recreational benefits), and supporting services (such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage) that maintain the conditions for life on Earth. Ecosystem services are the flows of value to human society that result from a healthy stock of ecological infrastructure. If ecological infrastructure is degraded or lost, the flow of ecosystem services will diminish.

Ecosystem threat status: Indicator of how threatened ecosystems are, in other words the degree to which ecosystems are still intact or alternatively losing vital aspects of their structure, function or composition. Ecosystem types are categorised as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Least Threatened, based on the proportion of the original extent of each ecosystem type that remains in good ecological condition relative to a series of biodiversity targets. Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable ecosystems are collectively referred to as threatened ecosystems, and may be listed as such in terms of the Biodiversity Act.

Ecosystem type: An ecosystem unit that has been identified and delineated as part of a hierarchical classification system, based on biotic and/or abiotic factors. Factors used to map and classify ecosystems differ in different environments. Ecosystem types can be defined as, for example, vegetation types, river ecosystem types, wetland ecosystem types, estuary ecosystem types, or marine or coastal ecosystem types. Ecosystems of the same type are likely to share broadly similar ecological characteristics and functioning. Also see National ecosystem classification system .

Endemic: A vegetation type, plant or animal species, which is naturally restricted to a particular defined region (not to be confused with indigenous). For example, a plant may be endemic to a certain region, such as the Mopani District, which means it is restricted to this area and does not grow naturally anywhere else in the country or world.

Endangered ecosystem: An ecosystem type that is close to becoming Critically Endangered.

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Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Area: A river or wetland that is required to meet biodiversity targets for freshwater ecosystems.

Least threatened ecosystem: An ecosystem type that has experienced little or no loss of natural habitat or deterioration in condition.

Protected Area: An area of land or sea that is formally protected by law and managed mainly for biodiversity conservation. This is a narrower definition than the IUCN definition, which includes areas that are not legally protected and that would be defined in South Africa as conservation areas rather than protected areas. Also see Conservation area .

Species of special concern: Species that have particular ecological, economic or cultural significance, including but not limited to threatened species.

Systematic biodiversity planning: A scientific method for identifying geographic areas of biodiversity importance. It involves: mapping biodiversity features (such as ecosystems, species, spatial components of ecological processes); mapping a range of information related to these biodiversity features and their ecological condition; setting quantitative targets for biodiversity features; analysing the information using software linked to GIS; and developing maps that show spatial biodiversity priorities. The configuration of priority areas is designed to be spatially efficient (i.e. to meet biodiversity targets in the smallest area possible) and to avoid conflict with other land and water resource uses where possible.

Threatened ecosystem: An ecosystem that has been classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable, based on an analysis of ecosystem threat status. A threatened ecosystem has lost or is losing vital aspects of its structure, function or composition. The Biodiversity Act allows the Minister of Environmental Affairs or a provincial MEC for Environmental Affairs to publish a list of threatened ecosystems. To date, threatened ecosystems have been listed only in the terrestrial environment. In cases where no list has yet been published by the Minister, such as for all aquatic ecosystems, the ecosystem threat status assessment in the NBA can be used as an interim list in planning and decision making. Also see Ecosystem threat status .

Threatened species: A species that has been classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable, based on a conservation assessment (Red List), using a standard set of criteria developed by the IUCN for determining the likelihood of a species becoming extinct. A threatened species faces a high risk of extinction in the near future.

Vulnerable ecosystem: An ecosystem type that still has the majority of its original extent (measured as area, length or volume) left in a natural or near natural condition, but has experienced some loss of habitat or deterioration in condition. The ecosystem type is likely to have lost some of its structure and functioning, and will be further compromised if it continues to lose natural habitat or deteriorate in condition.

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APPENDICES

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