First published 2013
by
Department of Environmental Affairs
Directorate: Protected Areas Planning, Legislation,
Compliance and Monitoring
Private Bag X447, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
and
UNESCO
Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences
1 Rue Miollis, 75732 Paris, CEDEX 15, France
ISBN 978-0-620-57141-8
is book is copyright under the Berne Convention. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
Unless stated otherwise, all images are by the authors.
Translations from French by Language Solutions, Stellenbosch
Typesetting by G J du Toit
Cover design by Nic Jooste, Comet Design
Cover photographs by Nic Jooste and Nicole Palmer
Printed and bound by the Government Printing Works
Cape Town, South Africa
Foreword
by the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, UNESCO
e World Network of Biosphere Reserves is one of UNESCO’s most important programmes, as it combines in an integrative manner the conservation of nature with sustainable development. Today, this network counts 610 sites in 117 countries across the world, stretching from terrestrial to coastal and marine ecosystems, from high mountain peaks to deep ocean abysses.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 64 biosphere reserves in 28 countries. is publication provides an overview of the unique role of biosphere reserves for sustainable development and nature conservation in the continent. African countries implemented this concept very early as soon as 1976 when the first sites were recognized. At that time, biosphere reserves were seen as protected areas and research sites only. In the wake of the 2nd World Congress of Biosphere Reserves, held in 1995 in Seville, Spain, biosphere reserves have become land and seascapes dedicated to exploring the principles and practice of sustainable development. Today, biosphere reserves are places for people and nature to co-exist and to interact in ways that will guide sustainability into the future.
In February 2008, the 3rd World Congress of Biosphere Reserves was held in
Madrid, Spain, under the title “Learning Sites for Sustainable Development”. is Congress elaborated the Madrid Action Plan for Biosphere Reserves 2008–2013, which calls for more cooperation between the sites, further development of the network and enhanced information and communication among the biosphere reserves. To achieve this end, this book presents a selected list of sites in Africa with an outline of their natural ecosystems, human presence and activities. Information is also provided on the conservation, income generation and research and learning activities that highlight the role of each biosphere reserve in promoting the sustainable development of the surrounding region. As the International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and Biosphere Programme prepares for the evaluation of the Madrid Action Plan, this book provides new insights on the achievements and challenges regarding the World Network.
I would like to use this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the
Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment with its Autonomous Organisation for National Parks for its longstanding support to the Man and the
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Biosphere Programme. Without such backing from Member States, the World Network would not have come as far as it has today. e 2011 UNESCO General Conference reiterated the importance of the Man and the Biosphere Programme and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves as platforms for learning about sustainable development. Ten to twenty new sites join the Network every year, including in Africa. Many have reviewed their zonation, scope and goals in order to try to achieve the sustainable development priorities of the regions in which they are located. New proposals take all recommendations of the Madrid Action Plan into consideration and are deeply committed to sustainability.
Finally, I trust that this publication, whose preparation was entrusted to the
UNESCO Secretariat and the MAB National Committee of South Africa at the AfriMAB Meeting, held in Nairobi in 2010, will provide extensive information about case studies and research thus offering guidance for practitioners and policymakers. e editors of this publication hope that it will be the first of a series of publications on African case studies as sites for sustainable development in action. e continued progress of this network in the African region is of outmost importance to its development and nature protection for the benefit of its people.
Thomas Schaaf
Director a.i., Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, UNESCO
Foreword
by AfriMAB
One of the challenges of sustainable natural resources management in most African countries today is how to simultaneously help preserve biological diversity, enhance development and empower the poor rural people. e AfriMAB Book Project showcases the role of “Biosphere Reserves” as a concept and a tool for development and conservation of natural resources in Africa.
Without doubt, the biosphere reserve concept is one effective tool meant to achieve long-term conservation objectives and sustainable development. In the same context, the biosphere reserve concept reinforces the effectiveness of ecosystem management approaches. e papers presented in this book are meant to encourage the relevant and concerned authorities in Africa to consider designating more sites as biosphere reserves, especially those with unique ecosystems which are most likely threatened with encroachment for development purposes.
e concept of “Biosphere Reserves” is one of the important standard bearers of what has been referred to, in the Convention on Biological Diversity as the “ecosystem approach”. Unlike the “protected area approach” biosphere reserves are designed from the start to get the local people involved in conserving and managing biodiversity while at the same time meeting their livelihood needs. is is achieved through sustainable utilization of natural resources in the buffer and transition areas. us, biosphere reserves seek to reconcile local communities’ economic development with the conservation of biodiversity.
Biosphere reserves are designated by the UNESCO-MAB program to deal with one of the most sensitive and complex conservation questions the world and in particular, most developing countries in Africa are facing today: that is, how to reconcile conservation with development. An effective biosphere reserve involves natural and social scientists, conservation and development groups, management authorities and local communities—all working together to tackle the complex issues of combining conservation and development.
Biosphere reserves provide a framework for sustainable integrated natural resources management and development covering all types of ecosystems’ elements including areas of high natural biodiversity, whether conserved or used sustainably for human settlements, for agriculture or any other land-use system, particularly those based on ecosystem management principles.
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AfriMAB considers this book project as one the efforts towards addressing the
Madrid Action Plan’s (MAP) “capacity enhancement” domain for Africa. It will serve as an empowering tool for MAB national committees and biosphere reserve managers in Africa.
AfriMAB wishes to acknowledge the editors of this book and all the authors for their commitment towards addressing conservation challenges in Africa through this book project.
Paul M. Makenzi
Chair AfriMAB
Foreword
by the National Department of Environmental Affairs
South Africa is endowed with a wealth of biological diversity and is regarded as one of Earth’s 17 biologically wealthiest countries. e South African government has adopted an outcome-based approach to improve performance and service delivery. South Africa has therefore identified 12 main outcomes of which Outcome 10 reads: “Environmental assets and natural resources protected and continually enhanced”. Our country, much like many countries around the world, is facing the interrelated pressures of increasing human footprint and the effects thereof on the environment. We thus have to find more sustainable means of supporting future livelihoods for all our people.
e concept of the Man and the Biosphere Program of UNESCO provides a demonstrable option for creating better living conditions while at the same time addressing conservation of biodiversity. e Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) supports the implementation of the MAB Program through designated biosphere reserves. e core areas of such biosphere reserves include legislated protected areas listed according to the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003. South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity and is actively pursuing the expansion of its conservation estate to include at least 12% of a representative sample of its biodiversity under formal conservation, including terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms. At national level, biosphere reserves have been earmarked as a valuable tool to assist with the protected areas expansion strategy.
In 2008, a national biosphere reserve position paper was developed. It stated that the MAB Program could play a prominent role in government strategies related to poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, social upliſtment, transformation and economic development. us DEA supports the vision for South African biosphere reserves as stated in the position paper: “South African Biospheres are special landscapes where socio-ecological land management is practiced towards a more sustainable future for all.”DEA has established a National MAB Committee that meets regularly to evaluate new biosphere reserve nominations and provides a platform for information exchange between all biosphere reserves. e overall goal of the MAB Committee is to enhance co-operative governance between DEA,
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Biosphere Reserves in Sub-Saharan Africa: Showcasing Sustainable Development
the South African National Commission for UNESCO, the nine provincial government departments and conservation agencies, by providing strategic and technical direction and support to ensure the effective implementation of the MAB Program in South Africa. DEA is continually exploring ways of supporting the country’s biosphere reserves. Currently there are six UNESCO designated biosphere reserves and a further three are in various stages of the nomination process.
DEA believes that this book showcasing African biosphere reserves, will contribute towards sharing stories and efforts on how to achieve a balanced relationship between humans and the natural environment. In this way we could support each other in our quest for biodiversity conservation while at the same time create more sustainable living conditions for all people.
Fundisile Mketeni
Deputy Director General: Biodiversity and Conservation Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa
Preface
by the Editors
When considering a descriptive word that would encompass the magic that is the continent of Africa, ‘diversity’ is the one that comes to mind, as well as the notion of an inherent connectedness of its beautiful people to the earth. Africa is a country that is all about vast open plains, the masses of different species of wild animals, mountains, forests, a golden sun constantly warming our diverse vegetation and multiple beautiful natural water sources. And yet this is not all that constitutes the continent, it is also about crowded cities, denuded rural areas and a struggle for survival of some of its many people. It is about a distinct and constant co-existence between humans and nature. ere is a need for sustainability in its broadest sense and for true living landscapes to secure the future of this vast continent’s natural resources and people. is book provides a peek into life amongst Africa’s diversity.
e UNESCO MAB regional network for Africa, AfriMAB, was established in
1996. It covers Africa south of the Sahara, including Madagascar, and comprises Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone parts of the continent. Members of AfriMAB include 64 biosphere reserves in 28 countries.
e idea of a book on African biosphere reserves came to being during an
AfriMAB meeting in September 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. e result acuminated in this book, including 21 papers from 9 countries. We would like to express our thanks to all authors and co-authors for their valuable contributions. All papers were subjected to a scientific peer review process and we would like to extend a word of thanks to both the English and French reviewers for their professional assistance.
e production of the book was a group effort and herewith we would like to acknowledge the valuable assistance from the following institutions, without whose support this book would not have been possible: the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences at UNESCO MAB in Paris, France for administrative assistance and financial support; the National Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa for financial contributions towards printing costs, and both CapeNature and the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve of South Africa for their financial contributions and valuable support. CapeNature is also thanked for their generous allowance of time that was needed for editorial tasks.
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In this book, the biosphere reserve fraternity of Africa shares stories of sustainable development, as portrayed through management of biosphere reserves. ese papers are meant to exchange knowledge, inform learning, share experiences and guide future thinking about the implementation of the MAB Program in developing countries.
Readers are invited to share our stories, in an intellectual and emotional way, and to experience life in biosphere reserves as it plays out on a daily basis in our beloved Africa.
Ruida Pool-Stanvliet
CapeNature, Stellenbosch, South Africa Email: [email protected]
Miguel Clüsener-Godt
UNESCO Division of Ecological and
Earth Sciences, Paris, France
Email: [email protected]
Contents
1. The Biosphere Reserve Concept as aTool for Sustainable Natural
Resource Management in the Eastern Africa Region . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Paul M. Makenzi
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Mountain ecosystems in Eastern Africa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Eastern Africa as a global hotspot for biodiversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4. e problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5. e biosphere reserve concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6. Efforts towards implementation of MAP in the sub-region. . . . . . . . . . 12 7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 References and Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2. An Evaluation of Conservation Effort in the Bia-Goaso Forest Block. . 15
Emmanuel Danquah • W illiam Oduro
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2. Study area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3. Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 7. Taking action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 8. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3. Zonation and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: the Case of theTransboundary Biosphere Reserve (TBR) W Park (Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Jean-Noël Poda • Mamounata Belem • Oll o T héophile Dibloni • Lamoussa Hebie • Amadé Ouedraogo
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2. e inter-state conservation location of the W Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 3. e W site: providing a biological heritage and ecosystems zonation system34 4. e zonation of W Park: a cross-border cooperation tool . . . . . . . . . . 36 5. Taking into account the interactions of the opposing parties. . . . . . . . . 38 6. e need for an integrating and sustainable view of the resources. . . . . . 41 7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Bibliography and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
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4. A Sustainable Development Model for the Wine Lands of the Western
Cape:A Case Study of the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve. . . . . .45
Ruida Pool-Stanvliet • Jan H. Giliomee
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 2. Description of the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve Domain. . . . . . . 47 3. Inception of the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 4. Implementation of the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve . . . . . . . . . 52 5. Methods of the Cape Winelands Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 6. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 7. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 8. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5. Protecting Bia Biosphere Reserve for Improved Biodiversity
Conservation in Ghana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Emmanuel Salu
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 2. Problem statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 3. Objectives of research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4. Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 5. Research findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 6. Conservation measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 7. Lessons learnt from Bia Biosphere Reserve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6. Biodiversity and the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: the Case of the Mare aux Hippopotames Biosphere Reserve in
Burkina Faso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Jean-Noël Poda, Mamounata Belem, Oll o T héophile Dibloni, Nessan Désiré Coulibaly , A madé Ouedraogo
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 2. e classified forest of the Mare aux Hippopotames Biosphere Reserve . . 93 3. Scientific knowledge for supporting conservation and the sustainable use of resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4. e issues related to biodiversity in the biosphere reserve: the need for a shared view of resource management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 References and Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
7. Developing a Management Plan for the Waterberg Biosphere
Reserve, South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Rupert Baber • Kelly Abram
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 2. Description of the Waterberg Mountain Complex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
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3. Challenges facing the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 4. Process followed in developing the management plan . . . . . . . . . . . .114 5. Governance issues and projects identified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
8. Natural Resources, People and Livelihoods in the
Songor Biosphere Reserve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Sheila N . A . A shong • W illiam A . A somaning • Adelina Mensah • Emmanuel T e tteh • Dickso n Y aw Agyeman
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 2. Population and biodiversity of the Songor Biosphere Reserve . . . . . . . .127 3. Study area and methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 4. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139 6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139 References and Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139