PROJECT DOCUMENT Kingdom of Swaziland United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility Strengthening the National Protected Areas System of Swaziland GEFSEC PROJECT ID: 5065; GEF AGENCY ID: PIMS 4932; AWARD ID: 00081957 Brief Description: Swaziland lies between latitudes 25° and 28° south and 31° and 32° east in the south eastern part of Africa. The country is a landlocked country covering an area of 17,364 km2, with South Africa in the north, west and south, and Mozambique in the east. Although Swaziland is small in size, it has great variation in landscape, geology, climate, ecosystems and species that make up the four physiographic regions. Despite the global significance of its biodiversity, Swaziland’s formal Protected Area (PA) estate is comprised of relatively small and vulnerable PAs, covering only 3.9% of the country and inadequately representing the countries varied ecosystems. There is therefore a need to expand the PA estate, while strengthening PA management competencies. This will in turn require the participation of a broad range of stakeholders, including private landholders, local communities and the tourism industry, to establish new State PA, private and community managed reserves. A landscape approach is needed, to strategically place these different PAs in proximity to one another, and manage land in immediately adjacent areas to reduce threats to biodiversity and improve connectivity between the PA sites. The long term solution is that Swaziland adopts a landscape conservation paradigm that allows a broader range of stakeholders to work together to manage biodiversity more effectively. Under this approach, PAs will be established and managed in critical biodiversity areas as clusters—different sites managed by the State, private landowners and communities in proximity to one another. These PAs will need to be managed as part of a matrix of land uses across landscapes that allow biodiversity management objectives to be integrated in the strategies, production practices and decisions of a range of land and resource users occupying land immediately adjacent to PAs (and between them—so as to maintain functional corridors). The project’s goal is to strengthen the management effectiveness of the PA system of Swaziland to ensure a viable set of representative samples of the country’s full range of natural ecosystems are conserved, through a network of PAs. The project objective is to effectively expand, manage and develop Swaziland’s protected area network in order to adequately protect the biodiversity and landscapes of the country. This will involve devising a system of integrating land and natural resource management that transforms the current PA patchwork into a protected areas network, while creating incentives for all Swazis (land management agencies, conservancies, private landowners and tourism operators) to work together toward conservation and sustainable economic development. In order to achieve the project goal and objective , the project’s interventions have been organised in three components: Component 1: Knowledge based platform operationalised at the National and regional level to address current and emerging threats to PAs and biodiversity conservation. Component 2: Landscape approach operationalised and leads to expansion of PA network. 1 Component 3: Strengthening PA functioning through improved Conservation management and Operational support for existing and new PAs, including both formal and informal PAs. SIGNATURE PAGE Country: Swaziland UNDAF Outcome (s)/Indicator (s): Outcome 2: Increased and more equitable access of the poor to assets and other resources for sustainable livelihoods. Relevant CPAP 2011-2015 Outcome(s): Outcome 3: National institutions have the capacity and providing guidance on the utilisation of natural resources in a sustainable and equitable manner. Indicator: Enhanced national ability to put in place environmentally friendly and sustainable development. Project Title: Strengthening the National Protected Areas System of Swaziland. Objective: To effectively expand, manage and develop Swaziland’s protected area network in order to adequately protect the biodiversity and landscapes of the country. Expected Components: (i) Knowledge based management platform operationalised at the National and regional level to address current and emerging threats to PAs and biodiversity conservation; (ii) Landscape approach operationalised and leads to expansion of PA network; and (iii) Strengthening PA functioning through improved Conservation management and Operational support for existing and new PAs including both formal and informal PAs. Implementing Partner: Swaziland National Trust Commission (SNTC) a parastatal organisation, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs (MTEA), Programme Period: 2014 - 2020 Total Budget USD 28,990,000 Project ID: 00091061 GEF 5,390,000 2 Award ID 00081957 Swaziland Environment Authority 2,200,000 PIMS #: 4932 Swaziland National Trust Commission 11,400,000 Project Duration 6 Years UNDP Swaziland 200,000 Management Big Game Parks 9,800,000 Arrangement: NIM Total Co-finance 23, 600,000 Agreed by (Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs) NAME SIGNATURE Date/Month/Year Agreed by (Ministry of Economic Planning and Development) NAME SIGNATURE Date/Month/Year Agreed by (UNDP): NAME SIGNATURE Date/Month/Year Table of Contents SECTION I: Elaboration of the Narrative ................................................................................................. 8 PART IA: Situational Analysis .................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 Context and Global Significance ........................................................................................................... 10 Biophysical Context ..................................................................................................................... 10 National Context.................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Swaziland’s Protected Area Estate.............................................................................................................................. 14 Socio-Economic context .............................................................................................................. 17 National Context.................................................................................................................................................................. 17 CBNRM and Rural Income Generation ...................................................................................................................... 17 Alternative Livelihoods .................................................................................................................................................... 18 Financial Sustainability of Swaziland’s PAs ................................................................................ 21 Current Funding for PAs .................................................................................................................................................. 21 Alternative Funding Sources for PAs ......................................................................................................................... 22 Policy and Legislative Context .................................................................................................... 26 Institutional and Governance Context .......................................................................................... 27 Non-Governmental Organisations and Private Sector ................................................................. 30 Part IB: Threats, Long-term Solution and Barriers ................................................................................ 32 National Level Threats ........................................................................................................................... 32 Threats to Protected Areas .................................................................................................................... 33 Unplanned development and Poor Management of PAs .............................................................. 33 Unsustainable Harvesting ............................................................................................................. 33 Land Use Conflict ........................................................................................................................ 33 Climate Change ............................................................................................................................ 34 Long-term Solution and Barriers to the Solution ................................................................................ 34 Long Term Solution ..................................................................................................................... 34 3 Barriers to the Solution ................................................................................................................ 35 Inadequate PA network coverage. .............................................................................................................................. 35 Weak capacity and governance of PAs