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GEF Project Brief Africa Regional Office

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GEF Project Brief Africa Regional Office SWAZILAND Swaziland Biodiversity Conservation and Participatory Development GEF Project Brief Africa Regional Office Public Disclosure Authorized AFTES Date : February 24, 2003 Team Leader : Agi Kiss Sector Director : James P. Bond Sector(s) : General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector Country Manager/Director : Fayez S. Omar (100%) Project ID : P068975 Theme(s): Biodiversity (P), Other environment and Focal Area: B - Biodiversity natural resources management (P), Environmental policies and institutions (S) Project Financing Data [ ] Loan [ ] Credit [ X] Grant [ ] Guarantee [ ] Other: For Loans/Credits/Others: Total Project Cost (US$m): $11.90 Cofinancing: To be determined Total Bank Financing (US$m): 5.50 Public Disclosure Authorized Has there been a discussion of the IBRD financial product menu with the borrower? Yes No Financing Plan (US$m): Source Local Foreign Total BORROWER/RECIPIENT 1.00 0.00 1.00 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY 3.00 2.50 5.50 Financing Gap 5.40 5.40 Total: 9.40 2.50 11.90 Borrower/Recipient: KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND Responsible agency : MIN OF TOURISM, ENV. & COMMUNIC.; MIN OF ECON DEV & PLANNING Swaziland Environment Authority Other Agency(ies): Swaziland Environmental Authority Contact Person: Jameson Vilakati Public Disclosure Authorized Tel: 268-4163351 Fax: 268-4163351 Email: [email protected] Project implementation period : 7 Years OPCS PCD Form: Rev. March, 2000 Public Disclosure Authorized A. Project Development Objective 1. Project development objective: (see Annex 1) 1a. Context and Background Despite its small size, the Kingdom of Swaziland enjoys a surprising richness of biodiversity as a result of its location and its great variations in landscape, geology and climate. It lies at a unique crossroads between the tropical flora to the north and more temperate flora to the south and includes the extremes of many species ranges. As a result it has the highest species diversity in southern Africa. A substantial part of the biodiversity richness lies in the northwest, in the Barberton center of local endemism, and in the far east, in the Lubombo mountains and the Maputaland Center of Plant Diversity. Equally important, Swaziland contains one of the largest remaining intact altitudinal gradients of natural ecosystems (from montane to coastal plains) in the region, and it is the only place where this continuum is compressed into a relatively short distance of about 200 km. Such an intact gradient holds great significance for biodiversity conservation because it allows for ecological processes such as migration and gene flow, and because it provides the opportunity for population shifts as an adaptation to climate change. The fact that the gradient occurs across a relatively small total area is important from a practical perspective, making it more feasible to conserve and manage the area. The highlands of Swaziland also hold several large river basins which supply water for agricultural, hydropower and domestic uses downstream, not only in Swaziland but also in South Africa and Mozambique. This unique biodiversity heritage is under serious and growing threat as a result of increasing population and a declining economy. Only 5% of the total area of Swaziland is currently legally protected for biodiversity (4% in formally gazetted protected areas; 1% informally protected) while almost 30% has been fully converted either to commercial agriculture (particularly sugar cane or citrus monocultures), plantation forestry, or urban development. The majority of the land is used for small scale subsistence agriculture and livestock grazing. At present, about __% of the country is considered to be fully transformed from its natural state (e.g. to exotic plantations or commercial crop schemes) and __% partially transformed through small-scale cultivation and grazing. The strong cultural bias towards large livestock herds, coupled with a lack of effective mechanisms and incentives to regulate grazing or promote good grazing management has led to a serious problem of over-grazing in many areas. __% of the country is considered to be affected by gully erosion and/or bush encroachment as a result of over-grazing. With 80% of rural energy coming from woodfuels, and many rural households unable to buy wood from the commercial plantations, overharvesting of woody vegetation is also a significant problem in __% of the country. Commercial plantation forestry (including large areas of Eucalyptus spp.) and irrigated agriculture have grown substantially over the past several decades, placing a large demand on surface and ground waters. The impact is visible in reduced flows in many rivers and reduced areas of wetlands. Invasive alien plant species, some of them introduced through agriculture and plantation forestry, are also displacing indigenous species in many areas. An estimated ___% of the country is significantly invaded by ___ [PROVIDE % AREAS AFFECTED BY THE THE 2-3 MAJOR INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES]. Government policy has focused on increasing investment in commercial agriculture and related agri-business, and surveys have been undertaken to identify additional areas suitable for agricultural development. In view of the high proportion of Swaziland's rural population that falls below the poverty line, it is clear that the rural landscape must provide increasing economic benefits. The situation is exacerbated by a decline in off-farm employment opportunities, as foreign investment is declining (compared with past decades when Swaziland benefited from the economic embargo on South Africa). The result is more people remaining in or returning to rural areas and taking up small-scale cultivation and extensive livestock rearing. Therefore, the existing problems of environmental degradation are expected to increase unless viable alternative sources of economic - 2 - development are provided. The PAs and remaining untransformed areas with moderate population density are largely concentrated in the northern part of Swaziland, where it is possible to outline a relatively well-defined, largely intact or near-intact corridor of natural landscape running west-to-east across the country (the "Northern Corridor"). Much of the currently unprotected area within this corridor has been identified as "Protection-Worthy Area" (PWA) under the national Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP), based on criteria such as biodiversity value, socio-economic value, long-term sustainability and availability for protection. A similar biodiversity-rich and relatively intact natural corridor can be outlined running north-to-south along the eastern edge of the country, comprising the Lubombo mountains and part of the eastern lowveld (the "Eastern Corridor"). Both of these corridors are anchored at either end by Transfrontier Conservation Areas of high biodiversity significance. The project's objective is to increase the total area that is protected and/or left in a relatively natural state for biodiversity conservation. However, to be sustainable these natural areas must compete in economic terms with alternative land uses, particularly expansion and intensification of agriculture. While natural areas and ecosystems already make an enormous contribution to rural livelihoods through providing woodfuel, grazing lands, fresh water, etc., outside the PAs they are also increasingly being degraded through unsustainable resource use practices and being gradually transformed through human use. This includes many of the PWAs within the proposed Northern and Eastern Corridor areas. Maintaining or restoring the biodiversity value and ecological integrity of these areas through greater protection and improved management will only be possible and politically acceptable if the biodiversity-friendly land uses and improved resource use practices contribute directly and substantially to the livelihoods and economic development of the people. Overall, it is expected that a landscape-based approach which combines formally and informally protected areas and incentives for maintaining biodiversity in non-protected areas, represents a more feasible, sustainable and cost-effective approach to maintaining high biodiversity values across this important ecological area. The best prospect for significant, sustainable, biodiversity-friendly economic growth in many of the remaining natural areas is likely to be through nature-based tourism. Southern Africa is widely regarded as a major growth area for the tourism and travel industry. A 1999 study by the World Tourism and Travel Council estimated that the economic contribution of tourism in the SADC region could grow by nearly 6% per year over the next decade (well above a worldwide average of 3.4%). In 1999 the industry directly accounted for 3.3% of total employment in the SADC region (1.5 million jobs), and the WTTC report forecasts this to rise to 2.2 million jobs by 2010. (Corresponding figures for the tourism and travel economy, which takes into account upward and downward linkages, are for 11.4% of GDP, and a projected 5.5 million jobs, or 8.9% of total employment, to come from tourism-related economic activity by 2010). At present, tourism levels and revenues in Swaziland are low. Africa-wide the average contribution of the tourism industry to GDP is 7.8% whereas in Swaziland it is only 2.6%. Swaziland is presently known mainly as a transit destination for tourists passing from Mpumalanga to Kwazulu-Natal or to Mozambique, with less than 30% of foreign tourists entering the country staying overnight. There
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