Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report

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Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report EASTERN CAPE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PLAN TECHNICAL REPORT Derek Berliner & Philip Desmet “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Land Use Decision- Making in the Eastern Cape Province” DWAF Project No 2005-012 1 August 2007 Revision 1 (5 September 2005) Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report I Photo by Barry Clark Report Title; Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report. Date: 1 August 2007 Authors: Derek Berliner & Dr Phillip Desmet Contact details; Derek Berliner, Eco-logic Consulting, email: [email protected]. cell: 083 236 7155 Dr Phillip Desmet, email: [email protected], cell: 082 352 2955 Client: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Principle funding agent: Development Bank of South Africa Citation: Berliner D. & Desmet P. (2007) Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan: Technical Report. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Project No 2005-012, Pretoria. 1 August 2007 (Unless otherwise quoted, intellectual property rights for the conceptual content of this report reside with the above authors) Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report II Acknowledgements The assistance of a large number of people has been essential to the success of this project. In particular, the authors would like to thank the funders of this project, the DBSA and DWAF, Nkosi Quvile (DWAF), Phumla Mzazi (DEDEA), Mandy Driver (SANBI), Julie Clarke (DBSA), Graeme Harrison (formerly DWAF) and members of the Project Steering Committee and Eastern Cape Implementation Committee for Bioregional Programmes. Our thanks also go to Ally Ashwell, John Allwood, Dave Balfour, Noluthando Bam, Rick Bernard, Roger Bills, Anton Bok, Andre Boshoff, Bill Branch, Mandy Cadman, Jim Cambray, Barry Clark, Willem Coetzer, P. Conradie, Brent Corcoran, Richard Cowling, Mike Coleman, Brenda Daly; Tony Dold, Sizakele Gabula, Bradley Gibbons, Zanele Hartmann, P. Hlubi, David Hoare, Steve Holness, Nancy Job, Theresa Kearney, Richard Lechmere-Oertle, Roy Lubke, Sonwabile Menyelwa, Churchhill Mkwalo, Jorum Mkosana, Jeanne Nel, Henry Nkosi, Gladstone Ntsikwe, Dean Peinke, Gerry Pienaar, Ernest Pringle, Belinda Reyers, Mathieu Rouget, Andrew Skowno, Ayanda Sigwela, S. Soyizwapi, Lala Steyn, Ernst Swarts, Dennis Tweedle, Ann Turner; Jane Turpie, Roger Uys, Mark van Niekerk, Jan Venter, Dirk Versfeld, Jan Vlok, Mike Warren, Lloyd Winggate and all the other stakeholders who contributed to developing the ECBCP in one way or another. Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report III Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 AIMS ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 PRODUCTS............................................................................................................................................. 2 2 BIODIVERSITY PROFILE AND DESCRIPTIONS................................................................................. 3 2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE REGIONAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BIODIVERSITY IN THE EASTERN CAPE .................................................................................................................................................. 3 2.1.1 Regional importance of biodiversity................................................................................... 3 2.1.2 National importance................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.2.1 Biomes ................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.2.2 Centres of plant endemism............................................................................................................... 3 2.1.3 Global importance ................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 EASTERN CAPE LAND COVER .............................................................................................................. 6 2.3 ECOSYSTEM STATUS ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.3.1 National-level ecosystem status classifications.............................................................. 9 2.3.2 Provincial-level ecosystem status classifications ........................................................ 10 2.4 THREATENED SPECIES ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.5 PROTECTION LEVELS OF PROVINCIAL ECOSYSTEMS (GAP ANALYSIS) ............................................ 16 2.5.1 Eastern Cape Protected Areas Coverage ........................................................................ 16 2.5.2 Protection Levels of Vegetation Types ............................................................................ 20 3 EXISTING SPATIAL ASSESSMENTS AND CONSERVATION PLANS......................................... 22 4 EXPERT MAPPING OF BIODIVERSITY FEATURES........................................................................ 24 4.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2 EXPERT MAPPING METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 24 4.3 EXPERTS AND TAXONOMIC GROUPS................................................................................................... 25 4.4 RESULTS.............................................................................................................................................. 25 5 LAND AND RESOURCE-USE PRESSURES ...................................................................................... 28 5.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 28 5.2 MODELLING LAND-USE PRESSURES ON BIODIVERSITY ...................................................................... 28 5.3 SUBSISTENCE RESOURCE USE PRESSURE INDEX (SRUPI)............................................................... 29 5.4 DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE.................................................................................................................. 30 5.5 AGRICULTURAL AND AFFORESTATION PRESSURE ............................................................................. 35 5.5.1 Arability .................................................................................................................................... 35 5.5.2 Afforestation ........................................................................................................................... 35 5.6 ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY INDEX........................................................................................................... 36 5.7 AGGREGATED LAND-USE PRESSURE INDEX AND WEIGHTINGS USED ................................................ 37 5.8 RESOURCE-USE PRESSURES IN THE FRESHWATER AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT.................................... 41 6 CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY IN THE EASTERN CAPE............................................. 44 6.1 WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?............................................................................................................... 44 6.2 IMPLICATIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................................... 44 6.3 IMPLICATIONS FOR EASTERN CAPE.................................................................................................... 47 6.4 PROTECTED AREA PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ........................................................................ 48 6.4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 48 6.4.2 An interim strategy to incorporating climate change into protected area design 48 6.4.3 A systematic approach to incorporating climate change into protected area planning 49 6.5 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 50 7 SYSTEMATIC CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT............................................................................... 51 7.1 SYSTEMATIC CONSERVATION PLANNING OVERVIEW ........................................................................ 51 7.2 SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT GOALS ..................................................................................................... 53 7.3 PLANNING DOMAIN ............................................................................................................................. 53 7.4 PLANNING UNITS................................................................................................................................. 54 Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan Technical Report IV 7.4.1 Terrestrial Planning Units.................................................................................................... 54 7.4.2 Freshwater Planning Units .................................................................................................
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