Identifying Agro-Biodiversity Zones for mainstreaming into land-use schemes: progress and challenges from the KwaZulu-Natal experience - Ezemvelo ...

Identifying Agro-Biodiversity Zones
   for mainstreaming into land-use
  schemes: progress and challenges
from the KwaZulu-Natal experience

       Boyd Escott and Felicity Elliott
 Manager Biodiversity Spatial Planning and Information
           Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

Disclaimer
• I promise no answers . . . . . . . but will provide
  feedback on current initiatives (going on two years
  now)
• What I can provide is a draft guideline on how the
  biodiversity priorities should be incorporated into
  Land-use schemes.

Context from a Biodiversity Spatial
         Planner’s P.O.V
• All my data is scientifically based
• Guiding principles that need to be followed:
  1. Must be reproducible
  2. Must be consistent
  3. Must take a provincial and / or national context into
     account
  4. Must plan for forever
• Purpose: to create a single Biodiversity prioritisation
  layer that a layman can understand.

Phase 2

Terrestrial             Aquatic

Ecological Infrastructure   Corridors

Benefits
                Tourism     ?             Slope, Flood
                                          risk, Geology

 Biodiversity
                                     Geo-Hazards
   Priority        IDP, SDF,
   Areas                                           SIP’s,
                   SEA, EMF                        IDZ’s

Agriculture
                                             National
         PES       PSEDS           PGDP      Government

   Water Affairs Economic       Provincial
                 Cluster        Government

Context from a Biodiversity
               Agriculture Spatial
         Planner’s P.O.V
• All my data is scientifically based
• Guiding principles that need to be followed:
  1. Must be reproducible
  2. Must be consistent
  3. Must take a provincial and / or national context into
     account
  4. Must plan for forever         Agricultural
• Purpose: to create a single Biodiversity prioritisation
  layer that a layman can understand.

So what now?
• Have a great need to simplify this information
  overload.
• Planners really just want to answer one main
  question….

  “What must happen where?”

What is needed, and where do we
              stand?
• The only town planning instrument which allows for
  guided land-use management (with rights) are town
  schemes.
• Rural areas excluded, hence no recognisable structure
  to developmental expansion.
• SPLUMA now enacted
• Wall-to-wall schemes required by 2020

The challenge
• How do we planners (the entire cohort) address this?
• Need to relook at our current approach.
SECTOR         PRODUCT                  MANDATE
Biodiversity   CBA / ESA                Protect Biodiversity
Agricultural   Priority Map             Food security
Water          PES, Water Yield Areas   Water security / provision
…..

SECTOR         PRODUCT                  MANDATE
Planner        Scheme                   Sustainable and appropriate
                                        land-use (with associated rights)

• Need to look at the end Management objective
  instead

Objective Approach
All three of the sectors all have:
• … very long objective timeframes
• … a provincial or national focus
• … fixed localities i.e. limited resources
All have similar land-use requirements:
• Sustainable grazing
• Good fire burning regimes
• Alien Clearing
• Minimise modification

KZN Initiative
• EKZNW and Environmental Agriculture Division
  creating a joint zone – Agro-Biodiversity Zone
• Create a joint Land-use control document
• Informed by individual informants
  –   CBA (Irr)
  –   Landscape Corridors
  –   Slope
  –   Priority Agriculture grazing lands

So, where are we now?
• Where are we now…
• Deadlines.
• Still developing KZN
  SPLUMA Regs.
• There is now a National
  Guideline for SPLUMA
  Scheme being developed!
• Still evolving technical
  reference –
  Environmental
  Management Zones 1 and
  2 now considered.

…still rubbing….
• Incorporation is still in the hands of consultants –
  currently NO Norms and Standards – a national
  Guideline is currently under development
• Linking in with other projects: MDP WHS,
  Landscape Norms and Standards Committee
  (CoGTA) and SANBI.
• Need to have an easy way to describe difference
  between CBA map and zoning map.
• Warning – don’t confuse your targeted audience.

Glossary
     Acronym             Description
     CBA                 Critical Biodiversity Area
     ESA                 Ecological Support Area
     SDF                 Spatial Development Framework
     IDP                 Integrated Development Plan
     EI                  Ecological Infrastructure
     SCA                 Systematic Conservation Assessments
     PA                  Protected Areas
     KZN                 KwaZulu-Natal
     NFEPA               National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas
     ICMA                Integrated Coastal Management Act
     DM                  District Municipality
     LM                  Local Municipality
     SIP                 Special Infrastructure Project
     IDZ                 Industrial Development Zone
     EMF                 Environmental Management Framework
     SEA                 Strategic Environemtnal Assessment
     PSEDS               Provincial Strategic Economic Strategy
     PGDP                Provincial Growth Development Plan
     PES (Environment)   Payment for Ecosystem Services
     PES (Water)         Present Ecological State
     SPLUMA              Spatial Land Use Management Act

*No acronyms were hurt in the making of this
presentation.