South Africa, renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity—from the Succulent Karoo to the bushveld of Limpopo—has long struggled with ensuring that local communities benefit economically from this natural wealth. In response, a new US$46 million initiative titled “Securing Nature’s Contribution to People: Advancing Indigenous and Local Community Livelihoods, Cultural Practices, and Sustainable Land Management” has been approved by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This five-year programme is designed to place local people, particularly women and youth, at the centre of South Africa’s biodiversity economy, linking conservation efforts directly to community livelihoods.
At a time when rural unemployment remains high and pressure on land and natural resources continues to grow, the initiative offers a practical solution: converting conservation into income, rewarding communities for protecting ecosystems, and supporting enterprises that thrive as natural resources thrive. Implemented by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) with UNDP as GEF Agency and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) as a key partner, the project will operate in priority landscapes across Limpopo, North West, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape—regions facing biodiversity loss, land degradation, and limited economic opportunity. With GEF financing of US$5.4 million and over US$41 million in co-financing, the programme will directly benefit more than 4,100 people and support improved management across nearly 100,000 hectares of land.
The project addresses urgent local challenges. In rural Limpopo, traditional healers struggle to find medicinal plants as overharvesting and habitat loss threaten resources. In the Northern Cape, illegal succulent poaching undermines both biodiversity and livelihoods, while youth across communal rangelands have limited access to viable economic opportunities. By creating enterprise-based solutions rather than charity models, the initiative aims to transform these challenges into sustainable, locally driven opportunities.
The programme is structured around three complementary pathways. First, it seeks to transform the wildlife economy by supporting community participation in the game meat value chain, bringing 50,000 hectares of communal land under sustainable wildlife management, and expanding inclusive enterprise development beyond luxury tourism to local processing, markets, and livelihoods. Second, it safeguards cultural heritage and traditional healthcare by restoring medicinal plant resources, recognising 7,000 hectares of culturally significant areas, and supporting traditional healers with cultivation skills, sustainable harvesting practices, and alternative income streams. Third, it conserves dryland ecosystems by creating legal trade pathways for ornamental plants from the Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspot, reducing illegal harvesting, and generating alternative livelihoods for rural youth while ensuring global demand benefits local communities sustainably.
Aligned with South Africa’s national priorities, the programme builds on the White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy, and commitments under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It directly supports land reform, rural employment, climate resilience, and community-led economic models. By working alongside Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the project promotes a people-centred, nature-positive development approach that integrates conservation, cultural knowledge, and economic inclusion, demonstrating how sustainable development can simultaneously advance ecological and social outcomes.
