Desertification - a Top Concern for South Africa

Republic of South Africa's Deputy Minister of Environmental AffairsCalling Attention to the South Africa Government's Programs to Combat the Problem

Republic of South Africa's deputy minister of Environmental Affairs, Barbara Thompson,noted that her Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are funding a project through theWorking for Water Programmeand Expanded Public Works Programme called "Ladybrand Resource Management Project." Encompassing 400 hectares of land in Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, the community-based project aims to empower the residents to sustainably use and conserve their natural resources.

World Day to Combat Desertification is a United Nations initiative to promote public awareness on the issues and the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa. The 2014 commemoration followed the theme "ecosystem-based adaptation" and used the slogan "Land belongs to the future, let's climate proof it."

"It is critical to develop approaches that help the resilience of natural habitat and communities to climate change impacts, thereby reducing their vulnerability whilst providing multiple benefits and such approaches pertaining to ecosystem-based adaptation. Ecosystem-based adaptation is gaining attention as a cost-effective means of protecting human and ecological communities against the impacts of climate change. Ecosystem-based-adaptation is described as building nature's resilience to the impacts of climate change while also helping to meet people's basic needs. Invasive species can threaten those basic needs and compromise ecosystem functions by taking advantage of habitat disturbance, species under stress, and other chinks in the armor of otherwise healthy systems," Thompson said.

Source: Environmental Protection

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• Environment
• Desertification
• Governance & Planning