Page 6 - State of Biodiversity Report 2022/2023

land assets obtained through donation and acquisition is in excess of 780 ha. We salute the vanguard that conceptualised urban biodiversity protection decades ago and introduced the Durban Metropolitan Space System that has now been replicated in many cities globally.
Challenges internally and externally remain and are to be expected in a rapidly urbanising City such as Durban. These include erosion of D’MOSS areas by informal settlements, budget constraints for planned projects, land invasion in areas that are identified for proclamation, lack of buy-in from developers and landowners, lack of adherence to environmental legislation, continued failing of municipal infrastructure and staff shortages.
With all the achievements and targets met over the reporting period, we are still far behind in meeting conservation
targets that have been set for various ecosystems in the Systematic Conservation Plan. The priority for the 2023/2024 financial year is therefore to intensify our efforts on the ground, building partnerships with local communities that
will improve the condition of ecological assets in many areas that are difficult to reach by the municipal teams. Other priorities for the 2023/2024 financial year include the revision of D’MOSS, prioritizing the expansion of protected areas through land acquisition of properties that are adjacent to other conservation initiatives, facilitating the proclamation of the identified protected areas, continuing to ensure that all private and municipal development applications and EIAs are dealt with within set turn-around times or less, implementing the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Plan, proceeding with drafting a Green Bylaw, appointing an implementing agent for the management programmes, monitoring and evaluating the Durban Climate Change Implementation Plan, conducting more capacity-building sessions as part of the Sustainability Filter and undertaking a socio-economic assessment as part of phase 2 of the Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Readers of the 2022/2023 SOB report will gain an insight on the state of the City’s biodiversity and the threats it faces as well as engage with some of the efforts made by the Municipality in conserving this life sustaining biodiversity.
EThekwini Municipality continues to advocate for biodiversity protection in the face increased challenges brought by climate change and an increasingly urbanising world. The annual reporting through the State of Biodiversity (SOB) Report is a valuable advocacy tool that raises awareness, educates, monitors trends and most importantly, enables various sectors to focus their efforts where intervention is most needed.
4 STATE OF BIODIVERSITY REPORT 2022/2023