Page 35 - State of Biodiversity 2019-2020

4.6.2. Restoration Ecology
Restoration ecology, a science that emerged as a separate field in ecology in the 1980s, looks at renewing and restoring ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed by human activities to a stable, healthy and sustainable state. It is the practice of employing human intervention and action for conserving biodiversity and ecological integrity. Examples of ecological restoration include the active management of habitat for species, e.g. burning of grasslands or removal of IAPs, and the creation of new habitats in areas that may have been historically transformed for farming and other human activities, e.g. replanting forests or recreating wetlands.
Historically, the Restoration Ecology Branch of the EPCPD has had a budget allocated to IAP control and reforestation. The management of natural areas allows for a unique opportunity to address one of the biggest threats to biodiversity, i.e. poverty. Two programmes, Fire and Invasive Species Control (FISC) and Working for Ecosystems (WfE), have been developed to tackle the problem of IAPs in Durban. Both FISC and WfE are sustainable development programmes that aim to alleviate poverty and develop skills by employing people to manage aspects of the environment such as the burning of grasslands and IAPs. Both programmes also have a strong education and training component.
Residential 13%
Commercial 9%
Industrial 32%
Municipal
5% 1%
Figure 7: GHG Emissions by Sector
Other
Transportation 40%
STATE OF BIODIVERSITY REPORT 2019/2020 31