Page 42 - State of Biodiversity 2023-2024

THE ETHEKWINI BIODIVERSITY STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMME
Bheka Memela
Email: Bheka.Memela@durban.gov.za
EThekwini Municipality, through eThekwini Biodiversity Stewardship Programme (EBSP), aims to facilitate the establishment and formalisation of partnerships with private and traditional landowners/administrators toward a goal of sustainable natural resource management. This is in response to the growing threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services within the eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA), including traditional communal areas. The EBSP provides tools that assist eThekwini Municipality and other stakeholders in fulfilling their mandate to conserve biodiversity outside of state-owned protected areas.
Over the years eThekwini Municipality has demonstrated its commitment to the programme. The first sign of the municipality’s commitment is demonstrated by the Executive Committee meeting’s resolution of 8th June 2016. This meeting supported the establishment of partnerships, through the eThekwini Biodiversity Stewardship Programme, between eThekwini Municipality and the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) for responsible management of biodiversity features found in different traditional communities within the eThekwini Municipal Area.
The second commitment is demonstrated by the Council Resolution of 25th May 2017, which supported adoption of eThekwini Biodiversity Stewardship Policy. The policy provides for formalization of partnership between
eThekwini Municipality and the Ingonyama Trust land’s stakeholders in relations to management of biodiversity features that are on the Ingonyama Trust land.
During the 2023/2024 the Biodiversity Management Department collaborated with different stakeholders as part of implementing the Biodiversity Stewardship Policy. The first outcome of the collaboration was the registration of KwaCele Conservancy and Isimahla (Zwelibomvu) Conservancy. The KwaZulu-Natal Conservancies Association and WESSA assisted during the process of these registrations. It is strongly believed that establishment of these conservancies will contribute to promoting responsible management of these two traditional communities’ biodiversity. Since its establishment, KwaCele Conservancy members have been involved in various community initiatives, including cleaning the AmaThole Community Hall’s yard. (Please see Figure 1).
The programme also collaborated with SANBI’s CREW, KwaCele Conservancy, KwaThoyana Conservancy, Isimahla Conservancy and other stakeholders in participating in the Great Southern BioBlitz sessions of 2023 that were held in KwaCele, KwaThoyana and Isimahla (Zwelibomvu) Biodiversity Stewardship sites. One of the highlights was the discovery of more than fifty Brachystelma pulchellum plants in KwaCele site.
40 STATE OF BIODIVERSITY REPORT 2023/2024