This article appears to contain a large number of buzzwords .(December 2020) |
Kruger to Canyons Biosphere | |
---|---|
Location | Limpopo, South Africa |
Nearest city | Hoedspruit |
Coordinates | 24°06′S31°03′E / 24.100°S 31.050°E |
Area | 28,748.1 km2 (11,099.7 sq mi) |
Established | 1 January 2001 |
Governing body | Kruger to Canyons Biosphere |
kruger2canyons | |
The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region is a biosphere reserve situated in the north eastern region of South Africa, straddling Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. In 2001, under the supervision of the then Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region (K2C BR) was officially ratified by UNESCO as part of the Man and the Biosphere (MaB) Programme. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme provides a framework for exploring local solutions to challenges by mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, integrating economic, social and environmental aspects and recognising their vital linkages within specific learning landscapes adjacent to Protected Areas (as core areas).
The K2C BR is situated in the North Eastern section of South Africa and includes two of South Africa's key tourism sites – the Kruger National Park and the Blyde River Canyon, as well as one of the leading international floral hotspots, the Wolkberg Region. The current boundaries of the registered Biosphere extend from the Letaba River in the North to the Sabie River in the South and the Blyde Escarpment in the West to the Mozambique border in the East.
This give a total of 2,608,000 ha of which the core zone is 923,000 ha, the buffer zone 485,000 ha and the Transition Zone is 1,200,000 ha. [1] Within this region, there are approximately 1,155 permanent residents in the core zones, 10,475 in the buffer zones and 1,488,684 in the transition zones. This extensive geographical area, together with the large number of residents within the region, all adds up to a very active and a very diverse area.
The strategic plan of the K2C needs to be seen within the framework of the MaB Strategy and Lima Action Plan where every Biosphere globally is intended to fulfil three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
These three core functions are the following:
Central to fulfilling these three basic functions is the zonation of biospheres that spatially and conceptually delineates the following zones that are bound by and guided by national and provincial legislation as well as district and local municipal by- laws:
Building on the above the K2C has three strategic objectives (SO) that align with the Man and Biosphere strategy:
The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region Non-Profit Company (K2C NPC) was established in 2011 to act as the vehicle for coordinating the implementation of Biosphere activities. [2] The Founding Board of 2011-2013 put the first enabling mechanisms in place and today a strategic plan has been developed and is implemented within the framework of the K2C NPC internal policies and the South African Companies Act. The K2C NPC has built and developed a contingent of capable staff over the years governed by a Board of Non-Executive Directors. The K2C functions on a project-based annual budget that has been approved and is tracked by the K2C BR NPC Board's Risk and Audit Committee.
The K2C NPC's vision is “Partnering to achieve a sustainable future for all life in the K2C biosphere” and the K2C NPC works towards this vision and partnerships through relevant facilitation, collaboration, co-ordination and fundraising to either support or initiate and implement actions.
The K2C NPC is currently running 11 projects with partners across this landscape linking sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. [2] Project focuses vary from the expansion of protected areas; other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs); capacity building of environmental monitors in rural communities; environmental awareness; water security; alien invasive plant clearing, agro-ecology and sustainable land management. Interventions are focused on the interface where vulnerable communities; water; biodiversity and ecosystem services exists which is pertinent in the face of climate change. This is achieved by working at a number of levels, across disciplines and with a number of partners which helps to ensure impact at scale. In addition work focuses on capacity building, awareness and career pathing activities within the environmental sector with a particular focus on youth and women. Since the inception of the K2C NPC in 2011, over 23 projects have been successfully implemented by the biosphere which is a highly embedded NGO within the Limpopo and Mpumalanga landscape.
Accomplishments to date include: 74 010 hectares declared as protected areas; 958 jobs created in the green economy; currently 170 Environmental Monitors in communities and partner supporting host institutions; 14 199 hectares of land has been rehabilitated and 22 167 hectares cleared of alien invasive plants.
Limpopo Department: Economic Development, Environment and Tourism; MTPA; DEFF; Conservation South Africa; AWARD; Hoedspruit Hub; SANParks; Flanders; SANBI; Global Environment Facility; WWF; SAFCOL; Maruleng Municipality; SAEON; US AID; BirdLife South Africa; UNDP; South African Wildlife College. [2]
Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments.
Mpumalanga is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela.
The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in the La Mosquitia region on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. With a total area of 5,250 square kilometers (2,030 sq mi), most of the reserve runs along the Río Plátano. The reserve has a number of endangered species and some of the largest remnants of tropical forest in Central America. It has been a World Heritage Site and biosphere reserve since 1982. In 2011, UNESCO placed the reserve on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Golden Gate Biosphere Network is a voluntary coalition of federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private partners within the Golden Gate Biosphere region. The Network works towards protecting the biosphere region's biodiversity and conserving its natural resources to maintain the quality of life for people within the region. The Network has been part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme since 1988 and is part of the US Biosphere Network and EuroMAB. It is recognized by UNESCO due to the significant biodiversity of the region, as well as the Network's efforts to demonstrate and promote a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere.
The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) is a region that consists of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and some southern states of Mexico. The area acts as a natural land bridge from South America to North America, which is important for species who use the bridge in migration. Due to the extensive unique habitat types, Mesoamerica contains somewhere between 7 and 10% of the world’s known species.
The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) Board is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining wilderness areas and public nature reserves in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohrigstad and Blyde Rivers and the geological formations around Bourke's Luck Potholes, where the Treur River tumbles into the Blyde below. Southwards of the canyon, the reserve follows the escarpment, to include the Devil's and God's Window, the latter a popular viewpoint to the lowveld at the reserve's southern extremity.
The Motlatse River, Blyde River, or Umdhlazi River is a river in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. It has a northwards course in steep-sided valleys and ravines of the Mpumalanga Drakensberg, before it enters the lowveld region of the Limpopo province. It has its ultimate origins at around 2,000 m altitude in the Hartebeesvlakte conservation area, to the north of Long Tom Pass. It runs through the Blyde River Canyon.
Cu Lao Cham Marine Park also known as Cham Islands Biosphere Reserve is part of the eight islets of the Chàm Islands, located in the South China Sea under the administration of Tân Hiệp Commune and Hội An town, in Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The terrestrial and coastal ecosystems of the islands have been recognized as a global Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on 26 May 2009 under its 'Man and the Biosphere Programme' for its rich biodiversity value. The eco system also includes the ancient Hội An, which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away from the islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Fundy Biosphere Region is located next to the upper Bay of Fundy, covering 442,250 hectares in New Brunswick, Canada. The area was named and designated as such by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007.
Biosphere reserves are established according to the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) to promote sustainable development for conservation of biological and cultural diversity. As of 2016, the Lal Suhanra Biosphere Reserve and Ziarat Juniper Forest are the only two biosphere reserve in Pakistan, which were approved by UNESCO in 1977 and 2013 respectively. A number of initiatives and projects have been undertaken to promote and develop other biosphere reserves in Pakistan but due to weak implementation this has not yet been materialized. In July 2012, Pakistan Museum of Natural History and Beijing Museum of Natural History signed a MoU to work on trans-boundary biodiversity and to improve MAB related activities in the Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindukush regions.
The R532 is a Regional Route in South Africa that connects the Blyde River Canyon with Sabie via Graskop.
The Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve is situated in Illubabor Zone of the Oromia Regional State, southwestern Ethiopia.
The Redberry Lake Biosphere Region was established in 2000 as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve covering 112,200 ha in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2019, the reserve expanded to become a region including the Redberry Lake watershed and surrounding land encompassing close to 700,000 ha of land. The regional landscape is composed of rolling prairie dotted with seasonal ponds and marshes along with aspen/shrub groves. The core area is Redberry Lake, a saline lake with several islands. There are small patches of natural mixed prairie which are very rare in this highly grazed and cultivated part of the prairies. The Redberry Lake Biosphere Region is committed to balancing conservation with sustainable development.
The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve is located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa approximately 40 km (25 mi) east of Cape Town. The Biosphere Reserve extends from the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve in the south, northwards along the Cape Fold Belt Mountain Chain and the adjoining valleys constituting the Cape Winelands. The Biosphere Reserve incorporates key portions of the registered Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Site. The Reserve was designated in 2007.
The Lake Manyara Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the depression of the East African Rift Valley in the Lake Manyara Basin in Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. The reserve is managed by Tanzanian Lake Manyara National Park.
The Panorama Route is a scenic road in South Africa connecting several cultural and natural points of interest. The route, steeped in the history of South Africa, is in Mpumalanga province, centred around the Blyde River Canyon, the world's third largest canyon. It features numerous waterfalls, one of the largest afforested areas in South Africa, and several natural landmarks. The route starts at the foot of the Long Tom Pass just outside Lydenburg, following the natural descent from the Great Escarpment to the Lowveld, and ending at the border of the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces near the Echo Caves.
Philip Herd Nature Reserve is a nature reserve within the UNESCO Vhembe Biosphere Reserve in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The reserve is located east of the town of Musina on the Limpopo River which forms the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. It covers an area of 12,000 hectares (Ha), of which 6,616.42 Ha is a declared protected area in terms of South Africa's National Environmental Management Act: Protected Areas Act of 2003. The reserve conserves a critically biodiverse area of Limpopo Ridge Bushveld and 1.5% of the Nzhelele River catchment, which forms part of the Limpopo Water Management Area (WMA) established in terms of South Africa's National Water Act of 1998. The reserve operates under the brand name, The Herd Reserve.