The National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) is the primary tool for monitoring and reporting on the state of biodiversity in South Africa. It is used to inform policies, strategies and actions in a range of sectors for managing and conserving biodiversity more effectively.
The NBA is led by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and is a collaborative project involving over 470 individuals from approximately 90 institutions.
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in the Earth's climate system, particularly changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level, and weather patterns,resulting from the build up of human-caused greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. These changes are causing a range of environmental impacts, including rising sea levels, more frequent and severe weather events,increased droughts and wildfires, and changes to ecosystems and wildlife populations. Climate change is considered one of the most significant global challenges of our time, and urgent action is required to mitigate its effects and adapt to the changes that are already occurring.
The impact of these changes will be felt differently, in different communities, but the poor and disadvantaged will be hardest hit and are not able to cope or adapt as easily. These communities have the greatest need for funding to help them meet these challenges, but often do not have the means to access funding.
Society can respond to climate change in two ways. The first is to find ways to cut the carbon emissions which are behind the rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns.This is called ‘mitigation’. This is geared towards slowing climate change in the future.
The second approach is to look for ways to cope with the impacts of a more turbulent climate, which are already happening or will happen in future. This is called‘adaptation’.
Investing in adaptation approaches can help vulnerable communities to cope with the effects of changing weather patterns. These can include:
Society can respond to climate change in two ways. The first is to find ways to cut the carbon emissions which are behind the rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns.This is called ‘mitigation’. This is geared towards slowing climate change in the future.
Climate change will affect these services in many ways: droughts will dry grasslands and leave the soils exposed and vulnerable to erosion when the rains finally come; eroded wetlands will lose their ability to catch and hold water which they would later trickle-feed into rivers to help maintain their flow all year round; and loss of insect diversity will slow down pollination of agricultural crops.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change (CBD, 2009 & 2010). Investments in the management, restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems and their services are investments in the communities who depend on them.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation efforts can lessen flooding, improve water and soil quality, and contribute to livelihood opportunities. They deliver benefits for society and the environment at the same time, and are an important way of safeguarding development in the face of climate change.
Climate change will redraw the agricultural map of the country. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns will impact on yields, and change what crops and animals are farmed, and where. Because many communities in South Africa depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, a changing climate will have wide-reaching impacts. Building the ability of farmers to cope with the effects of changing weather patterns is essential for safeguarding food security, livelihoods and development in a climate-altered future.
Climate-smart agriculture uses techniques which try to increase agricultural productivity in ways that are environmentally and socially sustainable, even as the climate changes. These methods include combining traditional and scientific knowledge to use proven practical techniques – such as mulching, intercropping with drought and flood-tolerant crops, crop rotation and changing planting schedules – and also using new and innovative practices such as enhanced weather forecasting, early warning systems and risk insurance.
Through climate-smart agriculture, farming communities in South Africa can respond to the challenges of climate change and support livelihoods using sustainable agricultural systems.
In many parts of South Africa, sudden and slow onset changes in climate patterns are likely to mean an increase in severe weather events, with implications for many sectors of South African Society. Investments in early warning systems can support vulnerable communities to prepare for anticipated changes and in so doing, protect their livelihoods and assets and avoid the loss of life.
Buildings, bridges, roads, transport networks, water and sanitation systems, and even natural systems like wetlands or grasslands, in both informal and rural settlements, are extremely vulnerable to climate-related disasters such as storms and flooding.
Climate change will make these disasters happen more often, and with greater intensity in many places. Designing, building or adapting infrastructure in these settlements, so that it can absorb the shock of these extreme weather events, is an essential, proactive part of disaster management in the face of climate change.
There are many ways to climate-proof settlements so that the built environment is better able to cope with extreme weather events. These include installing lightening conductors on buildings, placing buildings outside of areas that could flood, increasing the size of storm water pipes so that they can cope with increased water volumes, and rehabilitating wetlands so that they slow down the water in flooding rivers.
Climate-proofing processes can be applied to existing infrastructure, and can also support spatial planning and new building design processes. In all cases, climate-proofing activities are designed to be long lasting, environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable.
Investing in climate-proofing settlements helps to reduce loss of life, and tries to stop physical damage to property which is costly and disrupts social services.
Poor, rural and disadvantaged communities are more likely to struggle with the environmental shocks that come from weather-related natural disasters. In particular, climate change will have an immediate and measurable impact on the way goods are produced and sold, and on these communities’ ability to make a living. Investments in climate-resilient livelihoods support people to make a living in such a way that they are able to cope with, and recover from, the effects of sudden or slow-onset changes in weather patterns.
There are many ways to invest in making people’s livelihoods more resilient to climate shocks. These could include:
In some cases, it may even be possible to take advantage of the effects of climate change. By introducing and enhancing innovative climate-resilient livelihoods, vulnerable communities can buffer themselves against the impacts of climate change, and safeguard development.
Climate change has the potential to undermine development efforts and reverse development gains if society doesn’t respond appropriately. Investing in climate change adaptation actions is essential if we are to safeguard development, take advantage of opportunities that the new weather patterns present, and manage climate-related risk.
SANBI’s Division: Adaptation, Policy and Resourcing (D:APR) is leading on SANBI’s work on the use of Ecosystem-based Approaches in South Africa’s response to climate change and securing international climate finance for the implementation of these approaches through different projects and programmes. SANBI is uniquely placed to access international climate finance in South Africa as it is accredited as South Africa’s National Implementing Entity of the Adaptation Fund and a Direct Access Entity of the Green Climate Fund. For more information, and to engage with SANBI’s proposal development processes, please email climatefunds@sanbi.org.za.
D:APR is also leading on implementing a suite of activities that focuses on mainstreaming gender into Climate Change Adaptation. Click here for more information on the gender mainstreaming work.
For more information on the work SANBI is doing in the Climate Change Adaptation space, please visit our webpage or email us at climatefinance@sanbi.org.za
