The Wildlands Conservation TrustThe Wildlands Conservation TrustBy Dr Roelie Kloppers - Director at Wildlands Conservation Trust

January 20135 Issue No. 8

Picture by: Luke Pallet

We all depend on the earth's ecosystems. They provide vital services such as water, clean air, food and shelter. Stable, robust ecosystems also help people to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters, and to adapt to the changes in our atmosphere brought on by climate change. People are placing an increasing demand on earth's ecosystems as our numbers increase and we reach unprecedented levels of development at a global scale. When the tipping point is reached, people will no longer be able to depend on the support of these systems and disaster will loom.

Working on the philosophical understanding that human well-being is dependent on environmental health, Wild-lands has adopted a CEBA (Community Ecosystems Based Adaptation) model as philosophical construct and organising principle for where they work and what they do. CEBA moves beyond the more traditional concept of Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EBA), mainstreaming it into the green economy as an adaptation tool that promotes social inclusiveness and sustainable development. CEBA highlights the interconnectivity between local communi-ties and their supporting ecosystems. Wildlands’ growing footprint focuses on Ecosystem Service Areas (catchments, forests) and the communities that depend on these areas and the services they deliver. Working at a community level, Wildlands partners with com-munities to develop the tools that enable them to strengthen their ecosystems; making them more robust through activities such as the removal of waste from rivers and other natural systems, re-forestation of degraded forests, maintenance of healthy grasslands and the management of conservation areas as vital links in adaptation and mitigation corridors.

In doing this, Wildlands has developed a network of ‘Green-preneurs’ across four Provinces in South Africa. These are individuals marginalised from conventional economic activities due to a lack of skills and training or demand for their services. Wildlands enables their participation in the green economy by creating a platform for them to barter indigenous trees (Tree-preneurs) and recyclable waste (Waste-preneurs) for livelihood support goods such as food, building materials, bicycles (Bike-preneurs), solar panels and rain water harvesting tanks. Through this model, community ecosystems are restored and alternative modes of transport and energy introduced into communities. The model has spread and deepened as new donors and partners have come on board. Existing partnerships, such as the role Wildlands plays as Regional Implementation Team of the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund for the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspots has further guided Wildlands growth in southern Africa and ensured consistent and deliberate expansion enabling Wildlands to make a profound impact on conservation and sustain-able development in the region.