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South Africa Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability Assessment Executive Summary - Namakwa District Municipality

CSA is currently participating in a 3-country study, with Brazil and the Philippines, pioneering the implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) efforts across 3 different ecosystems.

Ecosystem based Adaptation Action for priority sites in South Africa's semi arid ecosystem in the Namakwa District

A new vulnerability assessment for the Succulent Karoo identifies key priority sites for research and trials to use Ecosystem based Adaptation methods to improve livelihoods, restore and maintain ecosystem services, and for the conservation of species and landscapes in the Namakwa District in the Northern Cape of South Africa.

CSA and the Namakwa District Municipality, have produced a vulnerability assessment that includes a spatial planning tool and a vulnerability index to assist the District with climate change adaptation planning and decision-making

The 126,747km2 district forms part of the semi-arid Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspot, one of only two arid hotspots. The Succulent Karoo is home to the richest diversity of succulent flora on earth. It also demonstrates remarkable levels of endemism, with 69 percent plant endemism and high levels of reptile endemism. This rich biodiversity supports a population of around 130,000 people with an economic focus on livestock production using natural grazing method.

While pressure on biodiversity is less pronounced than in some other areas internationally due to low population densities, the Succulent Karoo is a sensitive system and has been significantly affected by mining activities. Serious overgrazing over much of the veld combined with ploughing in wetlands and along seasonal rivers for dryland agriculture has resulted in widespread land degradation and erosion. The area is also badly affected by natural hazards including periodic droughts and flooding.

Key actions coming out of the process will place great emphasis on caring for freshwater systems and communal grazing lands, to reduce vulnerability and build resilience generally in the face of multiple challenges in this region including the impacts of global climate change that have already been set in motion.

To read more about the Vulnerability Assessment