Development, Empowerment and Conservation in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park and Surrounding Region

closed

The development objective of the Development, Empowerment, and Conservation in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Surrounding Region Project for South Africa is to improve access to information needed to select the best feasible option for maintaining the availability of fresh water of adequate quality to the Lake St Lucia system,' a wetland of global biodiversity importance, and to increase access among local communities to conservation-compatible economic opportunities. There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is hydrology and ecosystem functioning of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. This component will be aimed at restoring the Lake St Lucia system to a state of improved ecological functioning. The project will finance: (i) analysis of alternatives to determine the most feasible solution to the hydrological issues of the Lake St Lucia system; (ii) support to follow-up actions and investments to implement the selected alternatives (contingent upon finding a feasible solution); and (iii) support for park conservation management. The second component of the project is promoting conservation compatible local economic and cultural development. This component will help to create a stronger constituency among local residents for supporting conservation of iSimangaliso Park. The project will finance: (i) implementation of a Conservation-compatible small, medium, and micro enterprise program; (ii) development of an education and academic support program; (iii) establishment of a capacity building program for nearby communities; and (iv) a socio-economic environment development (SEED) program. The third component of the project is institutional capacity building for biodiversity conservation. The project will finance: (i) institutional capacity building for the iSimangaliso wetland authority and other stakeholders; and (ii) support for administrative operations of iSimangaliso wetland authority.