The Swaziland National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, 1999

[ Contents | Executive Summary | 1.0 Introduction | 2.0 The Status of Biological Diversity in Swaziland | 3.0 Assessment of Current Conservation and Management of Biodiversity in Swaziland | 4.0 Strategy and Action Plan | 5.0 Implementation of BSAP | 6.0 Monitoring and Evaluation | 7.0 References ]

4.0 Strategy and action plan

4.1 Subtrategies for biodiversity conservation through the improvement of the protected areas network

Goal

A viable set of representative samples of Swaziland’s full range of natural ecosystems are conserved through a network of protected areas.

Obstacles and hindrances

There are numerous obstacles currently preventing the realisation of this goal. The major obstacles are as follows:

• None of the four ecosystems of Swaziland reach the IUCN’s recommended 10% protection, while three of them (grassland, forest and aquatic) have only 2% within protected areas.
• No recent field-based survey of protection worthy areas by ecosystem (and with the use of biodiversity criteria) have been conducted.
• There are insufficient links (i.e. corridors) between ecosystems in different protected areas.
• Threatened species of fauna and flora (i.e. those listed in Red Data Books) require special intervention to prevent their extinction.
• Protected areas are threatened by alien plant invasion.
• The protected area network is managed by two separate (non-communicating) authorities.
• Funding for the management of protected areas is inadequate.
• Due to insufficient socio-economic incentives, neighbouring communities often do not support protected areas.

Substrategies

The following substrategies have been formulated to address the obstacles presented above.

Substrategy 1

• Modify existing protected areas network to protect 10% of the full range of ecosystems (addresses obstacles 1, 2 & 3).

Priority actions

• Conduct a Gap Analysis. This requires an updated map of the ecosystems of Swaziland reflecting areas converted to other forms of use, areas under protection, areas which are protection worthy, and areas which could potentially fall under community-based natural resource management. Protection worthy areas need to be assessed, classified and ranked (using IUCN criteria) based on field inventories.
• Use information arising from the Gap Analysis to develop criteria and processes to amend existing protected areas network. The involvement of landowners, stakeholders, local communities and other affected parties in the participatory process will be crucial to its success.

Substrategy 2

• Adequately protect threatened and endemic species (addresses obstacle 4).

Priority actions

• Identify threatened species using internationally accepted criteria. This must be a dynamic process i.e. the lists of threatened species need to be regularly updated.
• Publish National Red Data Books. Currently, Red Data Books are being drafted for the vertebrates and for the flora. The publication and distribution of these books must be supported and extended to other taxa.
• Provide endangered species with legal protection. An endangered species clause needs to be developed, within the proposed Biodiversity Act (see section 8), to provide legal protection to endangered species.
• Enforce commitment to CITES and ratify the Lusaka Agreement. The policing of trade in endangered species may be conducted in conjunction with TRAFFIC and the Regional Task Force through the establishment of a National Bureau.
• Explore the possibility of signing other regional or international conventions which may assist in protecting endangered species within Swaziland.
• Provide ex-situ conservation for endemic, threatened and high-utility plant species through the establishment of a botanical garden (or a network of gardens). Mantenga Nature Reserve has been identified as an appropriate site for a botanical garden, but this needs to be supported (both administratively and financially) and followed through.

Substrategy 3

• Minimise the impact of alien invasive species (addresses obstacle 5).
• Priority actions
• Incorporate control measures of alien invasives into the management of plan of each protected area.
• Conduct a national assessment of, and develop cost effective control techniques for, alien invasives.

Substrategy 4

• Improve the coordination and cooperation between all protected areas managers (addresses obstacle 6).

Priority actions

• Establishment of an Annual Biodiversity Conference as a forum for reporting, discussing and evaluating the management of protected areas. The establishment of this conference to be overseen by the SEA.

Substrategy 5

• Assure adequate funding for management of protected areas (addresses obstacle 7).

Priority actions

• Amend fees structure according to professional analysis of market value for entrance fees, lodging and guide fees.
• Investigate the possibility of income from tax levy’s on certain goods and services.
• Investigate the possibility of short- to long-term leasing options in protected areas.

Substrategy 6

• Create socio-economic incentives that lead to local community support for protected areas conservation (addresses obstacle 8).

Priority actions

• Share entrance gate fees with structured community groups or representatives.
• Negotiate special provisions for neighbouring communities, such as limited extraction of resources and ceremonial uses.
• Provide for an official advisory role in management of protected areas by local communities.
• Develop eco-tourism to provide maximum benefits to local communities (e.g. by drawing on local human resources).
• 4.2 Subtrategies for sustainable use, and equitable sharing, of biological resources

4.2 Subtrategies for sustainable use, and equitable sharing, of biological resources

Goal

• Biological resources of natural ecosystems outside of the protected areas network are used sustainably.

Obstacles and hindrances

Major obstacles preventing the realization of this goal are as follows:

• Resource users within local communities do not have exclusive rights to manage their biological resources.
• Limited natural resource management systems are in place to ensure sustainable utilisation of biological resources.
• Lack of law enforcement (pertaining to biodiversity issues) on SNL.
• No laws and/or mechanisms in place to protect the intellectual property rights of Swaziland, local communities and individuals with respect to biodiversity resources.
• Due to the above problems, biodiversity on SNL has already been greatly eroded.
• Limited institutional and human capacity available to manage natural resource systems.

Substrategies

The long-term objective is to put in place an institutional, legal and policy framework and support mechanisms to enable local communities to sustainably manage their biological resources. Community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) presents one of the best opportunities for linking enterprise development with conservation of biodiversity. Natural resource management systems that generate benefits for community members and for the community as a whole can create economic incentives for conserving the resource. CBNRM is one of the most promising approaches for sustainable use of biological resources in Africa (Hagen, 1999). The greatest successes have been in community-based wildlife management in southern Africa and community-based natural savanna management in West Africa. The following guidelines have been synthesised from various countries throughout Africa which have been successful or promising in the development of CBNRM (Hagen, 1999). Successful CBNRM is based on:

• The voluntary association of people with traditional rights or common interests in natural resources management.
• Clearly defined limits of the community’s resources that are recognised by all, especially by the communities neighbours and by government authorities.
• Recognised legal status for the community management structures.
• Legal instruments (and simple administrative procedures) for the transfer of natural resources management rights to communities.
• Exclusive rights for the community over the natural resources they manage.
• Principles of good governance in the form of a representative community institutional structure and equitable sharing of benefits from CBNRM.
• Mid- to long-term guarantees of management rights commensurate with the nature of the resource to be managed.
• Sustainable management of the natural resources.
• Development of institutional capacity for the community.
• Generation of revenue flows that: generate benefits for the community as well as for individuals; cover management costs; and generate tax for government structures.

These guidelines need to be tested and improved in order to successfully develop community-based sustainable management of biological resources in Swaziland. In order to achieve this, the following short-term substrategies have been formulated.

Substrategy 1

• Test viable CBNRM and develop across all ecosystems (addresses obstacles 1 to 5).

Priority actions

• Review literature and investigate CBNRM projects which have been successful or show promise in other African countries.
• Identify communities in Swaziland with highest probability of successful initiation of CBNRM. The following criteria could be of use in the assessment procedure: are biological resources still in place? Is there a lack of internal conflict (e.g. chieftaincy dispute) within the community? Are community members motivated? Is there a ready market for the products to be managed?
• Develop pilot projects in each of the four ecosystems, namely grassland, savanna, forest and aquatic.

Substrategy 2

• Enact CBNRM-enabling legislation based on results of pilot projects (addresses obstacle 4).

Priority actions

• Formal participatory review and evaluation of pilot projects.
• Draft appropriate legislation.

Substrategy 3

• Develop institutional capacity and human resources to support CBNRM (addresses obstacle 6).

Priority action

• Identify important institutions and analyze human resources needs.
• Determine the levels of sustainable use for different resources.

Substrategy 4

• Develop laws and support mechanisms to protect intellectual property rights of Swaziland, local communities and individuals (addresses obstacle 4).

Priority actions

• Monitor bioprospecting activities in Swaziland.
• Based on this monitoring, review and draft appropriate legislation.
• Assign institutional mandate to SEA to oversee this process.

Substrategy 5

• Identify biodiversity components that can be marketable on a nation-wide scale (addresses obstacle 2).

Priority actions

• Support current research on medicinal and food plants being conducted at UNISWA.
• Encourage research on other components of biodiversity in Swaziland.
• Develop expertise in resource economics and biodiversity valuation.
• 4.3 Subtrategies for the conservation of agro-biodiversity

4.3 Subtrategies for the conservation of agro-biodiversity

Goal

• The genetic base of Swaziland’s crops and livestock breeds is efficiently conserved.

Strengths

As outlined in section 3.2 (above), the conservation of agro-biodiversity is currently being aggressively pursued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Separate units have been established to handle plant genetic material and farm animals. These two units are currently operating efficiently and are producing positive results. This is a great strength to achieving the goal (above).

Obstacles and hindrances

Obstacles preventing the realization of this goal are as follows:

• Indigenous crops are threatened by the use of hybrids and high yielding varieties.
• Populations of wild crop relatives are being eradicated through habitat loss.
• Indigenous livestock breeds are threatened through indiscriminate breeding with exotic breeds.
• Loss of genetic viability within livestock breeds through inbreeding due to lack of appropriate breeding policies and programmes.
• Inadequate research and information available on indigenous crops and livestock.

Substrategies

The following substrategies have been formulated to address the obstacles presented above.

Substrategy 1

• Conserve, and sustainably use, plant genetic resources (addresses obstacles 3 to 5).

Priority actions

• Identify plant genetic resources of relevance to agriculture (i.e. crop plants and crop relatives).
• Collect and conserve, using modern technology, genetic resources of crop plants and crop relatives. This task is currently being undertaken by the Gene Bank at Malkerns Research Station (Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives).
• Curate plant genetic resources information in a format compatible with the NBDU.

Substrategy 2

• Conserve, and sustainably use, farm animal genetic resources (addresses obstacles 1,2 & 5).

Priority actions

• Characterize and database farm animal genetic diversity in Swaziland.
• Identify special characteristics of farm animals that need preservation.
• Develop breeding programmes which result in the sustainable utilisation of the genetic characteristics of the animals identified.
• Curate farm animal genetic resources information in a format compatible with the NBDU.

4.4 Subtrategies for biosafety

Goal

Risks associated with the use of living, modified organisms (LMOs) in Swaziland are minimized.

Obstacles and hindrances

A number of problems have been identified which currently hinder the realization of the goal:

• Institutional structure not yet identified to oversee all aspects of use of LMOs in Swaziland.
• No legal or policy framework exists to reduce the risks associated with the use of LMOs.
• Human resources inadequate to assess, and deal with, these risks.
• Records of LMOs currently in use in Swaziland are not available.

Substrategies

The following substrategies have been formulated to address the obstacles presented above.

Substrategy 1

• Identify an institution responsible for overseeing all aspects of the use of LMOs (addresses obstacle 1).

Priority actions

• SEA to host a national workshop at which stakeholders will discuss and agree on the most suitable institution to be responsible for overseeing all LMO issues.

Substrategy 2

• Develop legal and policy framework for the controlled use of LMOs (addresses obstacle 2).

Priority actions

• SEA to seek appropriate funding for the development of a legal and policy framework relating to the minimisation of risks associated with the use of LMOs.

Substrategy 3

• Develop human expertise in the field of the use of LMOs (addresses obstacle 3).

Priority actions

• SEA to seek appropriate funding for an assessment with respect to human resources needs in the field of LMO control and use.
• Develop human resources in critical areas by way of staff training and recruitment.

Substrategy 4

• Research into vital actions necessary to minimize risk of LMOs (addresses obstacle 4).

Priority actions

• Inventory LMOs currently in use in Swaziland.
• Ratify the Biosafety Protocol.

4.5 Subtrategies for improving the institutional and legal frameworks and the human resources for conservation and sustainable use

Goal

The institutional, policy and legal frameworks, as well as the human resources needed to implement the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, are developed.

Obstacles and hindrances

• The laws dealing with biodiversity issues are fragmented and do not fully cover all aspects.
• Limited institutional structure currently exists for wildlife management outside of protected areas (especially on SNL).
• Limited coordination of activities of existing institutional structures responsible for biodiversity management.
• Limited institutional structures exist in local communities (on SNL) for the explicit purpose of managing biological resources.
• Limited institutions currently in place to develop human resources of local communities to enable them to establish their own management structures for community-based natural resources management (CBNRM).
• Inadequate human resources or expertise to deal with certain biodiversity issues, especially in the fields of systematics, resource economists, environmental law, biotechnology and CBNRM.
• No single national body currently charged with the task of collecting, storing and managing biodiversity at the national scale.
• Illegal harvesting of biological resources in protected areas is not under control.

Substrategies

The following substrategies have been formulated to address the obstacles presented above.

Substrategy 1

• Strengthen legislation pertaining to biodiversity conservation (addresses obstacle 1).

Priority actions

• Develop a new, all-encompassing Wildlife Act, with corresponding regulations and guidelines, for the protection and management of biodiversity in Swaziland which would harmonize existing legislation which would be enfolded in the new Act (including the Flora Protection Act, the SNTC Act, the Game Act, etc).
• Develop legislation for effective Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) (see section 5).

Substrategy 2

• Identify institutions responsible for developing CBNRM (addresses obstacle 2).

Priority actions

• SEA to establish a task team to review the institutional framework required to support CBNRM.
• The above-mentioned task team to review the needs of local communities to enable them to establish CBNRM.

Substrategy 3

• Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the various government institutions, NGOs, parastatals and private bodies responsible for the management of biodiversity (addresses obstacles 3 & 4).

Priority actions

• Identify and formalise the roles and responsibilities of the various government institutions, NGOs, parastatals and private bodies responsible for the management of biodiversity in Swaziland.
• Make TDL property owners responsible for biodiversity management on their properties in accordance with nationally prescribed laws and regulations.
• Give SEA the overall responsibility of coordinating the management of biodiversity in Swaziland.
• Formalise linkages between SNTC, Forestry Department (MOAC), the Herbarium (MOAC), Genebank (MOAC) and other institutions (public or otherwise) which are directly responsible for managing biodiversity within Swaziland.

Substrategy 4

• Develop human resources to deal with all aspects of biodiversity, by the promotion of higher levels of training in relevant fields (addresses obstacles 5 & 6).

Priority actions

• Review and upgrade relevant undergraduate programmes to include biodiversity-related courses.
• Establish postgraduate training in biodiversity conservation and development.
• Solicit and access financial assistance for training in taxonomy and biodiversity conservation.
• Encourage and promote research that is relevant to biodiversity conservation.
• Develop expertise in resource economics and biodiversity valuation.

Substrategy 5

• Provide easily accessible and up-to-date biodiversity information through storage of information in a central facility (addresses obstacle 7).

Priority actions

• Establish a National Biodiversity Database Unit (NBDU) to be responsible for the curation and storage of all biodiversity information related to Swaziland. The NBDU will require at least two fast computers with large hard-drives, appropriate database and GIS programmes, and an adequate back up system. Biodiversity information will be obtained from various sources including the literature and directly from researchers. The collection of biodiversity information (such as species occurrence and distribution; description and functioning of ecosystems; threats to biodiversity; etc) will be coordinated by the NBDU.
• Provide training for the curators. The NBDU will require curators to manage the data. These curators will require appropriate training in biodiversity information management.
• Develop guidelines for access to biodiversity information. Regulations regarding the dissemination of biodiversity information in the NBDU need to be drafted.

Substrategy 6

• Control illegal harvesting of biological resources through enhanced law-enforcement (addresses obstacle 8).

Priority actions

• Train potential law-enforcement agents e.g. rangers and extension officers.
• Involve Interpol in curbing illegal export of biodiversity components.
• Establish a national law-enforcing unit which would be mobile and move between protected areas.
• Bring to the attention of the Law Society of Swaziland the backlog of "poaching" cases in the courts of law.

4.6 Subtrategies for enhancing public awareness of the value of, and need for, biodiversity conservation

Goal

Public awareness of, and support for, biodiversity conservation in Swaziland is enhanced.

Obstacles and hindrances

• The major obstacle preventing the realization of this goal is as follows:
• The general public does not fully realise the value of biodiversity to humanity, and is not aware of the impending loss of biodiversity in Swaziland.

Substrategies

The following substrategies have been formulated to address the obstacles presented above.

Substrategy 1

• Raise public awareness on biodiversity issues (addresses obstacle 1).

Priority actions

• Introduce biodiversity topics across curricula. Biodiversity topics should be integrated, in a holistic fashion, into all relevant subjects at primary, secondary and tertiary (especially teacher training institutes) levels.
• Incorporate updated biodiversity topics into ongoing Environmental Education Programmes.
• Enhance the value of existing environmental radio programmes by including biodiversity awareness topics (especially those of a development-oriented nature).
• Explore and exploit other systems of communication such as written material and documentaries.
• Open and encourage two-way channels of communication for inputs from grassroots, communities and the general public.
• Indigenous knowledge of biodiversity must be captured, document and stored in the NBDU (National Biodiversity Database Unit).
• Encourage extra-curricula activities related to biodiversity in schools.
• Run seminars and workshops for educators, policy makers (both modern and traditional), media personnel, engineering concerns (such as construction companies, Ministry of Works and Construction), the private sector and communities.
• Promote and strengthen the use of environmental education centres, especially for secondary, tertiary and adult groups.

Table 4.1 Summary of the priority actions of the Swaziland Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

Blank cells in the "Funding" or "Project status" columns indicate that, for that particular action, there is currently no funding available and that no project has as yet been proposed, respectively. The time-frame terms represent following approximate periods; short-term: 1-3 years, medium-term: 2-5 years, long-term: 5-10 years.

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