The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project

The eThekwini Municipality’s Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department initiated the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project (BLSCRP) in 2008. The initial intention of the project was to offset a portion (approximately 42 000 tCO<sub>2</sub>) of the total carbon emissions (estimated at 307 208 tCO<sub>2</sub>) associated with the Durban 2010 FIFA World Cup mega-event. The proposed carbon offset is to be achieved through the planting of 520 000 indigenous trees, over a five-year period, within the buffer zone of the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site.
The total offset is expected to be achieved over a 20-year period, and will take place in the buffer zone of the Municipality’s Buffelsdraai Regional Landfill Site.
History
Almost 600 of the 809 hectare (ha) Buffelsdraai Landfill Site buffer zone, owned by Durban Solid Waste (DSW) department, was previously leased to private farmers for sugarcane farming. The eThekwini Municipality made a decision in 2008 that the farming would be phased out, in order to rehabilitate the land to indigenous forest. This decision also contributed towards the establishment of a “Conservancy” at the landfill site, in accordance with the required conditions of the environmental authorisation provided. Furthermore, it was recognised that the Municipality could apply the lessons learned, at the BLSCRP, to other existing or new projects within the Municipal Area.
The BLSCRP is expected to deliver a range of co-benefits, considered important in the local context, including: restoration of biodiversity, restoration of ecosystems for improved delivery of ecosystem services, as well as creation of jobs and livelihood benefits for poor communities. The success achieved at the BLSCRP has already catalysed an expansion of the approach to other project sites, all of which offer adaptation and mitigation co-benefits. New perspectives gained, include how best to foster systemic and transformative change through improved equity, social legitimacy and environmental sustainability in the climate-stressed cities of the 21st Century.
Project Benefits
Evolving the Tree-preneur Model
The BLSCRP, through its pioneering and innovative forest restoration approach, has been successful in demonstrating the role that natural ecosystems play in supporting the livelihoods and resilience of people. This is in part due to use of the ‘Indigenous Trees for Life’ model, developed by the Wildlands Conservation Trust, and adopted as the approach for tree production. This approach encourages local unemployed people, known as ‘Tree-preneurs’, to collect indigenous tree seeds which they propagate at their homesteads. The tree seedlings are traded to the BLSCRP in exchange for credit notes, which in turn can be traded for basic food items, clothes, building materials and can even be used to pay for school fees or vehicle driving lessons. Once the tree seedlings are large enough, they are collected and held at a holding nursery where sorting according to size and species. Trees in the holding nursery are hardened-off prior to planting, to ensure a high survival rate. This means that trees in the nursery are not kept under shade-netting, and no fertilizer, compost or mulch are added to the soil. They also receive only the minimum amount of water.
The majority of trees are planted into the buffer zone, some 787 ha in extent, which surrounds the 116.2 ha landfill footprint (solid waste disposal area). Additional trees, planted around the buffer zone boundary, act as a “living fence”. This fence is an alternative to the traditional barbed wire fence, and is considered effective in minimising incursions by vehicles, people and stock animals into the buffer zone area.
Making a difference in peoples lives
The restoration of forest habitats, by resident indigent communities, provides them with both employment, and many skills development opportunities. Ninety percent of people that benefit from this project were previously earning wages below the poverty line, and were considered to be amongst the most vulnerable communities in South Africa. Employment opportunities vary, and include the likes of: invasive alien plant species control; active tree planting; catchment protection; and waste recycling. Involvement in the programme has drastically improved local people’s livelihoods, and some community members have even started trading their trees on the private market. The benefits of the programme vary, but some Treepreneurs have built new homes, and others have enrolled in higher education programmes. Since project initiation in 2008, up until early 2015, a total of 448 jobs (43 full-time, 16 part-time and 389 temporary) were created for local community members. Benefits include improved income within local communities and a more regular food supply for Treepreneurs and their families. Children have received improved education opportunities, and most Treepreneurs report an increase in their available disposable income that can be used for expenses previously beyond their needs. The “ecological infrastructure” now being built, in the form of an indigenous forest on the Buffelsdraai site, is also anticipated to improve local ecosystem services. Such services will also reduce the community’s vulnerability to flooding due to better protection of the local watershed.
Advancing work of the reforestation partnership
Project Achievements
The BLSCRP was previously selected as one of the top 10 global projects as part of the United Nations Momentum For Change programme. It has now also received a Gold Standard Validation Certificate, from the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA). This validation confirms the positive benefits to local communities and biodiversity, as well as ensuring an exceptional climate change adaptation benefit.
Building Partnerships: reforestation research
The Durban Research Action Partnership (D’RAP), a joint initiative between the eThekwini Municipality (EM) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), was established to help stimulate relevant knowledge generation. The research covers a range of topics but is focused to include the socio-economic, ecological, as well as climate and ecosystem service benefits, that the reforestation project delivers. The partnership has initiated a robust monitoring framework, to ensure continuous monitoring of environmental changes in the reforested area. Suitable indicators have been selected for biodiversity and ecosystem services monitoring (e.g. species, carbon sequestration, water quantity and quality). Anticipated outcomes of the partnership include improved management of projects within the Municipality’s broader Reforestation Programme as well as an understanding of options available for rolling out similar projects in other areas. The Research Partnership provides opportunities for capacity building, by employing interns and supporting student research activities, at the university. Support for - and development of - staff employed by the Municipality is also included. This is important as a means to address South Africa’s severe skills shortage in the environmental and biodiversity sectors.
Buffelsdraai Reforestation Hub: a center of excellence for research
The eThekwini Municipality’s Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department has plans to construct a ‘Reforestation Hub’ at the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project site. The centre will be used by researchers, scholars, community members and tourists that will come to learn about climate change adaptation in a local context. The centre will comprise an extensive tree nursery as well as a building that showcases innovative sustainability technologies, such as solar panels, water capture, storage and reuse, efficient lighting etc. The building will be constructed on the site of a derelict farm building, and much of the original building will be incorporated into the new structure. Green design principles will be used throughout the centre, in order to showcase climate friendly / climate smart construction methods and materials.

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