An Introduction to Soil Degradation and Practical Rehabilitation Guidelines
Skills Development
Living Lands
Consultants:
Apex Conservation Services
Associate:
Department of Environmental Affairs, Rhodes University, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility 5 (GEF5), Commonland Foundation, Grounded
Location:
Baviaanskloof, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Year:
2019
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Arresting land degradation and achieving sustainable land management (SLM) is critical for ensuring ecosystem integrity, as well as continued productivity and benefits to livelihoods in South Africa. This project aims to assist in the goal of bringing 1,000 ha of degraded land under rehabilitation in the Baviaanskloof Hartland as well as sharing this practical knowledge with a broader audience attending to SLM.
A practical rehabilitation guideline manual was prepared by Bruce Taplin for Living Lands, Subsidiary under Rhodes University to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility 5 (GEF5). The manual introduces the basic concepts associated with land degradation and provides clear guidelines on how to approach the rehabilitation of degraded areas. The manual has been designed to be used in combination with formal lectures and practical hands-on rehabilitation training.
This project outlined the basic principles and drivers associated with soil erosion – highlighting the common causes and identifying the common types of soil erosion and their impacts. The process of establishing baseline surveys was described, and users were provided with guidelines on how to set suitable soil erosion mitigation goals, rehabilitation plans and site-specific selection processes, and rehabilitation objectives. Practical techniques for soil erosion treatment were set out and explained, including methods such as: Micro-basins; Mechanised methods; Bush, mulch and ground cover methods; Geotextile soil erosion materials; Treatment of footpaths; Silt traps; Gully/ Donga reshaping; Combining different rehabilitation treatment methods; Gabion structures; Rock energy breaks; Earth Berms and Drainage Swales; and Seeding. Finally, the maintenance and monitoring required for these techniques was described in this manual.
The manual provides the practical guidelines for rehabilitation planning, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring. This practical knowledge is necessary to guide how land rehabilitation is implemented by implementation teams and landowners, so that the chosen interventions and implementation strategy are effective in achieving improved ecosystem functioning and SLM into the future.
This project contributed to the rehabilitation activities required to meet the outcomes of the broader GE5F SLM project in the Baviaanskloof. This project helped provide training and skills which will be used to restore and protects the land within the greater Baviaanskloof area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.