Resource information
Over the past century South Africa has become increasingly reliant on the manufacturing and services industries for its economic development and growth. However, the natural environment continues to play an important role in the livelihoods of particularly the poor, those in rural areas and the agriculture sector – the latter being essential for urban living.
Restoration of the natural environment involves the replenishment of the natural environment through both active and passive means. Passive restoration undertakes the removal of those things that damage the environment such as invasive alien plants.
Active restoration, on the other hand, involves active intervention such as the control of alien invasive plant species and the re-establishing of natural (indigenous) vegetation, for example by re-seeding, re-planting and soil preparation treatments.
This poliy brief looks at key aspects of restoration:
location: the selection of the restoration site is crucial, as this affects the supply of environmental goods and services to the market. Features to consider include the extent of degradation, distance from the market, the exist ence of an appropriate distribution channel, and the nature of the land tenure. Other f actors include the climatic conditions, and also the vegetation type, as this will affect the range of environmental goods and services supplied. There is a need to start in areas where there is a greater chance of success
functionality: restoration has the aim of restoring the functionality of an ecosystem. This in turn affects the flow of goods and services onto the market. However, this can only happen if markets themselves are well functioning, where possible free from restrictions and characterised by many buyers and sellers. Where markets are not well functioning, some monitoring is required to ensure that dominant players do not manipulate the system to the detriment of other participants
process: many environmental commodities are traded as free goods, or at a price that does not reflect their true value. One example in South Africa is water. A key market challenge for restoration is to determine an appropriate price for environmental goods and services. A number of techniques are available in order to achieve this
